Chapter 121 The Video Went Viral
Caroline: [Hon, are you home yet?]
If there were ever a competition for Best Husband of the Year, Alistair would win it without even breaking a sweat.
Unlike the kind of men who go out of their way to hide where they’d been, Alistair made it a point to report his every move to Caroline, down to the minute.
When he dropped Eloise off at school in the morning, he’d shoot Caroline a message the second he got home: [Babe, I’m back.]
If he headed out to practice driving, he’d text: [Babe, I’m going to the track.]
And when it was time to pick Eloise up again in the afternoon, of course, another update.
He never saw it as a burden. To him, this was what it meant to be a family.
Caroline, swamped with back–to–back meetings and an endless pile of contracts, would still take a moment to glance at his messages. They were never anything important—just little status updates. And yet, without fail, they made her smile, no matter how exhausted she was.
20:20
The Video Went Viral
She signed the last page and Instinctively reached for her phone to check what she always called Alistair’s play–by–play updates But weirdly, nothing. Ten full minutes, and still no text.
Which was weird. He never forgot.
Maybe he’d taken Eloise somewhere. Alistair sometimes stopped by the bookstore after school to pick up comics for her.
xx
Curious, Caroline tapped out a quick text. A reply came almost
instantly.
Alistair: [Still out, babe. Got delayed watching some drama unfold on the street.]
A second later, a video popped up. She tapped to play it, and within seconds was watching chaos erupt onscreen–people shouting, limbs flailing, a real mess.
Her brows lifted. “Huh.”
Caroline and Alistair were clearly cut from the same cloth. She watched the whole thing, a glint of mischief sparking in her eyes. Then she rang for Julian.
He came in promptly, posture upright, face the picture of innocence. “Ms. Ashbourne, how can I help?”
20:20
Caroline forwarded him the video and said, “I want this pushed out on every major platform. I want the whole world to see it.”
Julian clicked the video open and winced hard.
Caroline narrowed her eyes. “Problem?”
“None at all!” he said, straight–faced–though the gleam in his eye and his barely concealed excitement betrayed him. “What title would you like me to use?”
Caroline took a sip of her coffee, cleared her throat, and then waved a hand. “Surprise me.”
That was all the permission Julian needed. He practically sprinted
out of the room.
Within the hour, a clip titled Two Men Brawl in the Street Over a Woman was burning up the internet.
Back at home, Alistair had just sent Caroline an update when a push notification popped up on his screen. He tapped it.
The very same video he’d filmed on his burner account–barely a blip in the algorithm was now everywhere.
He knew exactly who was behind it.
20:20
20 min loft
Right on cue, a message from Caroline arrived.
Caroline: [Honey, this is my gift to you. Like it?]
Alistair couldn’t help but chuckle.
Love it.
At that moment, a new email dropped into his inbox.
He opened it.
More good news–his crime drama script had passed the first
round of competition.
Whether it would make it all the way or get eliminated in the next round was anyone’s guess.
Still, he’d written it. The rest was up to fate.
Caroline arrived home around six. That evening, the three of them–Caroline, Alistair, and Eloise–sat around the dinner table enjoying a warm meal, while online, the street fight drama was exploding across every platform. Now with multi–angle footage.
One clip showed Rebecca trying to escape, only to be blocked by a nosy middle–aged woman. Another showed her arguing with the
20:20
Chapter 121 The Video Went Viral
20 min lof
police, insisting she had nothing to do with the fight. Comment sections lit up.
Some praised her beauty, saying it was no wonder two men were fighting over her.
Others called her trash–accusing her of playing both sides,
cheating, and then washing her hands of it when things got
messy.
Some insisted women like her thrived off male rivalry, using it as proof of their worth.
Opinions varied, but the majority were piling on Rebecca.
Nathaniel and Cordelia weren’t big on social media, but even they couldn’t avoid it. Cordelia received a discreet message from a
friend.
Friend: [What’s going on with your daughter?]
Back at Whitfield Manor, tension hung heavy in the air. Eva
finished her chores as quietly as possible and then tried to sneak out unnoticed.
Rebecca had the same idea. But under the sharp gaze of both her parents, she wasn’t going anywhere.
20:20
Chapter 121 The Video Went Viral
20 min left
Daniel, ever the oblivious one, rubbed his belly and grumbled, “When’s dinner? I’m starving.”
Cordelia snapped, “Eva, take Danny downstairs.”
Eva, who had one foot out the door, froze. Reluctantly, she led Daniel away.
As soon as they were gone, Nathaniel’s voice dropped low and firm. “You told me you were done with Richard. That there was nothing between you two. So what the hell happened today?”
Cordelia chimed in, eyes full of judgment, “Exactly. Rebecca,
what’s going on? And why did it have to be so… public? You’ve—”
She stopped just short. The rest of the sentence–humiliated the
entire family–hung in the silence, unsaid but loud enough.
Online, Rebecca was already being labeled a cheater. A disloyal woman. A disgrace. And that disgrace was bleeding into the Whitfield name.
As for Rebecca? She felt more exhausted than anything.
She’d spent two hours at the police station, only to come home and get interrogated like a criminal.
She didn’t even know what she’d done wrong life inst felt
Chapter 121 The video went VI
Daniel, ever the oblivious one, rubbed his belly and grumbled, “When’s dinner? I’m starving.”
Cordelia snapped, “Eva, take Danny downstairs.”
Eva, who had one foot out the door, froze. Reluctantly, she led Daniel away.
As soon as they were gone, Nathaniel’s voice dropped low and firm. “You told me you were done with Richard. That there was nothing between you two. So what the hell happened today?”
Cordelia chimed in, eyes full of judgment, “Exactly. Rebecca, what’s going on? And why did it have to be so… public? You’ve—”
She stopped just short. The rest of the sentence–humiliated the entire family–hung in the silence, unsaid but loud enough.
Online, Rebecca was already being labeled a cheater. A disloyal woman. A disgrace. And that disgrace was bleeding into the Whitfield name.
As for Rebecca? She felt more exhausted than anything.
She’d spent two hours at the police station, only to come home and get interrogated like a criminal.
She didn’t even know what she’d done wrong. Life just felt…
Chapter 121 The Video Went Viral
impossible lately.
So she told them what had happened.
Well… most of it.
She left out the details about what she and Caleb had talked
about.
She said Caleb had approached her because of Alistair’s strained relationship with his family. As for Richard, she claimed he was just harassing her again, totally one–sided.
“Rebecca Whitfield! I want a real explanation for what happened
today!”
Anne stormed in like a hurricane, paying no mind to the fact that Rebecca’s entire family was in the room. “I introduced my boyfriend to you because I trusted you,” she snapped. “I thought you were my best friend–and you go behind my back and seduce him? You’re unbelievable!”
Rebecca nearly passed out from rage.
As chaos erupted at Whitfield Manor, Alistair was leisurely
carrying Eloise on his shoulders while following Caroline into their new home.
20:20
Chapter 121 The Video Went Viral
→
20 min lett
The place was just over 3,000 square feet. In addition to the
master bedroom and Eloise’s room, Caroline had ordered two
custom–built offices.
One of them was slightly larger, meant to be shared between her
and Alistair.
The other was Eloise’s personal study–lined with bookshelves full of age–appropriate reading material, from kindergarten through elementary level.
Outside, a large terrace had been converted into a sunroom, filled with greenery and neatly arranged into a charming little garden.
There was a sofa, a table, a rocking chair… and even a swing, just for Eloise.
Write your comment
Gifts
?
