On Our Wedding Day My Husband Announced His First Love Online-Chapter 79: Hanging Oneself on a Crooked Tree

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Hanging Oneself on a Crooked Tree

As if sensing my confusion, Sebastian Forrest chuckled softly. "It’s a recording I made when I was eavesdropping that day."

"..."

’What a schemer,’ I thought with a sigh. I had been so embarrassed back then, my face flushed and my heart racing, yet he still had the presence of mind to pull out his phone and record it.

Still, having this recording would make things much easier!

Once I get the divorce certificate, I’ll throw this in Theodore Grant’s face. With this and the baby in Clara Langley’s belly, the evidence will be ironclad. There’ll be no way for her to argue her way out of it!

...

Because of the incident where Clara Langley riled up her fans to swarm the company, the moment I got to the office the next day, I was called into the manager’s office.

I originally thought I was going to be warned, or even reprimanded, but to my surprise, the manager just handed me a document and told me to take a good look at it.

"What’s this?" I asked, confused as I took it.

"Voiceless. It’s an invitation from Channel H for a voice acting variety show."

"A variety show?" I was completely shocked. "Are they asking me to be on it?"

The manager nodded and smiled. "They say every cloud has a silver lining, and it’s really true. Do you know how many followers your Weibo account gained yesterday from being a trending topic?"

I shook my head.

That Weibo account was a work account I had to create when I first joined the company. Other than retweeting the company’s posts, I barely used it.

The manager, his face full of excitement, held up three fingers to me.

"Three thousand?"

The manager shook his head, his eyes shining. "Three million!"

"!" I was floored.

"Shocking, isn’t it? HAHAHA..." The manager burst out laughing. "I was shocked too when I first saw your follower count."

I couldn’t help but frown. "How... How did this happen?"

"It was that trending video from yesterday," the manager explained patiently. "At first, everyone’s focus was on Clara Langley, and the comment section was a war between her fans and haters. Then, somehow, someone uploaded a photo of you, and people started lining up to fawn over you..."

"What photo?"

"It looks like a photo from your school days." As he spoke, the manager handed me his phone.

It was a candid shot of my profile, taken when I was a sophomore, waiting backstage during the opening ceremony of the school’s sports meet.

At the time, Theodore Grant was a senior about to graduate, and he was on stage giving a speech as the student representative.

And I was hiding backstage, secretly watching Theodore Grant, my face full of joy and adoration.

It had only been four short years, but seeing that photo again made me feel like I was looking at a different lifetime.

"I never would’ve guessed, Joyce. So you’re the Mrs. Grant that’s been all over the internet..." the manager said, sighing with emotion. "Which means Clara Langley was the mistress who took your place..."

Hearing this, my heart tightened, and I quickly cut him off. "Manager, how... how do you all know about this?"

"That video was trending on Weibo for a whole day and night yesterday. It would have been hard for us not to know."

"..."

I’d almost forgotten about that!

I was so focused on how the farce of Clara Langley inciting her fans had been suppressed, I didn’t realize it would also lead to my own identity being exposed.

Even though I hadn’t deliberately hidden the fact that I was married to Theodore Grant, having my colleagues know would inevitably lead to them pointing fingers and whispering behind my back. It was bound to be a hassle.

With a sense of resignation, I looked down and continued flipping through the document. But when I saw the list of proposed guests, I couldn’t help but frown. "Why is Clara Langley’s name on here too?"

"Of course. The show’s producers definitely want the publicity..."

I nodded with a look of understanding. So, I was the gimmick.

"Manager, can I turn this show down?"

"It’s a rare opportunity. Aren’t you going to think it over?"

’How often does an ordinary person get a chance to be on a variety show?’

’Especially someone like me, who’s already generating buzz. Once the show airs, it’s guaranteed to attract a huge amount of traffic. I could even transition into the entertainment industry!’

’After all, voice actors like them are always considered behind-the-scenes performers. When an opportunity like this comes along, who wouldn’t be desperate to get in on it?’

"I’ve already made up my mind. I’m not doing it."

The manager sighed regretfully. Though he hadn’t known me long, he knew I was stubborn. Once my mind was made up, wild horses couldn’t change it.

When I came out of the manager’s office, I noticed my colleagues were looking at me strangely. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

’It made sense. Not long ago, I’d often heard them gossiping in the office about the ’love-hate triangle’ between me, Theodore Grant, and Clara Langley. Now that one of the main characters of the scandal was right here, how could they not be interested? How could they pretend nothing had happened?’

I walked back to my desk with a neutral expression. Just as I was about to organize the materials for my next voice-over session, my phone suddenly vibrated. I glanced at it instinctively and saw a message from Julian Hayes.

Confused, I turned to look at Julian Hayes’s desk. I saw him point to his phone, then toward the break room.

I quickly opened the message and found that Julian Hayes had only sent four words: "To the break room."

"?"

I sent back a question mark, but I saw that Julian Hayes had already picked up his mug and was heading to the break room.

I had no choice but to grab my own cup and follow.

"Hayes, what’s up?"

"You... got a divorce?" Julian Hayes’s gaze was fixed directly on me.

I hadn’t expected him to call me out here just to gossip. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Julian Hayes seemed to realize his question was too nosy. He rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger, then pursed his lips and looked at me. "I don’t mean to offend you or pry into your private life. I just wanted to confirm..."

I didn’t really find it offensive. Married or divorced, it’s just a status. Neither one is better than the other.

"Yeah, I’ve already filed the divorce papers..."

Julian Hayes’s eyes instantly lit up, and he blurted out, "That’s great..."

"?"

"No, that’s not... " Julian Hayes’s face turned bright red, and he quickly waved his hands, trying to explain. "I didn’t mean it like that..."

I smiled at him. "I get it. Starting a new Chapter in life is a good thing."

’It’s like a flower that’s started to rot from the roots. Trying to maintain the status quo would only delay the inevitable wilting.’

’Besides, there are plenty of other fish in the sea.’

Julian Hayes nodded. "Yeah, you’re right, Joyce."

We smiled at each other. Seeing someone else enter the break room, I gave Julian Hayes a slight nod and turned to go back to my desk.

Perhaps because my identity had been ’exposed,’ the colleagues who used to chat and laugh with me had all tacitly gone silent. No one even asked me to join them for lunch.

I didn’t really mind. I was just about to go downstairs and grab a bite to eat when the phone in my pocket suddenly started vibrating.

"Hello, Senior Forrest?"

I was a little surprised. I hadn’t expected Sebastian Forrest to call me at this time.

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"I’m just passing by your company. Come on down, I’ll take you out for something good."

I couldn’t help but smile when I heard that. "Okay, I’ll be right down."

But just as I stood up to head downstairs, Julian Hayes suddenly walked over. "I know a really great Western restaurant. Want to go together?"

I looked at him apologetically. "Sorry, Hayes, a friend just invited me to lunch..."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Julian Hayes’s face, but he quickly smiled and waved it off. "Nothing to be sorry about. We’ll go another time. Come on, let’s go down together."

After taking the elevator down, Julian Hayes and I walked out of the building side-by-side.

For some reason, Julian Hayes suddenly started talking about the details of the morning’s voice-over session, so I had no choice but to listen patiently until he was finished.

"Chelsea..."

Hearing the familiar voice, I instinctively glanced to the side. I saw Sebastian Forrest strolling toward us with his hands in his pockets, long legs carrying him forward. There was a hint of casual confidence in his eyes, and the contours of his handsome face were sharp and distinct.

The smile on Julian Hayes’s face vanished the moment he saw Sebastian Forrest.

Their gazes collided, locking together in a tense, unreadable stare...