No Wife, No Life Chapter 279

Emily felt a chill run down her spine as she responded softly, not daring to defy Jeremy.

"Okay, you can leave." He waved his hand dismissively.

Emily finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out.

Once she was out of sight, Jeremy's gaze turned grim as he looked at the information on his computer.

At the top of the screen was an enlarged photo of a beautiful, sweet-looking woman with dimples when she smiled, like a happy little princess.She was Heidi, Jacob's beloved sister; both Jacob and Harper cherished her dearly, and she had never encountered significant hardships throughout her life. As a student of a renowned international designer, she had already registered to participate in a prestigious global design competition.Jeremy didn't tell Emily the specifics because he planned to use Emily against Heidi.

If something happened to Heidi, would Jacob and Harper just stand by and do nothing?

 Emily was Alex's person. Jeremy knew Alex all too well. Emily had once saved his life, so if something happened to her, Alex would definitely get involved.

So, Jeremy was just waiting for the show to begin.

...

When Harper returned to the country, she found out that Molly had made the news several times during the month she was away, always appearing with another woman.

That woman was named Xavia.

Seeing this, Harper's heart sank.

No one in this world would want to be someone else's stand-in.

Molly was just Molly, not anyone's substitute.

But the news clearly suggested that Molly was making her way in the entertainment industry by looking like Xavia, which was an insult to Molly.

That was bad enough, but there were also rumors online that Arthur and Xavia had been schoolmates and good friends.

Some netizens had dug up their old gossip. They had grown up together and attended the same university.

In other words, Arthur and Xavia had once been a couple in love.

The posts even included photos of them from their college days.

Harper's eyes fell on those photos.

Arthur and Xavia were sitting under a sycamore tree, and Arthur's eyes were filled with affection as he looked at her.

Harper silently stared at the photos, and suddenly, she understood why Arthur had chosen Molly.

Because without her makeup, Molly bore a slight resemblance to Xavia.

For a moment, Harper felt lost.

How would Molly feel seeing these photos? Wouldn't she be hurt?

What was Arthur's real intention in getting close to Molly?

The internet was abuzz with talk of Arthur and Xavia being a perfect match, destined to be together. So what about Molly?

If Molly hadn't married Arthur, if Arthur wasn't her husband, Harper wouldn't care about any of this. She might even politely say they were a good match.

But now... Harper's eyes dimmed.

At that moment, the office door opened.

Manuel walked in and saw her staring blankly.

Following her gaze, he saw the photos of Arthur and Xavia.

"Why are you looking at these?" Manuel placed the newly calculated data on her desk and said, "This news has been circulating for a while now."

Harper paused. "For a while? How long?"

Manuel thought for a moment. "It started around the time you went to meet Alvina. But you haven't told me about Alvina yet."

Harper was already standing up. "I'll tell you later. I have something to take care of right now."

With that, she left FusionX Company.

Outside, Harper drove straight to Molly and Arthur's villa.

On the way, she wondered if someone had started targeting Molly while she was abroad.

Did they know Molly was her friend and hurt her on purpose?

But what about Arthur? Why hadn't he responded? At the very least, he should have tried to reduce the news's impact. Why let it remain a hot topic?

Could his apparent indifference stem from concerns about potential harm befalling Xavia?

So what did that make Molly?

By not responding, he was essentially admitting that he was Xavia's protector, making anyone in the entertainment industry think twice before messing with Xavia.

And most importantly, Xavia could publicly claim to be Arthur's beloved, elevating her status.

All of this benefited Xavia without any downside.

But what about Molly?

As Arthur's wife and lover, she had to watch all this and endure the criticism. Why?

The more Harper thought about it, the angrier she got. Molly was her best friend, and she couldn't tolerate this.

At the villa's entrance, Harper parked her car by the curb and took out her phone to send a message to Caden.

Caden was in a meeting at FusionX Company when he heard the special ringtone he had set for Harper. Thinking she had something important to tell him, he quickly checked his phone.

The message read: [Jerk!]

Before Caden could react, another message came through: [Are you using me as a stand-in? Do you have another woman, like a first love, behind my back? Bastard!]

Caden was completely baffled, having no idea what Harper was talking about.

They had been fine that morning. What had he done to offend her?

He had explained to her before that his past relationships were just flings.

What stand-in? She wasn't anyone's stand-in.

Caden couldn't figure it out, so he hastily ended the meeting and immediately called Harper.

The call was declined. What was going on?

Though he didn't know why, he figured apologizing first wouldn't hurt.

Meanwhile, Molly had also seen the news and learned the truth she had never known.

She knew Arthur had someone in his heart, but she didn't know he was so obsessed with Xavia.

And those chronicles circulating online revealed that Arthur had indeed been genuinely compassionate towards Xavia. Perhaps Arthur only embodied the role of the flawless gentleman exclusively in Xavia's presence.

But she was Arthur's wife.

So many people online said Arthur and Xavia were a perfect match, but no one knew Arthur was married, and his wife was Molly.

Now she understood the reason why Arthur had taken an interest in her and had slept with her so easily.

Arthur was cold and unfeeling, not the type to be swayed by mere attraction.

He had agreed to let her into his bed, perhaps only because she resembled his first love.

So who was he thinking of when they were having sex? Xavia?

No wonder he often covered her eyes or made her turn away during their intimate moments.

Their passion had no love, only desire.

She was a stand-in! She really was Xavia's stand-in.

She had told Arthur she wouldn't be anyone's stand-in. She was just Molly. Why did Arthur have to be so cruel to her? What had she done wrong?