Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 298

Chapter 298: Do You Have Proof?
That “you’re just being a good daughter” line? It was a slap right across Angelica’s face.

Luke leaned in next to Joe, voice dripping with sarcasm, “Chairman Morris, impressive. You’ve raised a great daughter. To cover for her adoptive mom, she tries to frame her own sister. Who knows—maybe if you ever get into trouble, Angelica will pin it on someone else for you too.”

Everyone instinctively took a step back from Joe.

After all, with a daughter like Angelica, any one of them could be the next ‘sacrifice’ for her idea of filial piety.

Joe’s expression darkened.

Selina, meanwhile, looked thoughtful. “I can understand why Angelica would do that, but what I can’t understand is my dad and my grandpa.”

“If Angelica wants to protect Katie and throw me under the bus, fine. But why are you all helping cover it up too? I’m your biological daughter. Am I worth less than some cheating mistress?”

Grandpa Clark’s face turned red, then pale. He caught the guilty look in Angelica’s eyes—and finally realized what had happened.

He just didn’t want to believe it.

Others were starting to put the pieces together too.

“So this whole ‘catching them in the act’ thing… Angelica planned it?”

“She spread rumors online first, then brought everyone here to watch the drama unfold—only for it to backfire. The woman in Ellis’s bed wasn’t Selina. It was Katie!”

“Wow… The Clark family is really something. Supporting the mistress is one thing—but throwing their own daughter under the bus to help her? That’s disgusting.”

Grandpa Clark’s face went even darker.

Meanwhile, Katie was still moaning on the bed, completely lost in the moment.

James looked like he wanted to die. “Get her off him!” he barked.

Angelica panicked and rushed over to Katie, pushing her urgently. “Mom!”

Katie froze at the sound of the shout, and slowly started to come to her senses.

She opened her eyes—and saw a crowd gathered around the bed. Cameras. Reporters.

What… what the hell is going on…?

“AHHH!!” Katie screamed as last night’s memories came rushing back. Her face collapsed in horror as she looked up—straight into Selina’s eyes.

It was over. Totally, completely over.

She’d been set up by Selina, ended up in Ellis’s bed, and got caught in the act. There was no explaining her way out of this.

That bitch. That bitch!

Katie lost it and started screaming, “Selina! You set me up! You set me up!”

“How could you do this to me?! I’m your stepmother! Even if you hate me, you should care about the Clark family’s reputation! I’ve brought shame to the family—I might as well die!”

She lunged toward the wall as if to bash her head against it, and Angelica screamed, crying, “Mom! Don’t! Please don’t do this!”

“Selina humiliated me in front of everyone—how am I supposed to keep living…”

Angelica sobbed, “Selina, you went too far! If Mom did something wrong, say it! Why would you trap her like this with such cheap, disgusting tricks…”

For a moment, everyone exchanged uncertain glances. Katie’s breakdown seemed… pretty real.

Logan narrowed his eyes.

Selina calmly watched Katie’s hysterics for a while, then asked lightly, “You done performing?”

The room fell quiet. Katie’s face stiffened. “Selina… what do you mean, performing…”

“You didn’t ask any questions. You didn’t even try to understand what happened. First thing out of your mouth was that I framed you.” Selina gave a half-smile. “So go ahead. What exactly did I ‘frame’ you for?”

People around them nodded. Katie woke up and instantly teamed up with Angelica, but what did any of this actually have to do with Selina?

Katie cried, “You’re saying me showing up here has nothing to do with you?”

She choked back sobs. “Last night I saw you getting too close to Ellis and came over to warn you out of concern. But you dragged me into Ellis’s room and said to sit for a bit… Then you gave me a drink—and after that, everything went black!”

Katie cried while putting on a full act, like she was ready to die. “Selina, I know I was wrong in the past, but I’ve changed! I care about you so much, and yet you framed me! Boohoo… just let me die!”

Angelica stood there biting her lip, tears falling—like the whole world owed them something.

All eyes turned to Selina, but she stayed calm and composed.

“Then tell me,” she said slowly, “exactly how did I ‘frame’ you?”

Katie opened her mouth to speak, but Selina cut in first:

“I was in the banquet hall all night. I only left when Logan arrived. There wasn’t even a window of time for me to meet Ellis in private.”

“And when Ellis showed up at the banquet for drinks, I was already upstairs in my room playing cards. Plenty of people can confirm that.”

Sure enough, Alice said lazily, “We got there around 9 p.m. If Miss Angelica doesn’t believe it, check the cameras.”

Ethan spoke up, and then others joined in.

One contestant said hesitantly, “I saw Selina head back to her room… that was right as Ellis arrived. The two of them definitely didn’t have any time alone together.”

“Yeah, and Selina stayed in her room the whole time after that. So how exactly did Ms. Bryant see her being ‘harassed’ by Ellis?”

Katie was about to explode.

She snapped, “But—but if Selina hadn’t invited me, why would I have gone to Ellis’s room in the first place?!”

Selina nodded like she agreed. “Exactly. Shouldn’t you be answering that? Ms. Bryant, you came just because I invited you? Go ahead, ask around—who’s actually gonna believe that?”

“Everyone here knows this isn’t your first attempt to take me down. Ever since you clawed your way into this family, you’ve hated me. You really expect us to believe you’re dumb enough to walk into a trap just because I ‘invited’ you?”

Katie froze, her expression cracking.

Freya scoffed, “Seriously. Ms. Bryant, you should stop assuming the rest of us are idiots.”

Everyone knew exactly what kind of relationship Katie and Selina had.

Katie claimed to be the perfect stepmom, always saying she never wronged Selina. But the truth was plain as day.

It was Katie who got Selina kicked out to the countryside. Katie who stole her inheritance. Katie who took her late mother’s belongings.

If Ellis had really taken advantage of Selina, Katie would’ve been the first to cheer. No way she’d sacrifice herself to protect her.

And besides—everyone saw Katie clinging to Ellis like that. Who was she trying to fool?

Katie’s throat tightened. She was just about to defend herself when Selina casually spoke again.

“The entire banquet hall and hotel are covered in cameras. Ms. Bryant, if you can find any footage proving I framed you, I’ll quit the competition on the spot—no argument. But can you?”

She couldn’t.

There was no way.

Katie had deliberately avoided all the security cameras when she went looking for Selina. There was no footage at all of them going to Ellis’s room.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Katie’s spine.

She remembered what Selina had told her last night—”I’ll make sure you can’t explain your way out.”

Now the fear set in. Full-on dread.

She’d been played—completely.

Selina wasn’t surprised by Katie’s reaction.

“So,” she said, voice light but sharp, “you have no proof, and yet you think your word alone is enough to convict me?”

“You were the one in bed. You were the one caught in the act. And now, you and Angelica cry a little, and suddenly all of it is my fault?”