Chapter 59 A Scandal

Anthony knew it wasn't the red roses that disgusted Yvonne, but him.

Their gazes clashed in the air.

"Three years ago, during our time at Seattle University, my reputation was completely destroyed because of you!" Yvonne broke the silence with a cold laugh. "It took me three years to recover from that ordeal. And now, you can't stand to see me live in peace, can you?"

"Yvonne, I will repay my debt to you, multiplied." Anthony painfully clenched his lips, the fire in his gaze gradually fading.

"Right now, all I want is for you to stay out of my life. Just go and check out. Stay far away from me.”

“I won't cause any more trouble for you." Anthony's low voice was filled with determination and helplessness.

The morning class was lively. It was attended by designers from major America decoration companies.

People in the same circle share common topics, so the training session turned into a communication session.

Yvonne, young, beautiful, and eloquence, quickly became the focus of the training session, and some men even took the initiative to add her as a WhatsApp friend.

In the afternoon, during the course of the training, the lecturer on stage shouted, "Yvonne Brooks, someone is looking for you outside!"

Yvonne quickly bent down and ran out of the venue through the back door.

When she looked up, she saw Elijah!

Elijah was wearing the down jacket she bought. He held a black suitcase and stood quietly at the elevator entrance, looking at her.

Her heart suddenly warmed, and she smiled before speaking, "Why did you come?"

"There happened to be a case that required me to come to Seattle personally, so I took the opportunity to see you." Elijah casually brushed over his carefully planned intentions.

Yvonne knew he was pretending, but she didn't uncover it and deliberately asked, "Where are you planning to stay tonight?"

"In the same hotel as you," Elijah said, smiling deeply.

Yvonne's gaze toward Elijah became bolder. "My room has a double bed, so you don't need to check in. Just stay with me for a night."

"Give me the key card," Elijah said as he reached out to her.

She took out the key card from her pocket and flashed it in front of Elijah. "Follow me!"

At that moment, Elijah's gaze became tender enough to drown a person.

Yvonne used the key card to open the hotel room door. Elijah immediately threw down his suitcase and pressed her against the entrance wall.

Just before Elijah's kiss landed, Yvonne agilely slipped out of his embrace.

"You have to endure for now; I still have to go to class," Yvonne said and ran out. But she was pulled back by Elijah after only two steps.

Elijah's hand held her waist, and he sealed her lips with a passionate kiss.

In the heat of the moment, Yvonne's eyes shimmered as she coquettishly asked, "You came here specially to see me, right?"

"No," he said, denying it.

"But your words and actions don't match!" Yvonne chuckled, "It's really difficult to make you admit that you have feelings for me."

After everything calmed down, Yvonne went back to continue her training class.

Elijah took a shower and opened his laptop to start working.

Although he wasn't in Winslow, there couldn't be any slack in the work.

Philippe's private messages kept popping up.

He opened the chat interface and saw a sensational news titled "Private Meeting of the White Group President with an intelligent and beautiful woman in Seattle" trending!

The news article included many photos of Yvonne and Anthony.

The two of them were sitting side by side on the plane in one of them.

Initially, they left the airport together in the same car, then both checked in at the 'Helens' hotel.

Each photo's caption was painfully clear.

To anyone who saw them, these were unmistakable "secret affair" photos!

In an instant, Elijah's heart was consumed by rage. Last night, he heard she was in Seattle, so he set aside piles of work and booked a plane ticket to see her. He never expected anything like this!

Her history with Anthony always pricked his heart like a needle.

Last time, when they were caught together at the hotel, he knew they had been set up, and after a couple of days, he let it go.

But this time, they were together from the moment they boarded the plane, and they even sat next to each other. If it wasn't planned in advance, how else could it happen?

He couldn't understand why he was getting angry. Leaving this place and returning to Winslow to sever ties with Yvonne once and for all, why couldn't he bring himself to do it?

They were just friends with benefits; he could easily turn a blind eye. So why did he have to be so nitpicky?

He threw his phone onto the bed and stood by the window, looking down at the tiny people and cars below, lost in thought...

When Yvonne returned, she was in a good mood, humming a tune.

"You came all the way to see me, it's truly touching. I'm planning to treat you to a sumptuous dinner."

Elijah temporarily suppressed the anger in his heart and looked at Yvonne with calm eyes.

"You didn't even tell me you were coming to Seattle. Is it because you made plans with someone else in advance? Were you worried that I would stop you from coming?"

"Who did I make plans with?" Yvonne was confused. "Could you please clarify what you're talking about?"

"Yvonne, if you've promised to be with me, you can't betray me anymore!" Elijah's face suddenly turned grim, and he sternly shouted.

"What betrayal? I don't understand what you're talking about." It was the first time Yvonne saw him so angry, and she reached out to hold his hand in confusion.

He grabbed her chin and clenched his teeth. "Getting so intimate with a married man after he brought you to the hotel, and then getting into bed with me, is that amusing to you?"

Yvonne immediately realized that he already knew about Anthony bringing her to the hotel.

"Did Anthony stay in this room last night?" Elijah's mind was a mess, and all his reason and calmness had been burned away by his anger.

"If you still have an ounce of respect and trust in me, you wouldn't say such things!" Yvonne forcefully shook off his hand. "I won't explain anything about Anthony to you!"

"You two sat together from the moment you boarded the plane. What other explanation is there, Yvonne? No matter how you try to argue, your relationship with Anthony can't be concealed this time." Elijah's brow furrowed in pain.

"Conceal? Who said anything about concealing?" Yvonne also grew angry and deliberately stated, "I'm just waiting for him to get a divorce and marry me!"

Elijah grabbed the kettle on the table and viciously smashed it onto the ground.

"Have you fallen for me?" Yvonne chuckled, "Jealousy is not attractive in men, you know. I actually prefer that cold, indifferent Mr. Harper.”

Yvonne's words instantly brought clarity to his mind. The fiery glint in his eyes subsided gradually, suppressed by his rationality.

"Yvonne, all the blame rests on me. I shouldn't have foolishly flown over from Winslow, I shouldn't have come to see you, and I definitely shouldn't have held any unwarranted expectations of you." Elijah's pupils trembled slightly, his gaze turning cold.

Yvonne's heart twinged sharply as she irritably reached for a cigarette and lit it.

"If you like Anthony so much, why not snatch him back?" Elijah's voice sounded desolate, like a glass bead crashing onto an icy surface.

Yvonne listened, feeling a pang of sadness fill her chest. The words of explanation were caught in her throat, and before she could speak, Elijah had slammed the door and left.

Let him go.

But why does it hurt so much?

Elijah's footsteps could be heard again. He had actually returned!

Yvonne hurriedly gathered her scattered thoughts. Before she could greet him, Elijah uncovered the blanket on the bed, picked up his phone, and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Yvonne mustered up the courage to explain and swiftly rushed up to him, embracing his waist tightly from behind.

He froze, bending down to look at Yvonne's hands.

Their fingers interlocked, holding him captive in her embrace.

"Elijah, even if you don't want to listen, I have to say this. My encounter with Anthony was purely coincidental. It was not prearranged." Yvonne's head rested on Elijah's back.

"When I made up my mind to end this relationship, you said the same words to me," Elijah said, already breaking her hold. "Isn't that ridiculous?"

Yvonne felt emptiness in her embrace as Elijah distanced himself.

Dejected, she sat on the floor and started laughing inexplicably.

As she laughed, tears began to fall from her eyes.

Earlier, she was completely bewitched to have pleaded with Elijah!

Her phone rang, and thinking it was Elijah, she answered it immediately.

"Yvonne, your affair with Anthony has become a huge scandal online!" Hannah's concerned voice came through. "People are calling you a 'mistress,' saying you have destroyed Anthony's family!"

Yvonne covered her face in pain.

"Tell me the truth, have you really rekindled your relationship with Anthony?" Hannah spoke with a heavy tone, "Anthony has a family now, and his wife is pregnant. You're being foolish!"

"If I say that meeting Anthony was just a coincidence, would you believe me?" Yvonne said, her eyes filling with tears of grievance.

"Of course, I believe you, Yvonne! He ruined you three years ago, and you must not forget that! You have been deceived by him a second time!" Hannah was frantic.

"The online public opinion is completely against you, calling you a homewrecker. If we can't refute it, how will you ever get married in the future? Yvonne, I feel like someone is intentionally trying to ruin you!"

No wonder Elijah was furious to discover that her affair with Anthony had been exposed online for everyone to see.

Hannah asked several times what they should do and whether they should hire a team to clean up her reputation, but Yvonne reluctantly replied, "No need."

Yvonne held her phone tightly and curled up on the ground, contemplating for a long time. She couldn't help but think that they had been targeted since their time in Winslow. They were photographed as soon as they boarded the plane, and their pictures were widely circulated online.

Abigail, pregnant with Anthony's child and deeply in love with him, wouldn't want to make a big deal out of this if she still desired to maintain her position as Mrs. White.

Aside from Grace, Yvonne couldn't think of anyone else who would be involved.

With Yvonne's current capabilities, she couldn't possibly erase all the online gossip. Since this whole mess started because of Anthony, it should naturally be up to him to resolve it.

Yvonne removed Anthony's number from the blacklist and dialed it.

"Yvonne," Anthony answered immediately.

"What are you planning to do about all the online rumors?" she asked directly.

"They're already spreading like wildfire online, and even if we try to suppress it, the outcome you desire won't appear." Anthony remained calm. "I don't care. What matters is you, Yvonne. Three years ago, I failed to protect you, and now after three years—"

"Anthony, I don't want to be seen as a 'mistress' by others!" Yvonne's heart ached, her voice choked with tears. "If you had refused to switch seats with the passenger next to me on the plane, none of this would have happened! I don't want to be judged by others!"

"Don't cry, Yvonne. Give me some time, and I will give you the outcome you want," Anthony comforted her softly.

Yvonne sat quietly by the window.

She dared not look at her phone or answer any unidentified calls.

Half an hour later, Hannah called with good news, saying that all the online rumors about her and Anthony had disappeared.

Yvonne quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yvonne, how much did it cost?" Hannah asked.

"I didn't have to pay anything. Someone took care of it." Yvonne didn't hide anything, finally managing a faint smile on her face.

Hannah continued to ask, "Was it Anthony or Elijah?"

"As long as they can suppress the heat, it doesn't matter who did it," Yvonne said calmly.