Chapter 202
The ballroom remained deathly silent.
Every gaze was fixed on Khloe.
George's expression was stern, his eyes sharp with scrutiny.
He had never cared that Khloe had been born out of wedlock. A person's birth was never their choice.
But deception...
That was different.
If she had hidden a previous marriage and entered the Hunt family under pretenses, then it wasn't simply a matter of her past—it was a question of integrity.
And no matter how much Nick loved her, George could never accept a daughter-in-law who had built their relationship on lies.
Standing alone beneath the brilliant lights, Khloe felt the weight of hundreds of eyes pressing down on her.
She didn't recognize the man who had accused her.
But the moment he mentioned Trey, every nerve in her body tightened.
The color drained from her face.
Her lips parted instinctively, but no words came.
She knew immediately what was happening.
This wasn't an accident.
Someone had orchestrated this.
Clarice.
The timing was too perfect.
The accusation had been prepared long before tonight.
Khloe could deny his words.
Because they weren't entirely true.
She had never been Trey's wife.
But the moment she tried to explain, she would have to expose everything that had happened between them.
She could endure becoming the subject of ridicule.
She had survived far worse.
What she couldn't bear...
...was dragging the Hunt family into her disgrace.
Loretta.
George.
Arista.
Oscar.
Every one of them had accepted her with sincerity and kindness.
She couldn't repay that trust by turning tonight's celebration into a public scandal.
Before Khloe could gather herself, Clarice spoke first.
Her face was the picture of astonishment.
"Sir," she asked gently, "are you certain?"
She looked genuinely confused.
"Could you have mistaken someone else for Khloe?"
Her question sounded like a defense.
In reality, it handed the man the perfect opportunity.
"I couldn't possibly be mistaken."
The man rose confidently from his chair.
"I even have proof."
He pulled out his phone as though he had anticipated this very moment.
With several quick taps, he opened a short video.
Guests nearest him leaned closer.
The recording showed Khloe and Trey attending the same business reception.
Although it contained nothing intimate—no embraces, no affectionate gestures—their appearances together were unmistakable.
"I remember seeing them with my own eyes," the man insisted loudly.
"Look for yourselves."
He raised the phone higher.
"Isn't this Khloe Morrison?"
Before anyone could take the phone—
A powerful hand clamped around his wrist.
"Ah!"
The man's face twisted in pain.
His entire arm felt as though it were being crushed.
When he looked up and met Nick's icy gaze, terror washed over him.
His fingers loosened instinctively.
The phone slipped from his grasp.
Crash!
It struck the marble floor.
Before anyone could react—
Nick stepped forward.
Crunch.
His polished leather shoe came down squarely on the screen.
Glass splintered beneath his foot.
The display flickered once before turning completely black.
Another slow press.
Crack.
The entire phone shattered into pieces.
Nick finally lifted his foot.
He looked down at the ruined device without the slightest trace of remorse.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was calm.
"I accidentally broke your phone."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I'll compensate you."
The words sounded courteous.
Yet everyone present heard the unmistakable warning beneath them.
His eyes slowly swept across the ballroom.
The smile never reached them.
Those cold, unreadable eyes carried a murderous chill that froze the air.
No one dared speak.
Even breathing felt difficult.
At the main table, George's face darkened.
Moments earlier, he had warned Nick with a single look not to interfere.
Nick had ignored him completely.
"It's... It's alright..."
The man's voice shook violently.
Sweat poured down his forehead.
Although Clarice had instructed him exactly what to do, facing Nick Hunt in person was far more terrifying than he'd imagined.
He desperately wanted to pull away.
Nick didn't let him.
His grip tightened.
Crack.
A sickening pop echoed through the silent ballroom.
"AAAAH!"
The man screamed.
His knees buckled as he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his wrist in agony.
His entire body writhed with pain.
Only then did Nick release him.
He looked down at the man as though staring at something beneath his notice.
Clarice hurried over immediately, several assistants following behind her.
"Nick," she said with practiced composure, "everyone here is our guest tonight."
Her tone remained gentle despite the chaos.
"There's no need to lose your temper."
She signaled her staff.
Within seconds, they helped the injured man to his feet and hurriedly escorted him away.
Then she turned toward Nick with an expression full of concern.
"If this is all a misunderstanding, it can certainly be explained."
Her eyes shifted toward Khloe.
"I believe Khloe wouldn't intentionally deceive you."
She paused ever so slightly before delivering the sentence she'd been waiting to say.
"After all..."
"You already knew about these things, didn't you?"
The moment those words fell—
The ballroom erupted into whispers.
"So the Hunt family knew?"
"Did Nick really know?"
"Or is she forcing him to accept it?"
"If he didn't know..."
"What happens to this engagement now?"
The murmurs spread like ripples across the room.
At another table, Michelle unconsciously tightened her grip around her wineglass.
Her heart pounded painfully as she watched Nick.
She had warned him long ago.
She had told him Khloe had once been involved with another man.
But he hadn't listened.
No one understood Nick better than she did.
When he cared about someone...
He gave them everything.
Completely.
Fearlessly.
Without leaving himself a way out.
Looking at him now, standing protectively before Khloe despite the mounting accusations...
Michelle's heart ached.
If everything being said tonight was true...
Then Nick would suffer more deeply than anyone.
Not far away, Ethan sat comfortably in his seat.
Unlike the growing tension filling the room, he appeared perfectly relaxed.
His gaze drifted leisurely across the Hunt family.
George's grim expression.
Arista's anxious face.
Oscar's troubled silence.
Every one of them was looking at Khloe.
There was concern in their eyes.
But there was something else now.
Doubt.
Suspicion.
Exactly as he had hoped.
A satisfied smile curved Ethan's lips.
He lifted his wineglass and took an unhurried sip.
Sometimes...
The cruelest way to destroy someone wasn't with violence.
It was true.
Or something close enough to it.
Khloe's place in the Hunt family had never been secure.
It rested upon reputation.
And among families like theirs...
Reputation was everything.
No matter how deeply Nick loved her, their relationship had only begun.
Now that her past had been dragged into the light before every influential family in the city...
Ethan was certain of one thing.
Nick alone would never be enough to protect this engagement.