Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 287

“……”

Isabel’s smile faltered for a second. She watched James walk away, embarrassment flickering in her eyes. For a moment she looked small and uncertain, but she drew a deep breath, straightened her posture, and clicked open the game’s registration page.

As soon as James was gone, the heavy tension in the room vanished, leaving the air lighter.

Emmy exhaled in relief, letting her shoulders finally relax. She slid the VR headset back on, ready to focus on what she’d come here to do.

On the character creation screen, she didn’t even blink before typing in the name: Sally.

Emmy had always wondered what really happened in Sally’s car accident—the truth had haunted her for as long as she could remember.

The magic of this game was its ability to reach into the deepest layers of your subconscious, gathering up scattered bits of memory and piecing them together through brainwave analysis until it created a whole, living digital person.

The little pixel avatar was just the start. Once you put on the VR headset, the world that appeared was so real, so full of life—the character had actual memories, real emotions.

You could talk to them, interact with them, almost like they were right there with you.

The scene finished loading.

Suddenly, Emmy was standing in a golden field of sunflowers—Sally’s favorite place on earth.

And there she was.

Sally, always smiling, a little chubby, middle-aged, in her usual straw hat. She was humming to herself and watering the sunflowers with a small green watering can.

Emmy’s eyes stung. When she touched her cheek, she realized she was already crying.

Sally had always cared for her. Losing her had left a scar on Emmy’s heart that never really healed.

Seeing her again—even if it was just simulated—sent a wave of emotion rushing through her.

She took a breath and walked over to Sally’s side. Her voice shook as she spoke.

“Aunt Sally… What really happened the day of your accident?”

Sally froze, watering can halfway to the ground.

Slowly, she turned to Emmy, her eyes soft and full of concern.

“Emmy, it was just an accident. Your mother wasn’t involved at all.”

Her voice was gentle and steady. “Please, tell him. Let him know to stop blaming your mom. It was my fault—I lost control of the car and crashed.”

But now…

Emmy pressed her lips together, a new idea forming.

If she wanted the truth about Sally’s accident, she needed the point of view of someone who had actually been there. She’d have to put the VR headset on the real witness.

Evelina had always said she saw the whole thing—that was why Dean hated Emmy’s mom so much.

If Emmy wanted real answers, she needed Evelina to wear the headset.

“Jamie…”

A soft, hesitant voice yanked Emmy out of her thoughts.

She turned automatically.

And what she saw made her mouth fall open in shock.

The look on her face screamed, I just heard the juiciest gossip of the year.