Chapter 503
Elmer wasn’t wearing a suit today. Instead, he’d chosen a crisp white set of casual clothes.
Technically, Niamh had arrived at the museum first, but the way Elmer stood there-leaning lightly against the marble banister, hands in his pockets-made it seem as though he’d been waiting for her. And that he’d been waiting for a long time.
“You look surprised,” he said, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Elmer took a few steps toward her, closing the gap between them until they were only a pace apart.
Niamh shook her head, smiling. She was a little surprised to see him, but then again, she shouldn’t have been. Elmer always showed up for her, especially when she needed him most.
Seeing her soft smile, Elmer’s own expression warmed. He didn’t say anything more. There had always been a kind of quiet understanding between them-something deeper than words, a silent bond that was often more eloquent than conversation.
So they wandered through the halls of the Metropolitan Museum together, silently admiring the treasures of history. Shoulder to shoulder, they appeared both distant and intimately close at once.
Elmer didn’t ask what Niamh planned to do next. Niamh didn’t offer.
It was as if Marina’s assault-the horrific ordeal and the false accusations
that had thrown Niamh into the center of a social media storm-were things that simply didn’t matter between the two of them.
They stayed until dusk, only leaving the museum when the last rays of sunlight faded from the city’s skyline.
Even though Niamh had driven herself, Elmer insisted on taking her home
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in his own car. She could see the worry in his eyes-he was genuinely afraid something might happen to her.
After all, Marina had pulled these kinds of publicity stunts before. There was no hard proof, but if Marina had been involved in Daniel Kingsley’s kidnapping attempt, it wasn’t hard to imagine she was behind the current smear campaign too.
And that last media storm had left real scars.
Still, looking back, Niamh realized that experience had made her stronger, steadier. And this time, with Elmer at her side, she didn’t feel so alone.
“Nia…”
Elmer walked her all the way to her front door.
“Stay offline for a while, okay? I’ll pick you up and drop you off from work until this blows over.” He spoke with such grave sincerity that it almost sounded like he was guarding her from an assassin rather than from online trolls.
Niamh couldn’t help but laugh.
“Relax. With you as my knight in shining armor, I’ll be just fine.”
Elmer nodded, looking relieved.
He could see that Niamh had weathered far worse storms. Maybe that was why she could stay so calm now, even in the eye of an online
hurricane.
After saying goodnight, Niamh closed her door behind her.
Elmer wanted her to avoid the internet, but she had other plans. This time, she was going to fight back-strategically. After all, her circumstances had changed. She wasn’t just Jonathan’s wife anymore, smeared by rumors of infidelity and left defenseless when The Thomas Group publicly cut her loose. Back then, she had no allies, no public goodwill.
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Now, she was Master BYC-an established name in her own right, long since divorced from Jonathan. She had resources. She had her own PR team. She wasn’t going to let Marina drag her name through the mud.
Of course, every accusation Marina hurled was baseless, but the problem with lies was that it was nearly impossible to prove a negative. Niamh needed a breakthrough.
As she scrolled through the online chaos-Marina’s paid trolls fighting with her own publicists-her phone suddenly rang.
“Hello?” she answered.
Michael Burton’s voice came through the receiver.
“Need a hand?”
Niamh froze for a beat.
“You’d really help me?”
The trending topics online hadn’t named Marina outright, but anyone paying attention could connect the dots. Niamh was certain Michael knew exactly who the so-called “bankrupted and assaulted woman” was.
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