Chapter 169 Betrayal
The reporters leaned in, cameras raised, eager to capture every second of the unfolding drama.
“Do it!” someone shouted.
“Didn’t you say you’d prove your innocence? Then go ahead–lift her skirt!”
“What’s wrong? Afraid? Were you just bluffing all along?”
Their voices were relentless, pressing her to act.
Renee knew exactly what they wanted. A slow, amused smirk tugged at her lips.
Then, without warning, she raised her hand slightly, a deliberate feint. Gasps echoed through the crowd.
The woman in Renee’s grip turned ghostly pale. Her body trembled, her lips barely forming a word.
“I-”
Before she could say anything, Renee acted. With a sharp tug, she ripped Oliver’s shirt down the middle, tearing it apart in one swift motion.
“It takes two to cheat,” Renee said, her voice cool and unwavering. “No man gets seduced against his will.”
The tension in the air shifted. Cassie, who had been consumed by anger, suddenly hesitated. Her gaze flickered toward her supposed closest friend -Jodi Loftus. Jodi had gone pale. Renee’s move had clearly shaken her. But why, if she was really innocent? A deep suspicion crept into Cassie’s mind.
“Jodi,” she said slowly. “How did you know what I was going to do when I
Chapter 160 Betrayal
came up here?” Her voice was quiet but firm. “I never mentioned anything about catching Oliver and his mistress in bed.”
Jodi flinched. “I–I saw you running upstairs with them. I got worried and followed. Cassie, you have to believe me!”
But her stammered explanation only deepened Cassie’s doubt. They had been friends for so long. They knew each other too well. And now, Cassie just knew something was terribly off.
Memories of Jodi and Oliver’s interactions played in Cassie’s mind like puzzle pieces snapping into place.
One was her best friend. The other, her husband. Cassie’s family had paved Oliver’s path to success, pouring their resources into his future. And this was how he repaid her?
“Jodi-” Cassie’s voice cracked as she took a slow step forward.
Jodi’s eyes darted around, searching for an escape.
Cassie clutched at her clothes, her breath shaky.
“Tell me the truth. Is it you?” Her voice trembled as she turned to Jodi. “Is it you, Jodi?”
Jodi frantically shook her head, but the emotions were too much to hide.
Guilt, shame, panic, and fear overwhelmed her, pushing her to the verge of breaking down.
But she wasn’t the only one crumbling.
“Oliver! You bastard! I want a divorce! Do you hear me? A divorce!” shouted Cassie, her voice reverberating before everyone. She forcefully reached under Jodi’s skirt and then, eyes wide in shock, glared at Jodi, who instinctively hid behind Oliver.
“How could you do this to me? Oliver! And you-” She pointed at Jodi and then collapsed to the floor. “You are my best friend!”
With the truth out in the open, Jodi stopped denying the accusations. Tears filled her eyes, but her response was cold and unyielding. “Cassie, you deserve this. Oliver doesn’t love you. He hasn’t for a long time. If it weren’t
you, he would have been with me. You’re the real other woman here!”
for
Renee, feeling sympathy, thought to herself, “Poor woman-
Finding nothing more she could do, she walked toward the door. As she looked up, she saw a man outside, about to leave. He wore a baseball cap
and a face mask.
He appeared very suspicious.
Renee narrowed her eyes, suspecting that this man had been observing her
instead of the turmoil around them.
Could he be one of Shaun’s people? Had Shaun found her out?
She quickly trailed the man to the elevator, which descended to the fifth
floor.
Things looked bleak. Shaun had surely spotted her.
This realization also indirectly confirmed that Shaun was plotting something, hence his cautious approach.
After a moment’s thought, Renee called Ryland.
On this cruise, Ryland was the only one she could trust and now she needed his help.
