Chapter 138
Chapter 138:
Bernice, glued to her phone, gasped audibly. “Bella, look! The IDs on the website—they’ve all been replaced with real names. Yours is right there at the top p>
Bella’s face drained of color. “What? How can that be?” Her hands shook as she checked her phone.
When Bella saw her own name on the top of the page, her eyes widened in disbelief.
“This can’t be happening…” Bella muttered, her voice barely audible. She had always thrived under the guise of anonymity, never imagining it could betray her like this. Her stomach churned with unease as she realized the full weight of the situation. It hit her then—if Yelena found out, things were about to get seriously messy.
Bella and Bernice hurried back home, the anxiety weighing on them like a storm cloud. They stepped inside, only to find Yelena seated in the living room, her calm demeanor somehow more unnerving than anger would have been.
Bella mustered a shaky smile, desperately trying to sound casual. “Yelena… you’re home early p>
Yelena’s gaze met hers, piercing and unyielding, her lips curving into a faint, knowing smile. “If I wasn’t, I might’ve missed all the entertainment you’ve been orchestrating online. Truly, I owe you thanks for giving people something to talk about.” She leaned forward slightly, her voice deceptively light but brimming with warning. “Next time, though, make sure to capture my good side too, won’t you p>
Bella hesitated briefly, taking a deep breath before saying, “Yelena, this isn’t what it looks like. Please, just hear me out. It’s all a big misunderstanding p>
Yelena’s eyes gleamed with a sharp, knowing look as she studied Bella. “A big misunderstanding? Oh, Bella, my dear sister, you can’t just slap that label on everything and hope it magically vanishes. There’s proof staring us in the face, and no one’s pulling accusations out of thin air p>
𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲: g⍶𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒ⅽ𝗼𝗺
Bella’s lips trembled as her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She bit down gently on her lower lip, giving an air of fragility and despair. Her voice faltered as she pleaded, “Yelena, I swear I have no clue what’s happening. I haven’t touched that account in ages—it’s got to be some kind of system glitch p>
She had been rehearsing this excuse from the moment she saw the website showing the users’ real names.
Yelena arched a brow, a sardonic smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. “How convenient!” she murmured, her tone dripping with dry amusement.
“Exactly! You shouldn’t believe what people are saying. They don’t understand the situation,” Bella insisted, feigning sincerity.
“Is that so?” Yelena replied with a faint, enigmatic smile. Her detached demeanor carried an air of effortless indifference, tinged with a subtle bite of irony.
That unreadable expression sent a jolt of unease through Bella’s chest, a warning bell that rang louder with each passing second. Something didn’t sit right—Yelena wasn’t acting like herself.
Yelena said nothing more and quietly returned to her room. Meanwhile, the photos and videos had already been removed from the internet, wiped away by her swift action.
The images were harmless—simple snapshots from a casual meal between friends. Yet, with Colden’s status as a public figure, even the mundane could ignite unnecessary drama. Had he been just another ordinary guy, it wouldn’t have mattered.