Chapter 194

Odette started to chill out after hearing what Madeline had to say. They had another plan to take down Isabella, and if it worked, she'd be kicked out of her director spot in no time.

Odette took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Sorry, Ms. Eve. I got a little carried away."

Madeline nodded, her eyes serious. "Isabella's no pushover. We need to tread carefully with her."

Meanwhile, Isabella felt a wave of relief after reading Dwayne's message. With the rumors dying down at work, the whole mess could be contained.

But she couldn't help but glance out the window, wondering if any reporters were lurking around. If they snapped similar photos, would they post them online?

The answer was a big fat yes!

Despite Dwayne's attempts to suppress the office rumors, some reporters still managed to get shots of her helping Joseph with the bug.

Ethical concerns held little sway with these entertainment reporters; they prioritized sensationalism, selecting the most provocative image and crafting a lurid story to attract readers.

Soon enough, a headline blared online: #Mystery Solved! Isabella's Husband Unveiled!

Meanwhile, after leaving Isabella's company, Joseph was on his way to meet some friends when he saw the news alert on his phone and froze.

"When did I become Isabella's husband?" Joseph blinked, then a grin spread across his face.

"I'm not her husband now, but who knows what the future holds?" Joseph chuckled and made sure the news spread even more, so Isabella's real husband would see it.

Even though people talked a lot online about Isabella's husband, articles about it usually didn't grab much attention.

But thanks to Joseph, that photo of Isabella and Joseph "kissing" went viral, and it left everyone speechless.

Before, news about Isabella and her mysterious husband was just rumors and personal pics of Isabella. This was the first time a photo of her kissing another guy popped up, making many think it was legit.

But not Michael.

When Michael saw the news, his hands shook with anger. He almost smashed his phone, but Jerry stopped him just in time.

"Mr. Williams, there must be some mistake! You have to trust Mrs. Williams; she wouldn't do something like this!" Jerry said, grabbing Michael's hand.

Michael shot Jerry a cold look. "Of course, I trust her. I'm pissed because there's definitely some plot behind this! That guy's using her to get to me!"

Michael jumped up from the couch. He just noticed the news article had racked up over a hundred million clicks in no time. That kind of attention was insane! Michael didn't believe for a second this wasn't planned.

Michael knew someone was trying to trick him into revealing who he was, but if they thought that would work, they were dead wrong.

"Mr. Williams, this photo might've been doctored. AI editing is pretty advanced these days. Should we dig into Joseph's background?" Jerry asked cautiously.

Michael nodded. "Yeah, go ahead. All I know is he's from the Davis Family. Dwayne mentioned Joseph visited Isabella today. It's definitely fishy."

Jerry nodded and left to start investigating Joseph.

After Jerry left, Michael grabbed his phone and called Isabella.

"Hey, have you seen the news? Please tell me it's not true." Michael's voice was icy.

Isabella had just wrapped up her work and was stretching in her office. Hearing Michael's words, she couldn't help but picture a guy who seemed cold but was actually nervous and a bit resentful inside.

Isabella chuckled at her own thoughts and laughed into the phone. "Are you talking about the kissing photo?"

She had just caught the news alert and was pretty ticked off, not seeing this blow-up coming.

"So, you've seen it too. Tell me that photo's fake! You didn't kiss him, right?" Michael asked again, sounding urgent.

Isabella covered her mouth, laughing. "I'll answer your questions one by one. First, the photo's not fake; it's real."

On the other end, Michael's eyes widened, and his hand holding the phone shook.

But luckily, Isabella quickly answered the second question. "But I didn't kiss Joseph. He had a bug in his eye and looked like he was in pain, so I blew it away. I had no idea someone would snap that moment from an angle that made it look like a kiss."

After explaining, Isabella could practically feel Michael relax on the other end.

"I knew you wouldn't do what the news said, but I'm still upset you helped him," Michael said, sounding a bit sulky.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "I just blew into his eye. He helped me before, and we were childhood friends. Ignoring him would've made me seem really cold."

"I don't care; you have to blow into my eye too," Michael said with a playful tone.

Isabella laughed, covering her forehead. "There's no bug in your eye. What am I supposed to blow? How about... I blow somewhere else instead?"