The Day I Kissed An Older Man

‘Jeremy has been tapping away on his phone when I came down from Annie’s room. He kept ignoring me at the time, but it had
to be then that he made the hashtags vanish,’ thought Corinne.
“Corinne, the hashtags might’ve disappeared, but this rumor won’t die down that easily. To be on the safe side, it’s best if you
stay home these few days,” urged Lucas.
Corinne nodded. “Thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself. I’m going to head back now if there’s nothing else.”
“Wait!”
Corinne sat back down. “Yes?”
Lucas looked at her, conflicted. “Corinne, don’t you find the whole thing weird? The media companies here would never dare to
report about Holden Group unless they had conclusive evidence.
“After the hashtags disappeared, I asked someone to look into the matter, and they found out some media company from abroad
started the whole thing. This makes me think the culprit isn’t only targeting you but every one of the Holdens. You must be
careful, okay?”
Corinne was starting to get annoyed at him repeatedly telling her to be careful. Suppressing her anger, she nodded and said,
“Okay, I get it. Thank you.”
After that, Corinne got out of the car, and Jeremy drove over to pick her up so she could walk less. After getting into the car,
Jeremy reversed the car a few meters and drove into the mansion.
Lucas watched as everything transpired before sighing with resignation.
Edmund turned back to ask him, “Mister Lucas, don’t worry. I’m sure Mister Jeremy will keep Miss Corinne safe.”
Lucas frowned. “He’s the reason I’m worried about her. His family has a very complicated relationship with the public, which
means Corinne will be a target just by associating herself with them. I’m afraid there won’t be a day of peace for Corinne after
the hashtag fiasco.”
Edmund fell silent. He knew how complicated Jeremy’s past was and only hoped that Corinne would be safe.
“Edmund, arrange for some men to keep watch outside the Holdens’ mansion. Call me instantly if Corinne goes out,” Lucas
ordered.

“Mister Lucas, I don’t think it’s a good idea to suddenly station our men outside the Holdens’ mansion, given the bad blood
between the two families. This might just spark another conflict,” replied Edmund hesitantly.
Lucas frowned. “I don’t care about all that. Corinne’s safety is my priority right now. Just do as I say, and make sure the Holdens
don’t find out.”
“Understood, Mister Lucas.”
After that, they drove away.
Corinne followed Jeremy into the mansion, and they thought Greg and Pamela would be sleeping. Instead, the two elderly
people were sitting in the living room with wretched expressions.
“I’ve never been so humiliated in my life! That wild child has brought nothing but disgrace to this family!” shouted Greg angrily.
“Calm down, you stupid man! We don’t even know whether the news about Corinne is true. I, for one, don’t think she’s that kind
of girl,” said Pamela, trying to pacify Greg.
Greg scoffed. “You don’t think she is? How long have you known her? You should know by now just how devious some people
can be! We haven’t been back for a day, but look at all the trouble she caused for this family! Anyway, it’s not like she and
Jeremy are legally married. We should just ask her to pack up her things and leave this house. Then, we’ll hold a press
conference to clarify we have nothing to do with her.”
“No! We can’t do that!” cried Pamela and Francine at the same time. The two of them exchanged glances with each other.
“Grandpa, we shouldn’t do something so unethical. Corinne is the woman Jeremy chose to be his wife. We’ll be the
laughingstock in the city if word gets out we kicked her out because of some unfounded rumor,” implored Francine.
“Francine’s right! We cannot kick her out of the house. Besides, you yourself were surprised to find Francine getting along with
Corinne. Plus, there’s no way Jeremy will agree to this,” added Pamela.