Framed by My Charity Case, The Cheating Wife's Masterpiece

Maya said her stomach was cramping, so I walked her to the campus clinic. The very next day, an edited photo of me "kissing" Maya was plastered all over the campus anonymous forum. I confronted Maya and demanded she explain the truth. But she just looked at me and said, "Those photos are real, Arthur. Why should I lie?" To make matters worse, the moment my wife walked in, Maya instantly transformed into a helpless victim. She grabbed my leg, crying and begging: "Professor Vance, please don't abandon our baby. The child is innocent..." My wife went ballistic. She demanded a divorce on the spot. I couldn't fathom why this college girl, whom I had personally sponsored for three years, would go to such lengths to ruin her benefactor. It wasn't until she let slip one sentence that the horrifying truth finally clicked. Just as my lecture ended, I noticed Maya clutching her stomach in her seat. Her face was contorted in absolute agony. Realizing something was wrong, I walked down the lecture hall steps to check on her. "Professor Vance, my... my stomach hurts so bad. Can you please take me to the clinic?" There were still several students packing up around us. I felt a bit uncomfortable and was about to ask another student to help her, but Maya grabbed my sleeve first. "Professor Vance, please... I don't think I can stand up..." Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were turning blue. Fearing a medical emergency, I helped her up and walked her to the campus clinic. "It looks like internal bleeding or an ectopic issue. To be safe, you should get her to the nearest hospital immediately," the clinic nurse said after a quick examination. I didn't hesitate. I called an Uber and personally accompanied Maya to the nearest emergency room. "Arthur, I'm scared!" Maya suddenly grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. My instinct was to pull away, but seeing the sheer terror in her eyes, I softened. Three years ago, I had spotted her in the corner of the campus cafeteria, eating leftovers off someone else’s abandoned tray. That image had haunted me. She was beautiful, yet dressed in rags. It was rare to see someone young and able-bodied resorting to eating scraps. When I approached her, I learned that her parents had passed away when she was young. She had survived on the kindness of high school teachers and meager academic grants. Her grades were excellent, so I decided to sponsor her privately. I had come from a poor background myself. If it weren't for a kind mentor who sent me $50 every month back in college, I would have never graduated. I simply wanted to pay that kindness forward. I never could have imagined that this act of goodwill would lead to my wife demanding a divorce and my career being utterly destroyed. After leaving the hospital, I thought that was the end of it. But the next morning, a student sent me a screenshot of a campus group chat on Snapchat. [Omg guys, breaking news! I just saw Professor Vance and Maya together in the OB-GYN wing of the hospital!] [Look at this photo! They’re literally kissing!] [No way! I always looked up to Professor Vance. I can't believe he’s sleeping with his own student...] [What a predator! He always preaches about family values in class, but he’s cheating on his wife with a college girl!] I kept my cool. I immediately posted a response in the group chat: [I will be taking legal action against whoever is spreading these defamatory lies. @Maya, please clarify what actually happened to clear the air.] I was confident Maya would reply and set the record straight. But as I was heading to my next class, the department head stopped me. "Arthur, after a meeting with the board, we believe it's best for you to take an administrative leave. Resolve your personal matters before coming back to teach." I stood there, paralyzed. Meanwhile, my phone was buzzing frantically. Dozens of students were tagging me on the forum. I opened the app, and the color drained from my face. The comment section was a tidal wave of outrage, ready to drown me alive. But it was Maya's latest post that completely broke me. [Maya: Professor Vance, those photos are real. Why should I lie? You got your pleasure, and now that my belly is growing, you want to act like it never happened?]"Dean Harrison! This is a complete setup! Let me explain—" But in the face of such "undeniable" evidence, my colleagues looked at me with disgust and avoided me like the plague. When my wife heard the news, she canceled her business trip and booked the first flight back. "Arthur, do you have any idea how much your little scandal has ruined my career? I just lost a million-dollar contract because of you!" My wife, Olivia, worked extensively with international clients. Her firm's executives placed a massive emphasis on a partner's family values. They always ran background checks before signing any contract. It was their corporate culture. They believed a man who couldn't manage his home couldn't be trusted with a company project. I looked at Olivia, my heart aching with guilt, and tried to explain. "Olivia, honey, you have to believe me. I would never do something like that! And besides, I have low sperm motility. Remember? We've tried for years. It’s medically impossible for that baby to be mine!" "Low motility doesn't mean you kept your pants zipped!" Olivia snapped. But as she calmed down, she chose to trust me. "Fine. Hire a lawyer. Call the police. If your conscience is clear, no one can frame you." And that was exactly what I intended to do. With Olivia standing by my side, I felt a surge of courage. I set up a meeting with Maya at a quiet cafe. "Maya, what is your angle here? I have sponsored you for three years. If you aren't going to show gratitude, the least you could do is not ruin my life." "Professor, you remember you sponsored me for three years? Then why did you reject my thesis proposal?" Her completely unrelated question caught me off guard. "Your thesis was poorly researched. What does that have to do with you framing me?" Maya didn't answer. Instead, she slid a medical document across the table. "Professor, this is a prenatal DNA test. It proves the child in my womb is yours. If you don't believe it, we can go to any clinic you want. You choose the place." "We have never even slept together! What kind of sick fantasy is this?" I slammed my fist on the table. My raised voice made several people in the cafe turn to look. Maya smiled coldly. "We didn't? Six months ago, at the VIP country club gala. You were drinking with the university board. I was there too. Only my name was Cherry that night, and I was wearing heavy makeup." My jaw dropped. "Cherry?" Maya smirked. "Bingo. So you do remember me." I stumbled back, nearly losing my balance. Six months ago, I indeed attended a dinner with some high-ranking board members. They had ordered a few young hostesses to sit with us. One of the deans joked that if I didn't pick one to keep me company, I wasn't part of the "team." I politely declined, but I had too much to drink and tripped on my way out. The girl named Cherry immediately came over to support me. No matter how much I tried to push her away, she clung to me tightly. "I gave you $500 a month for living expenses! Why were you working as a hostess at a club? And nothing happened that night!" Maya ignored my questions. Instead, she looked past my shoulder, her eyes darting to something behind me. Suddenly, her face morphed into an expression of sheer terror. She threw herself onto the floor, wrapping her arms around my leg. "Arthur, please don't make me get rid of the baby! The child is innocent..." Disgusted, I tried to shake her off. "Get off me! What are you doing?" Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hand reach down and grab the DNA report from the table. "Arthur Vance, you absolute liar." I turned around. Olivia was standing there, her eyes filled with utter disappointment. "Wow. Just wow. You claimed you had low motility, yet you managed to get a college girl pregnant. You two must have worked really hard on this, huh? Arthur! The proof is right here. What else do you have to say for yourself?" Olivia spat out my name, her teeth clenched. "Olivia, it's not what you think! We can go to the hospital right now and do another test. I am being set up!" But as I said those words, even my own voice lacked confidence. Because Maya really was Cherry. And we did spend that night in the same hotel suite. My sudden lack of confidence came from the terrifying realization—did I actually lose control that night? I hadn't drunk that much. My alcohol tolerance had always been high. Could the drink have been spiked? "Fine. We're going to the hospital right now!" Olivia gave me one last chance.We went to three different clinics. The results were identical. The baby was mine. "I have low motility! How is this medically possible?" I demanded. The doctor shrugged. "Low motility doesn't mean you are completely sterile. In medicine, there is still a small margin of probability. It's rare, but it happens." Maya sobbed softly, looking incredibly fragile. "Professor Vance, do you believe me now? I never lied to you. It's your baby!" Olivia looked at me, her eyes dead. "Arthur, I trusted you. And you lied to me over and over again." "Expect divorce papers." With that, Olivia turned and walked out. No matter how much I begged her to stay, she didn't look back. "Olivia! If you leave like this, you will ruin my career and my life! Something is wrong here, I feel like I'm being set up!" But my desperate cries didn't slow her down for a single second. "You're pathetic," she threw over her shoulder. "Cheating on me with your charity case and refusing to admit it. There is only one way this ends, Arthur. We are done." Watching her walk away, my heart froze. It was my fault for attending that stupid gala in the first place. If I hadn't gone, none of this would have happened. As I struggled to find a way to clear my name, the online cancel culture grew more vicious. My "scandal" became the hottest topic on campus. Even the hot dog vendor outside the university gates knew every sordid detail. "Professor sleeps with his charity student, uses his academic position to blackmail her into bed, and abandons her after she gets pregnant." The headlines on social media grew wilder by the day, but the villain remained the same: Arthur Vance. Finally, the Dean called me into his office. "Arthur, after careful consideration, the board has decided to suspend you indefinitely to protect the university's reputation. We will revisit this once the investigation is complete." "Dean Harrison, I was just nominated for the Distinguished Professor Award this month. Please, just give me a little more time..." "Time? The DNA test is out! What is there to explain? Forget about the promotion, Arthur. You'll be lucky if you don't lose your teaching license." When I got home, the front door was wide open. Olivia's suitcases were gone. Every trace of her existence had been meticulously packed up and moved out. Instead, Maya was sitting on my sofa, as if she had been waiting for me. "Arthur, you're back?" She stood up and walked toward me. "Don't be sad. You still have me and the baby." I frowned, looking at her with pure disgust. Tonight, Maya was wearing a tight, short skirt. She had clearly just showered. Her wet hair dripped onto her shoulders, dampening her shirt and clinging to her curves. Combined with her pretty face, she was undeniably alluring. But I felt absolutely nothing. "I funded your education. I gave you monthly stipends. And in return, you took my job and ran off my wife." "You ruined your own reputation just to stab me in the back. And now you expect me to be with you?" Maya's face instantly turned cold. "That’s a harsh way to put it. You're the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself." She walked a slow circle around me, a mocking smirk on her lips. "Men really are trash. You make all kinds of promises when you're in bed, but the moment you put your pants back on, you act like a stranger." "Arthur, I'm young, beautiful, and carrying your child. How does Olivia even compare to me?" She leaned into my chest, her eyes heavy with seduction. I let out a cold laugh and pushed her away. "Maya, did you really think I wouldn't find out what you did?" I pulled out my old phone and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Nothing happened between us at the country club that night." Maya glanced at the screen, which showed a security footage playback. Her pupils dilated. "How... how did you get this footage?""Maya, I'm giving you one last chance," I said calmly. "Tell me the truth, and I won't press charges. Otherwise, I'll see you in court." "Ha! Court?" Maya burst into hysterical laughter. "Arthur, we went to three different clinics for DNA tests. It doesn't matter what happened that night. The kid in my womb has your DNA. That is an indisputable fact!" "Your wife has abandoned you. Are you really going to force me to abort your only child? Or do you honestly think any other woman will want to bear your children now?" Her words hit me like a physical blow. As the only son of the Vance family, I had desperately wanted a child. Olivia and I had been married for ten years, and we had never conceived due to my low sperm motility. Seeing my silence, Maya drove the knife deeper. "If this hadn't gone public, you would have happily let me have this baby in secret, wouldn't you?" "But I don't want my child to live in the shadows forever. So, when someone approached me with an offer, I took it." My eyes narrowed. "Who approached you?" Maya smiled. "Who else has access to your personal belongings, Arthur? Who else could get their hands on your genetic material to make this pregnancy happen?" A chill ran down my spine. "Are you saying..." "Yes! Her!" I stared at Maya in disbelief. "You mean my wife? Olivia?" Maya parted her red lips, a mocking smile spreading across her face. "Who else could pull off a stunt like that?" My blood ran cold. The world seemed to stop spinning. "That's impossible. Maya, I am going to sue you." Maya sneered. "Arthur, you really are a fool. Your wife played you like a fiddle, and even now, when I'm telling you the truth, you still won't believe it." Of course I didn't want to believe it. Olivia and I had been together for a decade. We had a great marriage. Why would she do something so monstrous to me? "Wait," I suddenly realized something. "You just said you didn't want the child to live in the shadows, so when Olivia approached you, you agreed." "Maya, you're lying." A flash of panic crossed Maya's eyes, but she quickly masked it. "It was just a slip of the tongue." I unlocked my phone. "Let's see if it's a slip of the tongue. I'm calling Olivia right now." Seeing me dial, Maya actually calmed down. The call wouldn't go through. My number had been blocked. I grabbed my car keys and headed for the door. Maya grabbed my arm. "Where are you going?" "To confront Olivia. And you are coming with me." Maya tried to resist, but she was no match for my strength. I dragged her out and threw her into the passenger seat. I drove straight to Olivia's parents' house. But as I pulled up to the driveway, I froze. Through the second-floor window, the soft glow of the lamp silhouetted Olivia's figure. In front of her was the silhouette of another man. The two shadows were wrapped in a passionate embrace. I stormed up the stairs, threw the door open, and was met with a sight that shattered my remaining sanity. Standing in Olivia's bedroom was a young man. "Dylan?" My eyes widened in horror. Dylan was my former student. In fact, he was the very first student I had ever sponsored. Downstairs, I had imagined Olivia cheating on me with her boss, a colleague, or maybe a neighbor. But never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be the impoverished student I had spent years helping. While Dylan panicked, Olivia remained incredibly composed. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.