Two o’clock in the morning, all was silent. Yet the gossip section of the local forum was buzzing. Serena Sinclair clicked on the link Una Hutton sent her and, after glancing at the title, immediately knew what it was about. [Hawthorne Corporation’s Female Employee Abandoned Her Husband and Child, Multiple Affairs, Morally Depraved Beyond Words!] The gossip was posted by the ID named "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond," with a lotus flower as the avatar, a picture of tranquility. Judging by the ID level, this was an old player of the forum. The gossip said that an S-surnamed female employee at Hawthorne Corporation gave up being a wealthy noblewoman, abandoned her husband and child, and was suspected of extramarital affairs with a new lover. It added that S, relying on her looks, seduced many people, having affairs with multiple partners simultaneously. A lengthy diatribe followed. The first half described S’s undesirable family background, mentioning her gambling biological father and her mother who’s in jail for murder. The highlight was her savior-like ex-husband, saying how S tried every trick during university to climb up to a wealthy family she could never have reached in her life, yet she wasn’t grateful, using her ex-husband as a stepping stone, delusionally repeating her tactics. The latter half detailed the men S was involved with during her marriage and after her divorce, ranging from corporate executives to personal doctors, even to a family driver. And the most prominent among them was the Crown Prince. At the end, Moonlight over the Lotus Pond wrote in bold: "Any resemblance is pure coincidence, please do not take personally!" Hawthorne Corporation. Each term was a buzzword that could become a sensational gossip in the forum. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelFirｅ.net And this piece of gossip encapsulated all of the buzzwords. Within half an hour of posting, it became the hottest topic in the forum. When Serena clicked on the post, the views just passed a thousand, and the comments were under a hundred. But by the time she finished reading the post, which took just three to five minutes, the views exceeded ten thousand. The comment thread had passed a thousand. "Whoa!!! Staying up late does have its benefits, what a juicy scandal!" "Am I the only one curious about what this woman looks like? The poster should at least share a photo!" "Yeah, with such a rotten family background, she could climb into a wealthy family and have multiple affairs, she must be stunningly beautiful, right?" "It’s made up, right? The woman by the Crown Prince’s side all these years, in terms of family and looks, could rival Miss Sheffield. A twice-married woman, not even worthy to carry the Crown Prince’s shoes, what a joke?" "This lady really isn’t picky! From the Crown Prince down to the family driver, maybe she’s got some kind of addiction?" Serena hadn’t finished reading the first page of comments when her phone briefly froze, showing the page as nonexistent. Going to the forum homepage, the heated post marked with three flame icons was gone. Serena raised her eyes to Wyatt Hawthorne returning from the balcony, "Did you have someone delete it?" Wyatt feigned innocence, "What are you talking about?" Serena looked amused, "Your acting is a bit off!" Wyatt threw his phone aside, sat back on the bed, gathered Serena into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her, "Then I’ll practice more, next time I guarantee you won’t notice." Serena chuckled, "Who called you?" Una Hutton is a night owl and Serena’s best friend, reporting this kind of fabricated post to her first was only natural. But who called Wyatt? Mental note taken for Ian Young, Wyatt said aloud: "Ryan Rhodes." Serena felt flustered, "Special Assistant Rhodes, knows?" Wyatt asked knowingly, wanting Serena to say it. Glaring at him was useless. Faced with the increasingly pronounced amusement in his eyes. Serena simply turned away to avoid looking at him. But the muffled laughter sounded beside her ear, Wyatt lowered his head and nipped Serena’s lip, "Anyone can tell, alright?" Thoughts turned to that day’s misunderstanding. Which naturally led to recollections of the romantic scene amid the dusk that makes her cheeks heat up and heart flutter even now. Serena dared not meet Wyatt’s gaze. But soon she was overwhelmed by his fervent embrace. "Wyatt, don’t mess around, I still have things to do..." "I’ll help you do them!" Fragments of sound spilled out from the half-open balcony door. Dark skies, sunrise revealing a faint golden edge. In the master bedroom of The Lockwood Villa, Adrian Lockwood was awoken by a phone call, learning from Zoe Lockwood about the forum commotion. "Brother, several of my friends are asking if that S is Serena Sinclair." On the other end, Zoe sounded furious, "I heard from Chloe Lynch that yesterday at Elder Rivera’s birthday banquet, Serena attended with Young Master Hawthorne? Brother, is that true?" "Brother, control her!!!" Thinking of the person she only dared dream of in her sleep, seeing Serena hold his arm before her, appearing at such a bustling elite banquet. Zoe wished she could find Serena right then and scratch her face. Adrian hung up the phone, opened the screenshots Zoe sent him. Moonlight over the Lotus Pond’s allegations. Men’s obnoxious boasting, women’s speculations in the comments. And those enunciated words "S climbed up to the Crown Prince." Every word danced upon Adrian’s violently angry nerves. His mind echoed with scenes of Serena with Wyatt at yesterday’s banquet. Adrian’s face was grim. "Honey, what’s wrong?" Chloe Lynch snuggled over. Adrian silenced his phone, lifted the covers and stepped out, heading directly to the study. "Check the real identity of that Moonlight over the Lotus Pond, be sure to obtain information about the original source." "Also, contact those entertainment marketing accounts on Weibo, let them... hurry up." Ending the call, Adrian looked towards the rising sunrise and softly exhaled. The thoughts Wyatt harbored for Serena. As a man, Adrian understood completely. During their time at Aethelgard University, he had the advantage and Wyatt could do nothing. No matter if the woman Wyatt embraced that night of "Nightfall" was Serena or not, the outcome was decided right then and there. For Wyatt, Serena was a secret best left unseen. Serena’s identity, in the past, present, or future, could not intersect with Wyatt or The Hawthorne Family. Adrian only wanted to know one thing. The kiss mark he saw on Serena’s neck that night, was it left by Wyatt? And... what stage have Serena and Wyatt reached now? They said it was squared off that night. But only at this moment did Adrian realize, it wasn’t leveled. As long as the wild man might be Wyatt, it’s like a raging fire in his heart that can’t be extinguished. Coincidentally, leveraging the current matter, let Serena recognize reality. Becoming Mrs. Lockwood is her life’s pinnacle. In the past she couldn’t be connected with Wyatt. Now divorced she absolutely cannot. He forwarded all the screenshots sent by Zoe to Serena. Adrian sent a text message over.