Chapter 4

Nova lowered her gaze and smiled faintly to hide the bitterness and mocking coldness in her eyes. "I don't love you anymore, Uncle Ewan. You don't have to humiliate me like that." With that, she turned and walked out of the villa, while Ewan stood rooted to the spot. She took a cab to campus. There were still documents she needed to fill out for the project. As she exited the office, she suddenly felt dozens of eyes turning her way, followed by whispers and mocking laughter. "Oh my goodness, is this real? Rich people do play dirty." "The more proper someone looks, the filthier and flirtier they are in private." "I have the title. We're gonna call it 'The Billionaire's Caged Canary.'" While Nova was confused, a panicked roommate rushed over and stopped her. "Nova, check out what's trending on Twitter!" She hurriedly pulled out her phone, and a headline popped up on her screen. "The Shaw Family’s Forbidden Romance Exposed". She clicked on the post in disbelief, only to find a heavily censored, intimate video. The faces in the video were hers and Ewan's. In the video, she was pinned beneath him and shamelessly begging for his affection. Nova's face flushed red as she clenched her fists tightly. "This video is edited! I never did any of that!" "I trust you, Nova. Someone must've paid to get the headlines trending. You have to find out who did this and not let them get away with it!" Hearing that, Nova immediately grabbed a cab back to the villa to talk to Ewan. But just as she stepped onto the stairs, she found him standing at the top. Before she could say a word, he shot her a glare. His voice was cold and scornful as he jeered. "Is this what you meant when you said you didn't love me anymore? As a young lady, you ruined your reputation just to destroy my wedding with Wynter. Have you no shame?" Nova bit her lip hard and wanted to speak, but the words were stuck in her throat. She hadn't expected him to think of her that way, and at that moment, all her strength to defend herself crumbled. Ewan took her silence as guilt and sneered. His expression grew colder as he continued, "If you think I'd be forced to marry you because of public sentiments, you're dead wrong. "In this life, I, Ewan Shaw, will marry no one but Wynter Linwood!" Right after he announced that, Wynter stepped in and heard everything. Wynter walked up to Nova slowly, her voice dripping with condescension as she said, "A woman should know how to love and not destroy herself, Ms. Sterling." Nova opened her mouth to speak, but Wynter secretly gave her a forceful push, knowing there were 50 steps down the stairs behind her. At the same time, Wynter pretended to sprain her ankle and fall forward with a fake cry. Without hesitation, Ewan caught her hand. It was only when the sound of someone tumbling down the stairs that he turned and noticed Nova. She curled up at the base of the steps and clutched her knees in pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks as if crying could ease the excruciating pain in her body. The sight made Ewan tighten with alarm as he rushed down the stairs. "Nova, are you okay?"