?Chapter 15:


    Kiara’s life had always slipped by under the radar. Once word got out she was Paige’s mother, the scandal detonated like a bomb. Within moments, it dominated every trending chart online.


    Social media ignited with ruthlessmentary.


    “Oh my God! Did I seriously just watch that? Paige’s mom is aplete train wreck!”


    “Paige always gave off this elegant, wless vibe. Now her mom’s out here acting like trash?”


    “As they say, like mother, like daughter. Was Paige’s whole persona a sham? Have we been fooled all along?”


    “Is no one gonna talk about Paige’s dad? Since he’s impotent, then he couldn’t me his wife for making out with other men. I mean, she’s still in her forties—it’s not like her sex drive just vanished. His impotence must have left her feeling deeply frustrated.”


    “Come on, even if she wanted to cheat, at least have some decency and do it behind closed doors. Groping with a dozen men in public is just gross.”


    Darin’s hands shook as he scrolled through thement section, his blood pressure spiking with each new post. The inte wasn’t just mocking Kiara—they were crucifying him, branding him a weak, impotent joke of a man. He felt utterly exposed, stripped of pride. How the hell was he supposed to show his face in public now?


    Darin’s fury snapped into something colder, sharper. Kiara had dragged his name through the mud—she was going to pay for it. Paige flinched under his thunderous look.


    “Dad, please, there’s got to be a mistake. Mom wouldn’t—she wouldn’t do something like that.”


    “Get out of my way!” With a violent shove, Darin knocked her aside and stormed off toward the main hall.


    Paige staggered, her heel slipping as she nearly lost her footing. A sharp ache spread through her chest. Darin had always doted on her, treated her like a princess—the family’s shining jewel. She never thought he’d shove her aside like she was nothing.


    Stay tuned for more gαlnσν??s.c○m


    But she didn’t have the luxury of falling apart. Swallowing her hurt, she clenched her jaw and raced after him.


    At the hall’s doorway, her courage wavered. She froze, heart hammering in her chest. The noise, the crowd, the scandal—it all hit her at once. Panic surged, and she ducked into a shadowed corner, too ashamed to step into the chaos.


    Meanwhile, inside a private room, under the effect of the aphrodisiac, Kiara had stripped down to nothing but hercy underthings, a few sleazy men’s hands on her.


    Suddenly, the door exploded open. Darin stormed in, fury etched into every line of his face. The crowd outside shoved forward, hungry for spectacle.


    The men turned, clearly irritated by the sudden intrusion. One of them growled, “Who the fuck are you?”


    Without answering, Darin stormed forward and delivered a brutal p across Kiara’s face.


    Kiara yelped, the sharp crack echoing through the room. “Ah!”


    The blow jolted her out of her stupor. Dazed, Kiara blinked up at him.


    “H-Honey? What’s happening?”


    Darin’s expression was twisted with rage. “You dare ask me that?” Kiara’s hands trembled violently as she realized just how exposed she was. A strangled cry escaped her lips as she bolted upright, yanked the nearest curtain from the wall, and wrapped it desperately around her half-naked body.


    “H-Honey, I…”


    She tried to exin, to insist she didn’t understand what was going on, but before the words could form, vivid shes of the night came crashing down on her. Every sordid detail. Every drunkenugh. Every filthy touch. Her lips parted in horror. The blood drained from her face. She was finished. There was noing back from this.


    By now, the gawking crowd had pieced it together. A hush fell over the room, broken by murmurs snaking through the guests.


    “Wait… That’s Paige’s dad, right? He’s not bad-looking, honestly. You’d never guess he’s troubled by impotence.”


    “Don’t be fooled. You can’t judge a guy’s dick by his face. Plenty of pretty ones are just for show.”


    The mocking voices around Darin only fueled his shame until it boiled over. His expression twisted as he lunged at Kiara again, no longer theposed, silver-tongued doctor everyone respected. That version of him had vanished, reced by a manpletely consumed by wrath. Kiara’s shrill cries echoed off the walls as she cowered, hands raised in a useless attempt to shield herself.


    “Please, honey…”


    “Listen to me! It’s not what it looks like—just let me exin! Don’t do this here. Let’s talk at home!”


    But Darin couldn’t hear her. Reason had long since drowned beneath the tidal wave of rage. All he could see was betrayal, and all he wanted was retribution.


    Around them, the spectators stood frozen, not out of concern but perverse fascination—morbidly entertained by the chaos unfolding before them. It wasn’t until Paige’s call lit up Darin’s screen that a sliver of rationality pierced through his fury. Her calm, steady voice cut through the noise in his head, forcing him to pause. Grinding his teeth, he yanked Kiara toward the door and dragged her out.


    Later, slumped in the passenger seat of their car, Kiara turned her battered face toward Darin, eyes brimming with tears. “Honey, please… I’m telling the truth. I think Elliana drugged me. She must have spiked my coffee.”


    Clenching his jaw, Darin’s voice snapped out like a whip. “Stop ming Elliana for everything! Did she whisper in your ear to humiliate me in public? To say I’m impotent?”


    Kiara’s breath hitched. Her lips parted, but no words came. She’d vented about Darin a hundred times in private, but never to his face. Not even once. She always wore the mask of the perfect wife, doting and sweet. But now, under the haze of whatever she’d taken, the truth had spilled out. “That wasn’t me,” she said shakily. “It was the drugs. I didn’t mean a word of it.”


    “Shut your damn mouth!” Darin roared, his hand cracking across her cheek again. “You think that dull Elliana’s got the brains to pull this off? You and your scheming daughter have mocked and bullied her since day one, and she never once fought back! I know exactly what you really are.”


    Kiara reeled from the p, her ears ringing, but she bit back any response. One wrong word, and Darin might drag out the past she’d spent years trying to bury.


    Years ago, Kiara had ditched Darin for a wealthier man who promised her the world as long as she became his mistress. At that time, Darin had been broke, struggling to build a name for himself. She’d thought she was trading up. But life had looped back cruelly. Even after all these years, her dumping him had still been a sore spot for him. Later, after Elliana’s mother died, Darin had married Kiara, not out of love, but because Paige was brilliant, polished, and a credit to his name.


    Since then, Kiara had bent over backward to keep her spot secure. She gave Darin a son and acted the part of the perfect wife—all just to keep her ce in the family. But now, all of it was unraveling.


    Darin’s voice cut through the air like a de, low and brimming with disgust. “You’vepletely humiliated me, and Paige’s reputation is going to take a hit too. From now on, stay quiet. Don’t embarrass us any further.”


    Kiara’s heart mmed against her ribs as she snatched up her phone and frantically checked the news. Her fingers trembled with every swipe. She had nned for Paige to marry into the city’s most elite family. Reputation was everything. If this scandal spiraled any further, it would ruin everything.


    But the moment she refreshed the feed, her breath caught. A new headline had taken over, drowning out her own disaster with something even more explosive…


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