The weekend rolled around quickly.


    Keen''s kindergarten was hosting a parent-child event.


    Rachel arrived at the kindergarten early.


    Haynes, who used his connections to keep it all under wraps, had swiftly dealt with the drama online. Any discussion threads that popped up got deleted faster than you could say "scandal." Negativements about Rachel were nearly impossible to find.


    On the surface, the inte was calm and peaceful again.


    However, while Haynes could silence online chatter, he couldn''t control people''s thoughts. When Rachel entered the kindergarten gate, she could feel the strange looks of people around.


    Out of nowhere, a cup of steaming hot coffee spilled all over Rachel, causing her to shriek in pain.


    "Oh my gosh, I''m so sorry, miss. My hand slipped," said the woman, her voice devoid of remorse.


    "You did that on purpose..." Rachel began, but the woman cut her off. "Hey everyone, look! Isn''t that Rachel, the talk of today''s news?"


    The woman''s words caught the attention of several parents, and they all turned to look at Rachel, their eyes filled with disdain.


    "I can''t stand these homewreckers who pretend to be innocent while ying the victim!"


    "She deliberately hit someone with her car, then med it on the wife, even bringing in fake witnesses. Disgusting!"


    "This woman is the ultimate maniptor. Mr. and Mrs. O''Brien had split up, but she had to stir the pot with herments."


    "Ugh, she''s shameless, iming to have a terminal illness to seek sympathy and lure Ste''s husband. Who knows if she''s even sick!"


    Thanks to Ste''s exposé, Rachel''s private life became public spectacle. Netizens transformed her recordings and photos into endless memes, while videos featuring her audio painted her as the ultimate victim. Even actresses famous for ying viinous roles were taking notes on her performance.


    People hurled insults at Rachel, surrounding her with their icy res. She felt a wave of panic rising within her.


    Thud! Someone threw a cup in Rachel''s direction, and it hit her head with a sharp pain, making her see stars.


    The crowd loved the spectacle. Seeing Rachel''s tears, instead of pity, they felt vindicated, some even pping and shouting, "Good hit!"


    Affairs are rarely one-sided, and as they cursed Rachel, they didn''t let the man involved off. But Rachel''s audacity in unting her affair was unusually irritating.


    Themotion was loud enough to attract the attention of the kindergarten''s security. They rushed over to break it up. Though the security team was professional in their conduct, Rachel could still see the disdain in their eyes.


    Finally, Rachel escaped the chaos, her dignity in shreds. Besides her staged


    performances, that was the most humiliated she''d ever felt.


    Clenching her fists, she pushed down the resentment surging up inside her. It was all Ste''s fault that she was in this mess.


    She cursed inwardly, ''Ste, I swear you''ll pay for this!''


    ...


    Ste had initially nned to skip the parent-child event at Marvin''s school. But Marvin''s mom was gone, and Neville was too busy to attend.


    With pleading eyes, Marvin looked up at her. "Ste, we don''t have to join the games. Can you juste with me to kindergarten and ask the teacher for a day off?"