The Mysterious Billionaire and His Substitute Bride (Ethan and Janet)

Johanna had booked a private room in the cafe in advance, so Vera and the other ladies followed her inside.

The thought of the Harding family's recent scandals, as well as Leo's warning, ran through Vera's mind, and she became very uneasy.

Considering how much these women loved to gossip, they were definitely going to ask her for details on the recent scandals and make fun of her whilst at it. This was especially true since they'd all been invited by Johanna.

She had been very rude to Janet earlier, so it was almost guaranteed that Janet and Johanna were going to take the opportunity to humiliate her.

Just as Vera had expected, as soon as the tea and desserts arrived, the wealthy ladies began to gossip as they usually did, chatting away excitedly.

As the conversations progressed, Vera eventually became the topic of discussion.

The Harding family's recent scandals were the most popular topic in their circle.

Mrs. Lee was the first to ask about it, "Mrs. Harding, we heard that your daughter-in-law had to run away with her child because of you. Is that true?" As soon as she ended her question, all the other ladies joined in and began chipping in their own comments.

"I heard you made a scene at the hospital when you tried to take your granddaughter away," one remarked.

"Yeah, I also heard that your daughter-in-law went into labor prematurely because of the assistant that you got for her. Is that true?" another asked.

Vera froze. Her face turned pale as they bombarded her with their questions.

It was so humiliating!

She'd never felt this humiliated in her entire life.

In Vera's moment of helplessness, unsure how to respond to them, Janet suddenly spoke up with a smile. "Ladies, please don't bother Mrs. Harding with all these questions. Laney and I are very good friends, and I happen to know a thing or two about the issue."

Upon hearing Janet's words, Vera's heart skipped a beat.

She knew that Janet was going to take the opportunity to reveal everything, including how Kailee had instigated her to force Laney to leave. It was going to be a complete humiliation for Vera.

At that point, Vera kept silent, and waited anxiously for Janet to reveal the truth.

All the ladies looked at Janet with teeming anticipation, hoping that she'd divulge some shocking secrets to satisfy their intense curiosity.

Janet smiled softly at them and said, "The truth is, Laney and Garrett just had a small argument, and decided to live separately for a while. It had nothing to do with Mrs. Harding."

Mrs. Lee then asked skeptically, "Really? That's not what people have been saying."

The other ladies were equally doubtful of Janet's account.

The hot topic of Vera mistreating her daughter-in-law had been making the rounds in their circles, with everyone discussing it into great detail. To them, it was highly unlikely that the situation was as simple as Janet had made it out to be.

It was difficult for them to believe that Laney had left with her child because of a minor disagreement with Garrett.

How could that be?

Vera was equally confused, wondering why Janet was speaking up for her.

Did she have some trick up her sleeve?

Janet smiled and continued, "As you all know, rumors travel faster than true stories. Laney told me everything. Mrs. Harding even helped them reconcile with one another."

Janet spoke in a very convincing manner, so the gossipy ladies started to believe her account of the scandals.

Johanna then also nodded in agreement and added, "Mrs. Harding has been enduring these negative assumptions about her in order to take the pressure off Garrett. She is just being protective of her son." The ladies were skeptical of Janet's account at first, but after Johanna's reassurance, they immediately became convinced. They then felt a unique mixture of sympathy and respect for Vera.

"I see. That makes perfect sense."

"I didn't realize that Mrs. Harding had quietly been tolerating so much."

"Next time I hear anyone spread these rumors again, I'll definitely stop them."

The ladies all remarked one after another.

Vera's long-standing worry was finally put to rest.

In spite of that, she was still puzzled as to why Johanna and Janet had decided to come to her aid and defend her.