The Love That Came Too Late

Chapter 2 Public Shaming

The woman was the mother of the victim in the Clearwater Manor case.

A horde of reporters swarmed in with her, their blinding camera flashes leaving Celia dizzy. The woman lunged at Celia, shoving and slapping her, her voice raw with grief.

"I told my daughter not to fight. We are no match for the wealthy. But this woman swore she would win the case."

"And what happened? They called my girl a w***e until she jumped. Yet here this witch walks free."

"Why does she get to live while my daughter is gone? She should burn in hell for what she did."

Celia stumbled backward, nearly falling, until Iris grabbed her. With a vicious yank, Iris wrenched Celia's head forward, shoving her scarred forehead into the camera's glare.

"Yes, my sister botched the Clearwater Manor case," Iris cooed, her sickly sweet tone dripping poison. "But look at this scar. Hasn't she suffered enough?"

"The victim was a nobody waitress. My sister is a mansion-dwelling heiress. That guttersnipe's life could never compare."

By evening, Celia's face dominated every news channel.

There was Iris, clinging to her like a loving sister, then spitting those vile words. The audience ate it up, believing every cruel sentiment came from Celia herself.

The internet exploded. Hate poured in like acid rain.

User A wrote, "Disgrace to the legal profession. A year in prison? Should have been life."

User B commented, "Props to the inmates who messed her up. Rich b***h got what she deserved."

User C posted, "Who has this lawyer's address? I have some care packages to send."

This was not just hate anymore. Every comment now carried a threat.

After hours of pacing, Celia recorded an explanation, only for Xavier to burst in as she reached for the send button.

He ripped the phone from her hands. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I am telling the truth."

"Truth? You will throw Iris under the bus."

Celia stared at her husband of five years. The light in her eyes died.

This was the man who had once kissed her scars, promising to shield her from the world. Now he was sacrificing her to protect another woman.

"And what about me?" Her voice broke. "Xavier, whose side are you on?"

"I am your husband and Iris's family. I am on the side of justice."

He said it like some noble declaration, his chin raised like a damned martyr.

"Iris has stood by you this whole time, and now you are stabbing her in the back?"

Celia let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow in her throat.

"Stab her? Who fed me to the wolves? Does Iris actually care about me? Xavier, are you blind or just heartless?"

"Celia, you are being unreasonable."

"Unreasonable? That is rich coming from you." She made a desperate grab for her phone. "Give it back."

Xavier held it high above his head, then deleted the video with a decisive beep.

Her hand froze mid-air, fingers twitching. When she spoke, her voice cracked with barely contained rage. "How dare you delete my video?"

His face might as well have been carved from glacier ice. "Face reality, Celia. There is no going back for you now."

"Besides," he added dismissively, "one Hartwell woman at the top is enough. You will stay in the kitchen where women like you belong."

The last flicker of light in her eyes died as she stared at him. She refused to cry. He was not worth a single tear. Yet they fell anyway, hot and unwanted.

"I graduated top of Hawthorne University's law school," she whispered, each word sharp as broken glass. "Five years of flawless cases. Every senior in the field hailed me as the next big thing."

"And now you want me to play housewife, just to pave the way for your precious Iris?"