Mound of Lies

The moment I froze, his personal assistant called out to me from behind. The conversation inside came to an abrupt halt. The door swung open.

Peter’s eyes flickered the moment he saw me. "Jessie? What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to rest at home and not work? Lily just arrived. I haven't seen her in a long time. She just came over to take a look..."

"Jess, how have you been lately?" Lilly asked, feigning innocence and harmlessness.

Her eyes gleamed with vitality, her face flushed with color—there wasn't a trace of hardship from being detained at the institute.

I swallowed the anger burning inside me and forced a smile. "I just arrived. I’m used to working and I get bored when I’m idle. I thought I’d better come over. Why are you here too?"

Since marrying me, Peter’s office had been arranged next to mine for convenience in managing Moan's.

He must have expected me to be furious at Lilly’s presence because he hurriedly took my hand, attempting to explain: "Honey, since she regained her freedom, I let her come back to continue working on the new drug development to understand the situation..."

"Didn’t you just say yesterday that there was no evidence and it was all speculation? I believe you." I swallowed my pride, suppressing my true feelings.

This man was truly despicable—sacrificing his own marriage for his beloved white moonlight. And now, with her safe and sound, she was still pretending?

Hearing my words, the tension in his shoulders eased. Soon after, he rushed back to Wilson's with his assistant to deal with urgent matters. But before leaving, I caught the concern in his eyes. He even made a point to remind me to wait for him after work so he could pick me up.

"Ms. Jessie, you’re still such an idiot, hahaha..." As soon as Peter left, Lilly dropped her act and sneered at me.

Gone was the innocent, pure facade. What stood before me now was a woman filled with malice and arrogance.

"You should really thank your fiancé for giving me such a wonderful life," she taunted. "Even more, thank your dear husband for doing all the dirty work for me. Don’t tell me you actually thought Peter married you out of love? Hahaha... They love me!"

She laughed mockingly, her voice dripping with condescension. "Jessie, when people talk about someone being as dumb as a pig, they mean you!"

I couldn’t hold back my rage any longer. Before I knew it, my hand lashed out across her face.

Lilly’s expression flickered—first shock, then cunning. She glanced behind me, smirked, then dramatically clutched her face and collapsed to the floor.

"Jessie! Why did you hit Lily?" Peter’s furious voice rang out.

I turned in shock, watching as he rushed past me to scoop Lilly into his arms. Just a second ago, she had looked so smug and venomous, but now she had transformed into a fragile, pitiful creature.

So, he was still worried about his precious white moonlight being alone with me, afraid I’d bully her.

"Didn't you say the past was behind us? What are you doing hitting her? Saying one thing and doing another!" he snapped.

I clenched my jaw, my body trembling with anger.

"Apologize! Apologize to Lily! You shouldn't have hit her," he ordered.

I remained silent.

Lilly leaned weakly against him, tears welling in her eyes. "Peter, don’t blame her. She only believes what those executives say—that I caused the lab explosion. It’s not her fault..."

She sniffled, her voice pitiful. "Peter, I don’t want to make things difficult for you. From now on, don’t help me anymore. I’ll go back to Shawn’s. Charlie said I can return to work at his company."

With that, she turned as if to leave. Without hesitation, Peter followed her, not even sparing me a glance.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. The physical pain was nothing compared to the searing agony in my heart.

Swallowing my grief, I forced myself to return to my office, locked the doors and windows and resumed examining yesterday’s evidence.