He Made Me Pay Half the Rent, While Giving Her Every Penny of His Bonus Chapter 05

He Made Me Pay Half the Rent, While Giving Her Every Penny of His Bonus Chapter 05

I stepped slowly out of the police station. “Julian, have you already wrapped up the case about you and Vivian conspiring to kill my father and me?”

The livestream camera immediately swung toward me. The comments stalled for a beat, then blew up. Vivian lunged at me with a hug, trembling from head to toe.

“Willow! You’re alive! Thank God! I thought something happened to you. I haven’t slept a single night. Julian hasn’t slept for days trying to find you. The police even declared you

dead.”

I shoved her away. Julian quickly stepped forward to steady her as she stumbled. The chat

box began scrolling wildly.

[Who is that woman?]

[Wait, isn’t that Willow Lawrence?]

[She’s not dead?]

[Mr. Howard was crying so hard just now. Why is she suddenly showing up?]

Julian turned toward the camera, putting on a sorrowful expression.

“Sorry about this, folks. My wife’s been going through some mental health issues. She suffers from paranoid delusions and has been taking medication.”

“Something must have triggered her today. That’s why she pretended to disappear. Please

don’t mind it.”

Then he turned to me and lowered his voice, as if soothing an unstable patient.

“Willow, I know you’re upset. You’ve always suspected Vivian and me, but we’re really just

coworkers. I don’t blame you for being sick. But you can’t scare Mom and Dad like this.”

“I’m not sick!” I cut him off sharply.

He frowned with helpless patience. “The doctor has told you many times to take your medication on time.”

“You keep insisting nothing’s wrong with you, but you check my phone, follow me around, disappear to make us worry, and now you’re accusing us of harming you…”

By now, everyone present understood the implication. The chat erupted again.

[So she’s mentally ill?]

[No wonder she ran away.]

[Poor Mr. Howard. His wife is sick and he still stays with her.]

[He’s been wronged like this and still hasn’t divorced her. That’s real love.]

[Willow is so dramatic.]

I stared at Julian. His eyes were wet with perfectly timed tears. In five years of marriage, I

had never realized his acting was this good.

I opened my phone and connected it to the display screen. “You say I’m delusional? Then what are these pieces of evidence? Let everyone take a look!”

The first photo appeared on the large screen. Vivian was sitting across Julian’s lap in revealing clothes, their bodies pressed close together, their gazes dripping with intimacy.

No one could mistake that for a normal coworker relationship. The chat fell silent for a

moment.

Julian didn’t even look at the screen before speaking. “Totally edited with Photoshop. Willow,

just to frame Vivian, you’d even fabricate images like this?”

Vivian covered her mouth as tears rolled down her face. “Willow, I treated you as my best

friend. Why would you try to frame me like this?”

More photos followed. The two of them kissing in a hotel. Vivian at prenatal checkups in the

hospital.

Then a high-definition video appeared. Vivian and Julian were tangled together intimately. In

the video, Vivian’s voice was loud and explicit.

People in the crowd flushed with embarrassment. Vivian’s sharp voice rang out from the

video. “Darling, when are you finally divorcing that woman? I can’t wait anymore.”

Vivian screamed and rushed to block the screen. “This is fake! I never said that. It must be

Al-generated!”

The chat immediately split into arguments.

[Holy hell, there’s so much evidence. It looks real. There’s even a video. I’ve seen Mr. Howard

wearing that coat before. It really is his.]

[Fake. With Al these days, anything can be made. The guy above must be paid. That’s

obviously edited.]

[Willow is terrifying. She’d go this far just to smear her husband.]

Julian lowered his gaze, his lashes trembling slightly.

“I get that you resent me. You’ve been desperate for a kid, and we tried for five years with no

results.”

“If

you want to take your anger out on me, I’ll accept it. But leave innocent folks out of your

mess.”