Chapter 323

My voice startled the ladies, who quickly stood up and greeted me, "Ms. Murphy."

Seeing how shaken they were, I said lightly, "Don't worry. I'm not mad. But talking behind someone’s back during work hours isn’t cool. Just watch yourselves next time."

The ladies nodded over and over, promising to keep their mouths shut from now on. The impact of my words was like dropping a bomb in the deep end, sending shockwaves everywhere.

I didn’t know how Jared heard me say he “can’t perform,” or if someone had exaggerated it. All I knew was that he barged in angrily just before sunset, quitting time. I had a private yoga session booked and was ready to leave.

That was when Jared burst in, his eyes blazing with fury. "Victoria, what do you mean by gossiping about me behind my back?" Jared snapped, his voice thick with anger.

I looked up at him, totally stunned. Once I realized what he meant, I gave a cold laugh. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. If I hadn’t been forced into it, I wouldn’t have said something so harsh."

"Forced into it?" Jared snorted, his anger twisting into a mocking laugh.

I nodded seriously. "Yes, someone’s been spreading rumors that we got divorced because I cheated. You, of all people, know exactly whether I ever cheated during our marriage."

Jared’s eyes widened a bit. Clearly, he hadn’t heard the gossip about me; he’d only caught wind that I said he couldn’t perform.

"Who said that?" Jared asked, his voice dropping to a low growl.

I sighed softly. "Mr. Holcomb, I’m counting on you to get to the bottom of this. I want to know who’s spreading these lies, what they’re after, and who’s benefiting from all this."

I was not pulling any punches. Jared’s face darkened, his lips thinned. After a moment of silence, he said with irritation, "You think I’m the one trashing your reputation?"

I shook my head. "I don’t think it’s you, but this has wrecked my reputation. Now everyone in the company thinks I cheated, and that’s why we got divorced, while your thing with Tracy gets swept under the rug like it never happened."

Jared softened his tone. "I’m sorry. I didn’t expect anyone to say something like that."

"If an apology fixed everything, I wouldn’t be angry," I shot back, my gaze sharp. "As my boss, shouldn’t you be clearing this up for me?"

Jared gave me a complicated look. With how smart he was, he’d probably already figured out exactly who was behind this.

Jared said, "Victoria, I’ll keep everyone in line and crack down on this gossip. From now on, rumors like this won’t be tolerated—"

"From now on? Jared, you think you can brush me off that easily?" I looked at him, disappointment written all over my face.

I added, "Do you even understand how much a woman’s reputation matters? Did you see the way those guys were eyeing me just now, like I was nothing but gossip fodder?"

Jared’s face went stiff as he looked at me.

My eyes stung with unshed tears as I let out a self-mocking laugh. "You’ll never get it. Even if you and Tracy are flirting all over the office, everyone thinks you two are perfect together, that you’re some kind of power couple."

"People always give you the benefit of the doubt, while a baseless rumor is enough to crush me completely. It’s just not fair."

"I’m sorry, Victoria," Jared’s voice was heavy with guilt as he stepped closer, reaching out to hug me.

I coldly dodged his arms. "You’re always asking what sets you apart from Nathan? Let me tell you right now, you’ve never tried to see things from my perspective, never understood what I’m going through."

"To you, a simple ‘sorry’ fixes everything. You think I should tough it out, that people will forget about the rumors soon enough, and that it doesn’t matter to you. But those careless rumors? One day, they turn into knives, stabbing right into my heart."