Chapter 5
Xander tried to step forward, but Yvette pulled him back. "Xander, it hurts."
"Hang in there. I'll go check on Mom," Xander said gently.
"Mom?" Yvette quickly grabbed his arm. "Xander, what do you mean?"
Xander froze.
Yvette jabbed a finger at me. "You actually call her your mom? She's the one who's always picking on me. No way she is your mom."
"Yvette," Xander looked uneasy. "You forgot? You met her when I brought you home last time."
"Yeah, I met your mom. But she looked nothing like her." Yvette shot back.
I let out a cold laugh. "Video calls have beauty filters. No wonder you don't remember what I really look like."
"Even without any filters, there's no way you're her," Yvette snapped. Her brows knitted in confusion. "How could you be Xander's mom? We're practically the same age. Xander, you're calling the mistress your mom? I can't believe I ever trusted you."
"No, Yvette," Xander protested.
"Stop right there," I barked, halting Yvette just as she was about to storm off.
I whipped out my passport. Covering the number, I shoved it right in her face. My birth date and photo were plain as day for everyone to see.
Yvette's breath caught in her throat.
The chat was flooded with questions.
[Wait, is my screen messed up, or are my eyes playing tricks on me? Diana is already forty?]
[No way, that's impossible. She looks like she's only twenty-five or twenty-six.]
[I've heard about ageless beauties, but I never thought I'd run into one this fast.]
[No matter what, this is just mind-blowing.]
Yvette stared at me in utter disbelief.
Xander grabbed her hand. "My mom takes her skincare super seriously. She's a top-tier VIP at the beauty salon, so it's totally normal that you can't tell her age. Anyway, who did you say was bullying you?"
Yvette bit her lip, unable to say a word.
The chat was going wild.
[I'm losing it here. What's the fuss about that video? Mr. Garrison and Mrs. Garrison are just a couple who've been together forever, so what?]
[But now I'm wondering how Yvette even got her hands on that clip of a married couple?]
Xander stared at the screen, then shot Yvette a look of disbelief. "Video? What do you mean? Are you talking about those dirty rumors—"
"No, it's all just a misunderstanding," Yvette quickly interrupted him.
Her eyes filled with tears again in an instant as she lunged forward and grabbed my hand. "Mrs. Garrison, I was wrong. I mistook you for someone else.
"I thought someone was trying to impersonate Xander's mom and steal your place. That's why I acted like that.
"I wanted to help you expose the mistress, but I never imagined you'd look as stunning in person as you did in the video. It was all a huge misunderstanding."
With that, she gave herself a hard slap.
Xander rushed over and grabbed her hand, then looked up at me. "Mom, it's all a misunderstanding," he said.
The chat was blowing up.
[Turns out Yvette thought someone was pretending to be Mrs. Garrison. Now it all makes sense.]
[Yvette's such a sweetheart, always ready to call out the mistress, but she had no idea Mrs. Garrison is actually an ageless beauty.]
[This whole misunderstanding just blew up.]
I gave Yvette a cold stare.
Xander looked at me with pleading eyes. "Mom, Yvette's not like that. She definitely didn't mean it," he said.
When I watched my son still put his faith in her, my brow furrowed in frustration. I lowered my head and quietly texted Julian. [Are you here yet?]
A Rolls-Royce pulled up at the entrance.
The next second, the sharp click of leather shoes echoed urgently through the room.
"Ms. Quinn, I heard you illegally accessed our company's surveillance footage?" Julian's voice sliced through the tension.
Yvette's face went very pale.
Julian stepped in front of me, his posture protective. "Ms. Quinn, we need an explanation," he said.