Forsaking the Years of Longing novel Chapter 132

Chapter 13 "If you marry me, there are many benefits-loyalty and companionship as partners, funds and projects as collaborators. I can provide it all."

Seeing how serious he was, I stood up as well, smiling, even feeling a bit mischievous.

"And love?"

"Even if it's a contract marriage, even if it's just two years, I want more than just benefits. I want emotional value too. Can you offer that, Mr. Callan?"

As expected, Callan was momentarily stunned.

Since I was merely teasing, I didn't wait for his response and brushed past him, leaving.

For a brief moment, it seemed like he said something.

But I didn't hear it.

And I didn't care.

That evening, back home, I finally received an email from Nico.

It was a file —ful of Emily's wild escapades from her time studying abroad.

I skimmed through it and forwarded it to a journalist friend I knew.

Quite scandalous material.

Looks like I was about to give Emily another boost in popularity.

A week had passed, and my reputation online was already in shambles. My DMs on Instagram were filled with insults and harassment. To make it worse, even a CEO I'd met once in Seattle had the audacity to outright ask if I was for sale.

"So how many sugar daddies does Caroline have anyway?"

"If she's so well-educated, why not get a decent job and work hard for it? Why resort to such dirty tricks to climb the ladder?

Disgusting!"

Even though I had warned my father to avoid looking at negative news online during this time, the controversy was too widespread to ignore. No matter how much I tried to shield him, he would inevitably hear bits and pieces of the rumors.

And my father, with his fiery temper, could only endure for so long.

A week ago, he had managed to hold back. But now, he'd clearly had enough.

During one of my meetings, I reopened my phone to discover that my father — who almost never posted on Instagram-had directly uploaded a photo from Howard Group's official account.