Chapter 194 Track Down the Mastermind
At the entrance of the University of Lumina, Laura bent down to pick up a photo from the ground. Shocked by what she saw, she turned to James.
"Laura, let me explain. This photo's been photoshopped. It's not real," James hurriedly said.
James never imagined things would play out like this. The very moment he ran into Laura, she ended up seeing those photos.
When Laura called James that morning, he had no clue about the photos. Now, pictures of him and Jennifer were all over the school. He regretted asking Laura to come over.
"James, you really let me down. I never thought you were this kind of person!" Laura glared at James, clearly upset.
After the last company funding incident, Laura had begun to slowly accept James' presence in her life. Although she didn't feel any romantic love for him, she thought they could get married first and then try to understand each other better, seeing if they could make a life together.
Her parents, after all, had been arranged in a family marriage without any feelings for each other, cultivating their love only after marriage.
Laura naively believed that if she got along well with James, they might end up as loving as her parents.
But she never expected this from James.
"Laura, these photos are fake! Someone's framing me!" James shouted, agitated.
"Framing you?" Laura sneered. "Who do you think you are? A celebrity or a billionaire? You're just a poor student at the University of Lumina. Who would bother to photoshop photos to frame you?"
James was stunned, speechless.
In Laura's eyes, it was impossible for anyone to photoshop these photos to frame James.
Seeing James silent, Laura thought he was admitting it. She shouted as she walked towards her BMW, "A few days ago, Nancy said she saw you checking into a hotel with another woman. I thought it was a misunderstanding, but now it seems true. James, you really disappoint me. I never want to see you again!"
"Laura, can you just listen to my explanation?" James quickly stepped forward and grabbed her.
"With all this evidence, what else is there to explain?" Laura turned and replied coldly, "James, I thought you were just poor but had good character. Knowing someone like Charles showed you had potential. I believed you wouldn't be poor forever, so I was willing to marry you. But I never expected..."
"Expected what?" James asked, looking at Laura.
"I never expected you to be not only poor but also of such bad character, spreading photos of yourself with another woman all over the school. I can't accept this. I need to seriously reconsider our relationship!"
Laura gritted her teeth, shook off James' hand, and walked away.
James stood frozen, watching Laura's retreating figure with a look of utter despair. He was at a loss for how to explain the situation to her.
Moments later, Laura slipped into her BMW and vanished from James' view.
Alone in the car, Laura's emotions spiraled out of control. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She had been preparing herself for marriage to James today, which meant she had begun to accept him into her life. But who could have anticipated this?
Laura had never been in a relationship before, due to her severe emotional scruples. Knowing she was about to marry James, she had always held herself to a strict standard, never doing anything to hurt him. Now, discovering James' betrayal—secretly fooling around with another woman and having it spread throughout the school—was something she couldn't possibly accept.
James stood alone at the entrance of the University of Lumina, looking helpless. His mind was blank. He couldn't fathom who he had wronged or why someone would go to such lengths. He was completely lost with no leads to follow.
"We were about to get our marriage license, and now this happens!" James sighed, his expression collapsing.
"Hey, I didn't expect your girlfriend to be so pretty," a voice suddenly came from behind James.
Hearing this, James turned around and saw Sylvie, the internet celebrity he had met last night, walking towards him.
"With such a pretty girlfriend, why would you mess around? I guess you guys are all just thinking about sex. Good thing I don't like men," Sylvie mocked.
"Are you here just to laugh at me?" James asked helplessly.
"I'm not that bored. I just happened to be passing by," Sylvie replied casually. "You really are something. How could you let such photos get out? What were you thinking?"
"These photos are fake! Someone photoshopped them to frame me. I've been with that girl for three years, and I haven't even kissed her. There's no way these photos are real!" James shouted, feeling helpless.
"Three years together, and you haven't even kissed her?" Sylvie was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" James shouted, irritated.
"You're too innocent, aren't you? You've been together for three years and haven't even kissed your girlfriend. Oh my, I simply don't know what to say about you!" Sylvie giggled at James.
James gave Sylvie a cold look, not in the mood to argue, and turned to walk into the University of Lumina.
"If those photos were indeed Photoshopped to frame you, I know a way to help you track down the mastermind!," Sylvie suddenly called out.
James was stunned and asked excitedly, "Are you serious?"
"Of course, I'm serious!" Sylvie nodded.
