It was none other than Christina. I met her sharp, disdainful gaze and calmly extended my hand.

"Give me back my phone."

Without hesitation, she swung her arm and slammed my phone hard onto the ground.

"You bitch! Weren't you the one who refused to answer my calls? What's the point of even keeping this phone?"

Glancing at the broken screen, she raised her chin defiantly.

"Let's see how you plan to bother my husband now! You're dressed like a beggar, for heaven's sake! How dare you still dream of seducing a man? You'd be better off picking up trash instead!"

I bent down and retrieved my phone.

My attire was neat and professional, perfectly suited to my role as a teacher. Yet despite that, Christina looked down on me, not a trace of respect in her eyes.

Fortunately, my phone wasn't broken. Without missing a beat, I called my husband, Preston Chamberlain, who was away on a business trip.

"Honey, if you don't get here soon, our family name might have to change to Street."

The word "honey" seemed to cut through Christina like a blade. Without warning, she swung her leg and landed a hard kick to my knee.

"Who the hell do you think you're calling 'honey'?" she snapped.

The pain hit me like a thunderbolt, and I almost went down. Drawn by the commotion, Michael stepped out of his office. But instead of intervening, he took Christina's side, clearly eager to please her.

"Ms. Lawson, you'd better apologize to Mrs. Street right now!"

This time, anger consumed me completely. Since they refused to respect me, I saw no reason to hold back any longer.

Rubbing my knee, I said through clenched teeth, "Do you really think Paul's got your back? You're going to regret trusting him."

"Who gave you the right to say my husband's name?" Christina hissed. She raised her hand to strike me, but before she could, I caught her wrist and twisted it hard.

"Ah!" Christina cried out in pain.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

I turned to see Zoe rushing out of the classroom, a crowd of curious students trailing behind her as she witnessed the argument; tears brimmed in her eyes, and her body trembled.

"Mom, please don't make things hard for Ms. Lawson. I've switched schools five times already. Please stop stirring up trouble."

Christina shrugged off my hand, fury flashing in her eyes.

"Oh, so you're taking her side now, huh? Could it be that Ms. Lawson is your father's mistress?"

At the end of the day, Zoe was still just a teenager. Such cruel insults were far too much for her to handle. She froze, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom…"

I held back, not wanting to create a scene for the students. Glaring at Christina, I asked, "As a parent, how can you talk to your child like that?"

In a flash of fury, Christina spun around and slapped Zoe across the face. "She's my daughter! I'll educate her however I want!"

With everyone watching, she shouted, "Ms. Ivy Lawson has been teaching Zoe to lie and deceive me! As Zoe's mother, I demand she be fired immediately!"

Michael eagerly jumped in, "Absolutely! She should be fired!"

To everyone's astonishment, Zoe suddenly fell to her knees. Gripping Christina's sleeve, she sobbed uncontrollably. "Mom, I didn't lie!

"I can prove it. I'll take off my pants if I have to—" Her hands shook, struggling to undo the buttons of her pants.

"Don't you dare!" I snapped, unable to hold back. "I'm Preston Chamberlain's wife. Mr. Street works for my husband. I will not allow anyone to mistreat my student!"

"Preston Chamberlain?" Christina burst out, clearly taken aback. She gave me a cold, dismissive look. "There's no way a woman like you could be his wife."

Her eyes darted toward Zoe. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get on with it."

"Wait!" Right then, Paul finally appeared, pushing his way through the crowd.