Chapter 2
The office fell silent the moment I walked in.
Colleagues exchanged glances, whispering.
"Look, there she is. Disgraceful."
"Yikes, how humiliating. Imagine getting dragged like that by your own student."
"She's got some nerve, still showing up for work after all that."
"If I were her, I would've quit ages ago."
I ignored them, heading straight for Vincent's office.
The man I had once helped stared at me gravely.
Without asking for my side of the story, he just jumped straight into lecturing me.
"Ms. Bennett, prioritize the school's image.
"Drop the lawsuit, issue a statement apologizing for handling the student relationship improperly."
Rage shook my body. "Mr. Wesley, have you read what he wrote? It's defamation! Lies!"
However, he slammed his fist on the desk. "Laura! Be careful with your words!
"I don't care what he wrote! All I care about is that the school's reputation is already trashed!
"Can't you just back down for once? Do you really have to go nuclear and blow everything up?"
He dumped all the blame on me.
"If you hadn't played homewrecker and split them up back then, Jason wouldn't have lost it and trashed the school's reputation!"
Disappointed, I walked out of Vincent's office, my legs feeling like jelly.
I still had one last class to get through.
Pushing open the classroom door, I found the blackboard covered in red chalk: [Old hag! Give us Megan back!]
The students burst out laughing.
Expressionless, I picked up the eraser and wiped the words off the board.
As soon as I finished, a piece of chalk hit me in the back.
"Get out!" the students jeered.
Ignoring them, I just kept going with the lesson.
When the bell rang, I walked out to find the school gate surrounded.
Jason stood there with reporters and fans holding "True love is innocent" signs, shouting into a megaphone. "Laura! Give Megan back!"
Security couldn't hold them back.
He rushed forward, blocking me, his tone desperate and performative.
"Ms. Bennett, please! Let us see each other! Even if you sue me, I have to say—I love her!"
Reporters jammed their mics right up in my face.
"Ms. Bennett, why won't you let them see each other?"
"Did you really lock your daughter up?"
Jason was really acting his heart out.
He actually thought I was suing him just to stop him from going after his so-called "true love."
With flashbulbs going off all around me, I pulled out my phone and started recording.
"Jason, this is slander. I'll see you in court," I said.
At my words, Jason's face turned ashen.
That night, edited clips trended: [I Beg For Love But She Threatens With Lawsuit], [Feudal Parents From Hell].
The video had been maliciously edited.
All one could see was him begging like a victim, and me coming off as the heartless villain, "threatening" him.
The class parent chat was blowing up.
[Ms. Bennett has totally lost her morals. We demand that the school fire her immediately!]
[That's right! If they don't, we're yanking our kids out!]
[With a teacher like her, what if our kids get messed up?]
[Exactly! Tomorrow I'm reporting her to the school board!]
Pressure overwhelmed me, and then my ex-husband, Michael Grant, called—roaring.
"Laura! Have you lost your mind? Jason came to my company! Do you want everyone to know how Megan died?"
The phone call ended abruptly, cut off by a sharp knock that quickly escalated into violent pounding.
The door burst open with a crash.
Michael staggered in, the reek of alcohol clinging to him like a second skin.
He snarled, a trembling finger pointed at my face, "Laura, you obsessive witch!
"You were the one who wanted to cover it all up back then! Terrified of the scandal!
"And now you want to sue? Do you want the whole world to know our daughter killed herself because she was raped?"
I met his gaze, my voice cold and flat. "Michael, she was your daughter, too."
The words struck a nerve. Fury and shame flushed his face.
He lunged forward, grabbing the collar of my shirt. "Shut up! If it weren't for you, would she even be dead? You failed as a mother! You never taught her right!"