The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 267

One of his old acquaintances, who used to be close to Jotham, recalled being invited out to dinner by Brianna and her friends once. During their conversation later, the topic kept circling back to Jotham.

By the end of the night, he and his friends were pretty much certain Brianna was trying to get with Jotham. It felt like they had just been put through a focus group.

But after a while of them growing close, it just fizzled out. No one ever heard any news of them officially getting together. Later, Jotham started seeing Ramona, and Brianna became the beautiful, unattached student advisor. The whole thing just became a forgotten piece of gossip.

Jotham, however, wasn't listening to the man's story. He didn't want to say anything more. Sunk in his own misery, he started to shuffle away, ready to go home and rest.

Just then, the wife of one of his old classmates muttered under her breath, “Why should the woman have to bear the consequences for a man's mistake all by herself? It takes two to tango, doesn't it?”

Her husband quickly shushed her before she could finish. Jotham hadn't even left yet.

“Maybe it takes two to tango, but what if one person is scheming and setting a trap for you? You can't really guard against that, can you?” the man who had been speaking earlier retorted with a wry smirk, feeling a bit defensive.

“A trap?” The words snagged Jotham’s attention. He stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face them. “Are you saying Brianna… she set me up?”

The man hesitated for a second before nodding. “Yeah. I mean, Brianna was always asking people about you back then. Why go to all that trouble? If she wanted to get to know you, couldn't she just talk to you directly? All that secret digging… wasn't it just to find your weak spots, to figure out exactly how to play you and make you fall for her?”

His words clearly resonated with the other men in the group, who nodded and murmured in agreement.

Only Jotham remained focused, his voice cold as he pressed on. “What did she ask about me?”

“I can’t remember all of it…”

“Did she know I was looking for someone? Did she know that from the start?” Jotham’s voice was a low growl, his teeth clenched and his eyes turning red as a chill washed over him.

The mood shifted. Everyone sensed something was wrong, and a sudden silence fell over the group.

Even Eulalia seemed to guess what was coming; her eyes darted between the men as she held her breath.

“Oh, right!” the man said, digging through his memory. “Yes! Weren't you always telling your friends about… that time you were rescued on some mountain as a kid?”

“She was obsessed with that story. She wanted to know every single detail. I heard she was almost fanatical about it, making people repeat your exact words, word for word, whenever you talked about it. She’d ask over and over again about any distinguishing features of the person who saved you…”

Before the man could finish, Jotham swayed on his feet. He staggered, and Eulalia lunged forward, grabbing his back to steady him. “Jotham!”

Eulalia shot a glare at their retreating backs. A bunch of useless hangers-on, she thought with a silent eye-roll.

Jotham stumbled again, and Eulalia quickly caught his arm. “Jotham, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I was wrong,” he said, looking at her. His eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, yet the corners of his mouth were still turned up in a chilling smile. The sight was heartbreaking.

Eulalia shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. It’s Brianna and Ramona’s fault…”

“No,” Jotham cut her off with a bitter laugh, his face deathly pale. “It was my fault.”

A single tear escaped, tracing a path down his cheek and into the corner of his mouth. The bitter taste was almost too much to bear.

On the way home, Jotham didn't say another word. He leaned back against the seat, numb, his eyes fixed on the blur of the world speeding by outside the window.

He hadn't wanted to worry Liliane, which was why he’d asked Eulalia to pick him up. She had no choice but to drive him back to his own villa.

After Ramona had left, Brianna had disappeared, and the Holt family had fallen into crisis, Jotham had let all the household staff go. The Holt family estate still had people who could look after him, but here, in his own house, he was completely alone.