?Chapter 1454:


    Without haste, he set the microphone down on a nearby table and stepped off the stage, his expression steady.


    Enough had already been said. He had no responsibility to satisfy the curiosity of those eager for more details.


    Nearby, Charis felt her chest tighten when she heard his willingness to marry Ste. Unable to ept it, she blocked his path as he came down from the stage.


    “Mr. Briggs, you were not being serious about what you said just now, were you?”


    William slowly lifted an eyebrow. “Which part exactly?”


    “I was talking about when you said you could forgive Ste and try again with her.”


    She wanted him to admit that he was fooling himself, because there was no way he could truly forgive Ste after everything that had happened.


    Instead, he moved a step closer, and his voice stayed t as he said, “I never make jokes like that, so tell me why this matters to you at all.”


    From above, he fixed his gaze on Charis, and his expression carried nothing but wariness and open hostility.


    A sharp ache settled in her chest, yet she refused to retreat, so she steadied herself, opened the trending posts on her phone, and shoved the screen toward him.


    “Look at this. She slept around until shended in a gynecology clinic. She is filthy, and a woman like her is not worthy of you.”


    After spotting the posts glowing on Charis’s phone, William’s face hardened at once.


    Only then did he understand that the news had already flooded the inte beyond control.


    “Mr. Briggs, Ste is not the kind of person who would ever…”


    Explore more on g ? lnσ ν?? ?s


    Without waiting for her to finish, William shut her down in a t tone. “What gives you the right to question a decision I have already made?”


    The air seemed to leave her lungs, and the hand she had lifted stalled awkwardly between them.


    “Even after knowing she has that sort of reputation, you still n to stay with her?” Charis asked, clearly puzzled and unable to see what set Ste apart from anyone else.


    Was it because of an impressive family background, or perhaps remarkable talent?


    None of that applied to her at all. She was nothing more than an ordinary woman in every sense.


    Lowering his gaze, William noticed the champagne stains clinging to Charis’s dress, and he scoffed softly before saying, “No matter who she is, she would never humiliate herself at a public event like this.”


    After that remark, he walked away without sparing her a single nce.


    Under the harsh lights, the pale fabric of Charis’s dress showed the dried champagne stains all too clearly.


    Muttering a curse to herself, she turned and left the venue. What she endured today felt more humiliating than anything she had ever experienced before.


    Every bit of it traced back to Ste.


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