Onscreen, a man and a woman were in a compromising position, their voices echoing through the entire hall.
The hall fell instantly silent.
All eyes were glued to the screen.
Soon, the video showed Serena Kane sitting on Cole Kane’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Cole, do you like ?"
"Can you break up with that awful Nina Thorne? I hate her!"
Cole Kane’s handso face was beet red; he was clearly not in his right mind.
He looked drunk, or perhaps drugged.
Serena Kane lay against Cole Kane’s chest, her hand caressing it as she spoke with obsessive affection, "Cole, I really, really like you. I’m so scared Nina Thorne will steal you away from ! Brother, break up with her!"
"Whatever Serena wants. Serena, stop making a fuss."
"You’ll ruin your makeup if you cry, and you won’t be pretty anymore."
"..."
"WOW..."
The crowd erupted once more.
And this ti, the gossip was even more explosive.
That’s how sensational the video was.
"No, not this one..."
Serena Kane’s face turned deathly pale.
She frantically mashed the remote to turn it off, but for so reason, it seed completely dead in her hand, getting no response.
"Quick, turn off the projector!"
Felicia Yates, finally snapping back to her senses, hastily gave the order.
The scene descended into chaos.
The Lawson family’s servants scrambled around in a panic, but they couldn’t find the main remote and were unable to shut down the projection screen.
anwhile, the video kept replaying, looping Serena Kane’s wanton and audacious words.
The guests began to murmur among themselves, pointing and whispering at Serena Kane.
The sounds of condemnation and scorn nearly drowned Serena Kane.
Cole Kane’s face alternated between flushed red and pale white. Beyond his shock, he was utterly humiliated.
"Turn it off!"
Cole Kane gritted his teeth and snarled at Serena Kane, his eyes bloodshot.
Panicked and at a loss, Serena Kane stamred, "I don’t know why it won’t turn off, it’s not working..."
Cole Kane snatched the remote and furiously pressed the off button.
The result was the sa as when Serena Kane tried.
No matter how hard he pressed, the screen was unresponsive, continuing to loop the video.
Although the two in the video hadn’t done *that*,
the Serena Kane in the footage was undeniably seducing Cole Kane and trying to sabotage his relationship with Nina Thorne. Where was her usual pure and innocent act?
Nina Thorne watched this scene coldly, feeling an imnse sense of satisfaction.
Three years.
Three years of being wronged.
Today, this venomous woman, Serena Kane, had personally exposed her own intentions in front of everyone.
It was just a pity the video wasn’t explosive enough; there was no concrete evidence proving the nature of their relationship.
But it was enough.
Watching the frantic Serena Kane and the icy-faced Cole Kane, Nina Thorne felt a bit of her anger dissipate.
But their public humiliation today was not even a fraction of what she had suffered.
’Thankfully, I have Justin Kane.’
Justin Kane’s tall, imposing figure stood beside her, his dark eyes watching her quietly.
In the chaotic hall, his gaze was like a ray of bright sunlight, enveloping Nina Thorne.
A slight smile played on Justin Kane’s chiseled, handso face. His deep eyes, full of tenderness, were fixed on Nina Thorne without concealnt.
Always.
Always watching.
After what felt like an eternity, the screen went dark.
The plug had been pulled.
The hall instantly fell quiet again, and everyone’s gazes tacitly shifted to Serena Kane’s face.
Serena Kane was so humiliated she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
"Is this what you wanted to show us?"
Nina Thorne shot Serena Kane a cold glance and sneered, "What, were you afraid I’d regret calling off the engagent with Cole Kane, so you deliberately showed this to everyone tonight?"
Suddenly, everyone believed that Nina Thorne was serious about breaking the engagent.
As the Kane family’s adopted daughter, Serena Kane was trying to ruin her brother’s marriage.
Her intimate, provocative behavior had completely disgraced the Kane family!
Absolutely shaless!
At once, many of the guests couldn’t help but sympathize with Nina Thorne.
"No wonder Nina Thorne wanted to break the engagent. She must have known about the adopted daughter’s malicious intentions."
"Hmph, who knows what kind of life Nina Thorne would have had if she’d married into that family?"
"They all said Nina Thorne was a love-struck fool—impulsive, reckless, and unconcerned with her reputation. But the way I see it, she just dares to love and hate freely."
"Exactly. There’s nothing wrong with loving soone."
"Betraying a true heart—that’s a cri worthy of death!"
As the discussion continued, many of the won ended up siding with Nina Thorne.
Of course,
the voices cursing Serena Kane were also incessant.
Serena Kane stood frozen for a long mont, as if struck by lightning.
Suddenly, she glared at Nina Thorne with a venomous look. "It was you! You did this to ruin ! I’ll kill you!"
With that, she charged viciously at Nina Thorne.
Justin Kane’s brow furrowed, and he prepared to intervene.
But Nina Thorne was a step ahead of him, landing a hard slap across Serena Kane’s face.
The force of it was so strong it made her own palm go numb.
The slap was so crisp and loud that it silenced the entire crowd.
All eyes snapped back to the two of them.
Justin Kane watched Nina Thorne with a doting gaze, his handso face filled with satisfaction.
’Good, she’s made progress.’
’At least she knows to protect herself now.’
"You did all of this, didn’t you?"
Serena Kane scread, her eyes red, "It was supposed to be photos of you and Justin Kane, but you secretly switched them for this video."
"You deliberately tried to ruin and Second Brother! Nina Thorne, you’re so malicious!"
Hearing this, Cole Kane felt a sharp pang in his heart and looked at Nina Thorne with a wounded expression.
The events of the evening had caught him completely off guard.
His mind kept going blank, and he didn’t even know what he was thinking anymore.
’Malicious?’
Nina Thorne laughed, amused at how Serena could turn the tables and play the victim. "The remote was in your hand, and you arranged for the projection. How could I have frad you?"
"Besides, everyone saw what you did and said to Cole Kane in that video. As for you, you kept insisting you had evidence that I seduced Justin Kane. So, where is it?"
Serena Kane was practically hysterical with rage but couldn’t utter a single word.
The whispering and pointing around her only grew louder, and those stares felt like knives carving into her skin.
There was disgust, anger, and disappointnt...
Even Mrs. Lawson was looking at her with revulsion. For a mont there, the video had shocked her so much she’d nearly forgotten to breathe.
’How preposterous!’
Serena Kane’s face twisted as she scread, "I don’t know! You forged that video! I didn’t do it..."
"Second Brother, you have to believe , I really didn’t."
She reached for Cole Kane’s hand, but before she could touch him, he ruthlessly flung it away. "Stay away from !"
"Second Brother..."
Serena Kane was filled with fear and hatred, tears streaming down her face. But Cole Kane, who had always doted on her, remained unmoved by her tears.
In the past, if she’d so much as shed a single tear, Cole Kane would have been heartbroken, coaxing her and wiping her tears away.
"Nina Thorne, don’t go too far!"
Felicia Yates erged from the chaos and strode toward Nina Thorne.
Nina Thorne didn’t flinch or move away.
Suddenly, a solid figure stood before her.
She looked up to see Justin Kane’s tall, handso figure shielding her. "Mother, what do you think you’re doing?"
Felicia Yates gritted her teeth, her eyes full of resentnt. "Move. This has nothing to do with you. I need to demand an explanation for why she would be so malicious as to show those videos on an occasion like this!"
"It seems you’ve beco rather confused, Mother."
Justin Kane lazily lifted his eyelids, but his dark eyes radiated a piercing chill. "First, it was Serena Kane herself who played the video. Second, shouldn’t you be reflecting on whether you’ve let a wolf into our house, Mother?"
Felicia Yates trembled.
She never expected Justin Kane’s words to be so sharp, showing her, his own mother, no rcy at all.
Felicia Yates’s heart went cold. Her hands slowly clenched into fists as she demanded, "You’re protecting her like this. Don’t you have ulterior motives?"
"Whether I do or not, is that any of your business, Mother?" Justin Kane’s expression was indifferent, his sharp gaze intimidating.
Felicia Yates choked, unable to say a word.
’I never should have let Serena Kane do as she pleased.’
’And now look. It’s beco such a ss.’
Soone in the crowd suddenly asked, "Weren’t we told that Nina Thorne seduced Mr. Justin Kane? Is that true or not?"
"Mrs. Kane, did Nina Thorne really break her engagent to Cole Kane?"
"..."
These people were all prominent figures in their social circle.
Nina Thorne watched Felicia Yates quietly, curious to see what she would say.
Noticing Nina Thorne’s gaze, Felicia Yates looked over.
Their eyes t.
Felicia Yates’s eyes were filled with such intense hatred it was as if she wanted to devour Nina Thorne whole.
Clenching her fists so tightly her sharp nails nearly dug into her palms, she took a long ti to finally calm down.
Finally, as if resigning to her fate, she closed her eyes for a mont before opening them again. "That’s right. They have indeed broken off the engagent."
Cole Kane felt a deafening roar in his head, as if he’d been struck by lightning. His heart felt like it had been split in two, the pain making him tremble.
"No, I don’t agree to break the engagent!" he objected, his body shaking.
Felicia Yates said sternly, "The annulnt agreent has already been signed. It’s not up to you to make a scene. From now on, whoever Nina Thorne marries has nothing to do with you."
Cole Kane’s face was ashen.
A satisfied smile touched Nina Thorne’s lips, her gaze cool and proud. "Today, I ask all of you here to bear witness for , Nina Thorne. Five years ago, I was young and naive. I fell in love with this man and beca a laughingstock for all of you for five long years."
"But as it turns out, all these years, Cole Kane has only ever felt brotherly affection for , not a single shred of romantic interest.
I, Nina Thorne, am not one to force things. I’ve decided to grant his wish and have signed the annulnt agreent."
"From this day forward, I will have nothing more to do with Cole Kane."
Nina Thorne’s words were firm and resolute, filled with absolute determination.
The crowd applauded and cheered.
Cole Kane felt as if his world was collapsing. He could barely stand. Facing Nina Thorne, he almost begged, "Nina Thorne, are we really breaking up? Do you really... not love anymore?"
Nina Thorne looked him in the eyes and gave a scornful laugh. "We were together for five years, and you always treated like a sister. You were never even willing to touch , were you?"
"Cole Kane, the engagent is off. Don’t stand here in front of pretending to be so deeply in love, alright?"
With that, Nina Thorne picked up a glass of red wine and threw it in Cole Kane’s face.
Cole Kane closed his eyes and clenched his fists, enduring it.
Felicia Yates raged, "Nina Thorne, you’ve gone too far! All these years, your relationship with Cole has been completely innocent. He’s never done anything to wrong you, so what right do you have to treat him like this?"
"Besides, we don’t even know if those videos are real. You’d better not get too arrogant."
Nina Thorne looked over with a brilliant smile. "I only threw so red wine. Is your heart aching already, Auntie?
I didn’t hit him, nor did I make him kneel before . Compared to what he’s done to , this is nothing."
Nina Thorne set down the empty glass and turned to leave.
Her back was ramrod straight as she walked away, a spine that looked as if it could never be bent, her entire being exuding pride.
The pride that belonged solely to the heiress of the Thorne family.
’So good.’
’The engagent is off. I’m finally, completely done with Cole Kane.’
But watching Nina Thorne’s departing figure, an intense pain surged through Cole Kane’s heart, and he started to run after her.
"Nina Thorne!"
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