Chapter 2

In the living room, Chloe's parents sat on the sofa. Chloe and I stood in front of them.

"...and that’s everything. That’s exactly what happened."

After speaking, I looked at Chloe, hoping she would back up my story.

Beatrice also looked at her daughter, waiting for her response.

Arthur, Chloe's father, frowned. "Chloe, Daddy is right here. Don't be afraid. Tell us the truth."

The atmosphere in the room turned suffocatingly tense. My heart was pounding like crazy.

But Chloe seemed oblivious. She just stood there, sobbing quietly.

We waited for five agonizing minutes. Just as I was about to lose my temper, Chloe finally spoke.

"I didn't take my clothes off. Mr. Miller did!"

"He said... he said he’d only tutor me if I was 'good' to him!"

I was furious. "Chloe! Do you have any idea how much this lie will ruin my life?!"

"Shut up!"

Arthur snapped. He lunged forward, grabbing me by the collar. The veins on his forehead bulged.

"Miller! Do you call yourself a teacher? I can’t believe you had the guts to come into my house and assault my daughter!"

"You’re not a human! You’re a sick animal!"

Beatrice joined in, screaming curses. She was so hysterical she just kept repeating the same insults over and over.

Chloe, who had just completely twisted the truth, hid behind her father. Her eyes were calm, with a faint hint of smug apology.

My mind went completely blank. My ears rang.

"I’m telling the truth!"

"If you don't believe me, go look in her room! There’s a life-sized doll that looks exactly like me!"

Chloe's next words felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head.

"Mr. Miller forced me to buy that!"

Maybe a long time passed, or maybe it was just a few seconds.

I didn't know. My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe, and my temples throbbed violently.

So this was what it felt like to be falsely accused.

The police arrived quickly.

I told them I did absolutely nothing.

Beatrice screamed at the officers, "What kind of girl would ruin her own reputation just to frame a man?!"

Wasn't that hilarious?

Yes, hilariously tragic.

It was just like the naive belief that "children don't lie." The logic was completely flawed.

I pushed past the officer, rushed up to Chloe like a madman, grabbed her collar, and roared, "Tell them the truth! You are going to destroy me!"

Within seconds, the police pulled me away, telling me to calm down and cooperate with the investigation.

I thought that once the police got involved, things would get sorted out.

But to my absolute horror, no matter what, Chloe stuck to her story: I forced her.

Without solid physical evidence, the police had to let me go for the time being.

"SHOCKING! High school teacher caught assaulting teenage influencer during home visit!"

This kind of scandal didn't need any algorithm push—it immediately went viral on Ins and TikTok.

In less than two hours, I received a termination letter from the school.

The school’s official YouTube channel also posted a video announcing my firing, and they didn't even bother to blur my personal details.

"You didn't even investigate! You just threw my private information to the wolves!"

"I am innocent!"

No one listened. At that moment, I learned how quickly people will kick you when you're down.