The next day, Cecilia Ye borrowed a phone from a nurse and called Mia Moore.
Mia Moore rushed to the hospital, torn between anger and heartache. The Fu Group’s annual gala had already dominated that morning’s trending topics.
She’d tried to call Cecilia Ye several times, but no one answered.
Xavier Foster might be able to muzzle the media, but he couldn’t stop the guests present from snapping photos and uploading them online. The story exploded instantly, shooting straight to the top of the trends.
The video clearly captured Vivian Belle and Xavier Foster together, with their conversation audible up to the moment Xavier Foster carried Vivian Belle out of the hotel.
Then, the camera cut to Cecilia Ye, her petite figure surrounded by a swarm of reporters.
They couldn’t see her ashen face or terrified expression—only eager for gossip, hungry to extract a headline from her.
She looked like a frightened animal caught in a trap, big eyes brimming with tears.
Mia Moore's heart twisted at the sight. The moment she finally got through to Cecilia Ye, she rushed straight to the hospital.
Now, seeing Cecilia Ye lying in the hospital bed, her eyes went red. She tossed her bag onto the sofa and sat at the bedside.
Cecilia Ye forced a small smile, stuffing her pain deep inside. “Come on, what’s made you cry this time?”
Mia Moore threw her arms around her and gritted her teeth. “Damn it, Xavier Foster is such a bastard! How could he treat you like this?”
“It’s fine, it’s all over now.” Cecilia Ye patted her back, actually finding herself the one comforting Mia Moore.
Mia Moore wiped her eyes, looking at her with worry. “What happened? Why are you in the hospital—are you feeling sick?”
“No, it’s nothing serious. I…”
Cecilia Ye hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell Mia Moore she was pregnant. She worried her friend wouldn’t understand her decision to keep the baby.
Mia Moore just looked at her with wide open eyes, patiently waiting.
Seeing the concern on Mia Moore’s face, Cecilia Ye’s indecision faded away. This was her best friend. She could trust her.
“Yao Yao, I’m pregnant.”
“What!” Mia Moore thought she was hallucinating. For a second, her brain simply crashed. “P-pregnant?”
Cecilia Ye nodded and sighed. “Mm, it’s Xavier Foster’s.”
“Shit!” Mia Moore jumped up from the bed, pacing in a tight circle. “Scumbag! Wasn’t he the one who wanted a divorce, and he still dared to—!”
She caught herself, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Wait, can’t say dirty words with the baby around.”
Cecilia Ye couldn’t help a teary laugh and reached out to tug Mia Moore, who was on the verge of rampaging again. “I’m not planning on telling him. This child... I’ll raise it myself.”
“But... it’ll be so hard on your own, Cecilia. Raising a kid takes everything you have. And what if you meet someone you actually like? Plus—what if Xavier Foster finds out?”
Cecilia Ye hugged her tightly, burying her face against Mia Moore’s neck. “I just can’t give up the baby. I’ve already decided. I’ll leave him—this will be my child, mine alone.”
Mia Moore felt warm tears fall on her neck. She gently patted Cecilia Ye's back, frowning in concern—but resigned to support her.
“Okay, okay, I get it. Don’t worry, you have me. I’ll help you raise the little one too! What, is one tiny bunny really harder than my Erdou?”
Erdou was Mia Moore’s mischievous husky. Mia Moore was always sending videos to Cecilia Ye of it tearing up her apartment.
Cecilia Ye burst out laughing despite her tears. “Alright, we’ll raise the baby together.”
“From now on, I’m the baby’s godmother! Instant promotion—wow, why do I feel a little excited?”
Mia Moore pulled an exaggerated face, doing her best to cheer Cecilia up. The best thing would be if Cecilia never saw what was trending online.
After the doctor finished the checkup and reassured them there was nothing serious—just needed some rest—he handed Cecilia Ye the ultrasound photo from the day before. The blurry image showed almost nothing, but to Cecilia Ye, her baby was already adorable.
It was her child’s first photo. She was definitely going to keep it safe.
Her evening dress was ruined, but thankfully she’d had Mia Moore bring a change of clothes in advance.
All the way home, Mia Moore still couldn’t quite believe there was a little bean growing inside Cecilia Ye’s belly. She kept sneaking glances, driving with cautious, turtle-like slowness.
*
At Fu Group, everyone was walking on eggshells—the CEO was furious. No, not just furious, he was absolutely livid.
Henry Hart was the one to inform Xavier Foster about the trending scandal first thing that morning.
“I’m sorry, President. I didn’t handle it quickly enough.”
Xavier Foster stared at the video, his eyes locked on Cecilia Ye.
Watching her, surrounded by reporters, leaning weakly against the wall with fear written all over her face, his own sharp features were frosted in coldness.
The comments under the trending topic were all insults for Cecilia Ye. Somehow, public opinion had twisted things around, blaming her for hogging the position of Mrs. Fu.
He pushed his tongue to his back teeth and stood silent for a long time before finally looking away.
“Pull the security footage. Find out who posted the video. Get the trend taken down.”
“Yes, it’s already being done.”
“And the people who leaked it, plus any media contacts who were present—I don’t want to see them again.”
Most of the guests were high-level company executives or close business partners. His words were a brutal severing of their ties.
And as for the media, Fu Group would never cooperate with them again. Whether they could survive would be their own problem.
Henry Hart asked nothing more and left to carry out the orders.
*
Funny enough, this was actually Cecilia Ye’s first time at Mia Moore’s place.
Her home wasn’t far from Qinghe Community, right in the city center. The warm, cozy décor was a complete contrast to Mia Moore’s bold, brash personality; plush toys were scattered everywhere. Erdou was currently staying with Julian Jarvis, so the apartment was extra quiet.
“Cecilia, you’ll stay in this room for now,” Mia Moore said, linking arms with her and leading her to the guest bedroom. “But if you want to sleep with me, I don’t mind. Actually, I’m kinda scared on my own.”
“Huh? Scared of what?” Cecilia Ye asked, baffled as she turned to look at her.
“I move around too much in my sleep,” Mia Moore replied, completely serious. “I’m worried I’ll kick you and the little bean by accident.”
And so Cecilia Ye settled in at Mia Moore’s place. Mia Moore had a new phone and SIM card bought for her.
All mention of the scandal had vanished from the trending lists—the web was eerily silent.
Yet when Cecilia Ye turned on her new phone, someone sent her that same incriminating video.
The scene she’d buried in her heart surfaced again. She stared at it for a long time before finally deleting it.
None of that mattered anymore. Not any of it.
Two days had passed without a single call from Xavier Foster, and Cecilia Ye was surprised to feel a sense of relief.
It wasn’t that Xavier Foster didn’t want to reach out—it was just that so much had happened that even his usual self-control deserted him.
The day after crushing the trending topic, the old master summoned him back to the ancestral home, bringing Henry Hart along too.
The mansion was strangely quiet. The old master waited in the study, his face grimmer than Xavier Foster had ever seen.
Xavier Foster walked in and greeted him softly. “Grandpa Rivers.”
The old master didn’t respond, didn’t even spare them a glance. He leaned on his cane, hands folded, staring out the window.
Xavier Foster and Henry Hart waited in silence.
After a long moment, the old master finally turned and looked at them, his voice weary with exhaustion.
“Zhiye, you’ve always been my pride,” he said. “No matter what I asked of you, you handled it better than your father, even better than I did when I was your age.”
He paused, sighed, and continued, “But this time, you were wrong. And so was I.”
“When you were injured back then, a mountain of problems landed on you at once and people took advantage.”
“But I should have thought more carefully. The Fu family has been standing for so many years—maybe I got too arrogant.”
“I thought no one would dare to target the Fu family...”