Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

The screenshot of the trending topics showed several more items that had exploded in popularity.

[Luna Lynn’s Secret Marriage Exposed!]

[Luna Lynn Had a Child!]

[Luna Lynn’s Child!]

[Who Is That Man!]

[Grant Group’s Adrian Grant!]

Besides the screenshot, there were also several photos showing the back and side profile of a woman following a man who was leading a child.

The amazing part was that you couldn’t see her face at all in the photo.

Even more amazing was the fact that the woman in the photo was her!

And she had been photoshopped to look like Luna Lynn.

How did she know? As the person who was actually there, how could she not recognize the scene?

’What the hell!’

’I’m a stand-in?’

Caroline Whitman was stunned!

’The media would do anything for an exclusive headline these days.’

Caroline Whitman sat in the living room of the hotel’s presidential suite, silently glancing in Adrian Grant’s direction.

At that moment, Adrian Grant had just carried Ryan Grant out of the bathroom. He was gently drying the boy’s hair with a towel before using a blow-dryer to finish the job.

Then, he turned, walked to the fridge, twisted open a bottle of water, and took a long drink.

Seemingly sensing her stare, Adrian Grant finished his water and turned to look at Caroline Whitman. "What’s wrong?"

Just as Caroline Whitman was about to speak, Adrian Grant’s phone, which was on the table, rang.

He picked up the phone and glanced at it.

It was Yvonne Grant, his cousin.

Adrian Grant answered the call without saying a word, and Yvonne Grant’s voice immediately burst through the line.

"What the hell, Adrian? Are you and Luna Lynn a thing now?! And you have a kid with her?"

Adrian Grant instinctively glanced at Caroline Whitman and frowned. "What about Luna Lynn?"

Yvonne Grant: "You don’t know? The news has blown up online! Someone snapped a photo of Luna Lynn and her ’family of three’ in the underground parking garage of a mall in Marinus. People are asking me if the guy is you. The group chat is going insane, everyone keeps asking me!"

Adrian Grant: "..."

After he hung up, he noticed that quite a few people in the group chat had tagged him.

Zane Carson: [Image][Image]

Zane Carson: [Dude, is this you?]

Evan Shaw: [Keeping secrets from us now, Adrian?]

Miles Morgan: [Oho, so you’re playing the secret marriage game? I thought that starlet was Vincent Fuller’s girlfriend. Poaching, are we?]

Adrian Grant zoomed in on the photos. ’They were just shots of a side profile and a back; you couldn’t even see the face. And they’re sure it’s me?’

’I even deliberately changed my style for this trip. How could they still recognize me?’

Adrian Grant mulled it over and casually replied in the chat: [...What makes you think it’s me?]

Miles Morgan: [We might not recognize you, but someone with a discerning eye would recognize that watch on your wrist. It’s one-of-a-kind. Plus, you happen to be out of Kingsport right now, and looking closely, that profile really does look a bit like you.]

Evan Shaw: [Now that’s not fair. Maybe the guy’s just wearing a knockoff.]

Zane Carson: [/smirks] And here I thought Adrian was finally settling down to enjoy fatherhood.

The guys were just joking around.

Adrian Grant had been abroad for the last few years; it was virtually impossible for him to have a child with a Chinese actress.

It was just a rare opportunity to tease Adrian Grant about a "scandal," and they couldn’t let it pass.

Just then, a message from an unexpected name popped up.

Vincent Fuller: [?]

Vincent Fuller: [Are you and Luna Lynn pulling a publicity stunt?]

Vincent Fuller: [When did you two get in touch?]

Adrian Grant: [Get help.]

When Vincent Fuller saw the trending topic at the Fuller family estate, he also heard some other rumors floating around. He wasn’t thinking straight and immediately went to question Adrian Grant.

Seeing Adrian Grant’s reply, his mind instantly cleared.

He rubbed his temples.

’I really let my anger get the better of me.’

’Luna Lynn has been by my side all these years. There’s no way she could have a child that old.’

’But then again,’ he thought, ’maybe she found Adrian Grant to cook up this publicity stunt.’

’But judging from Adrian’s reply, that’s probably not it.’

Vincent Fuller tried calling Luna Lynn several more times, only to find he’d been blocked. Finally, he grabbed his keys and headed downstairs.

But a sharp voice stopped him. "Are you going to see that actress?"

"If you dare take one step out that door, I’ll give all of your shares in the group to your brother! And don’t even think about setting foot in this house again!"

Vincent Fuller turned and sneered. "Fine by me. While you’re at it, why don’t you have Timothy handle the marriage alliance with the Sutton family, too."

With that, he turned and left without a moment’s hesitation.

"Fine! Just fine! You think your so-called love is so unbreakable? Without the Fuller family’s backing, do you really think the Lynch family would let you be with their daughter? Without the Fuller name, do you think Luna Lynn would still want to be with you?"

Vincent Fuller said nothing, simply walking straight out the door.

——

After replying to Vincent Fuller, Adrian Grant turned and made a phone call. Soon, all the trending topics about the Grant Group and Luna Lynn’s child were taken down.

At the same time, Luna Lynn also posted a statement debunking the rumors, clarifying that she did not have a child and that her lawyers would be contacting those who started the rumor.

She also attached a timestamped security video of her leaving the mall as proof.

Shortly after, the media outlet that had published the "exclusive" photos rushed to issue a clarification, stating that the woman in the pictures was not, in fact, Luna Lynn.

They even included a side-by-side comparison of the original and the photoshopped images.

Caroline Whitman, who had been sitting on the sofa the entire time, watched as the trending topic was taken down and the wave of clarifications from Luna Lynn and the news outlet followed.

All this, plus a running commentary of live updates from Lily Young.

Suddenly, Lily Young sent her the set of high-definition clarification photos.

Lily Young: [Caroline, hey, that car is the same model as yours.]

Caroline Whitman: [...]

She checked several times. Thankfully, the license plate wasn’t visible in the photo.

「Two minutes later.」

The high-definition clarification photos were also scrubbed from the internet.

There was no need to guess whose hand was behind that.

She turned to look at Adrian Grant. "Thanks for taking care of that."

But after the high-definition photos were released, Adrian Grant’s phone started buzzing even more than before.

It was a fresh round of "greetings."

In addition to the question marks from his friends, there was now a barrage of tags and question marks aimed at him in the family group chat.

Adrian Grant ignored them all.

He turned off his phone and sat on the sofa, perfectly composed. "It’s all taken care of."

"It was an exclusive story manufactured by a news agency for clicks. It just so happens that the outfit you were wearing today was the same style as Luna Lynn’s."

Caroline Whitman was speechless.

She never thought she’d get dragged into a manufactured scandal like this.

"Daddy, Mommy, I’m done with my bath. What photos are you talking about?"

Ryan Grant, who had been sitting on a chair drying his feet, ran over and leaped into Adrian Grant’s arms with a yawn.

"It’s nothing. Now that you’re clean, go to bed early. We have to go to the aquarium tomorrow morning." Caroline Whitman glanced at the time, then at the sleepy little guy.

It was already nine-thirty.

Back home, Ryan Grant would have been asleep long ago.

Without another word, Adrian Grant scooped up the little guy and carried him into one of the bedrooms.

Caroline Whitman followed close behind. The "family of three" was once again lying in bed together.

The two adults had an unwritten rule.

Whenever they traveled, Tiny had to sleep with them. No one was allowed to sleep alone.

Ryan Grant always used the excuse that it was drafty sleeping in the middle, but that trick wouldn’t work here.

Adrian Grant had already asked the hotel for an extra, smaller comforter just for the child.

In other words: three people, three comforters, each to their own.

Otherwise, without Ryan Grant acting as a buffer between them, they might wake up the next morning in each other’s arms again.

As Caroline Whitman lay there staring at the ceiling, a genuine question surfaced in her mind.

’Even though we haven’t crossed that final line, can we really call what we’re doing innocent? Can we really say we have a clear conscience?’