Christina’s POV
I thought I’d put those two behind , that cheating bastard and his slutty bitch. Moving on, that’s what I needed to focus on. Ysolde was trying to get past it all, and I was trying to help her.
Clearly, my philosophy of "don’t bother others, and they won’t bother you" needed serious revision.
I was wrong. So wrong.
"Christina! There’s a major client downstairs!" Priya called up from the first floor.
I hurried down the stairs, but my carefully maintained smile vanished the instant I spotted Zoe sitting in our reception area.
I slowed my pace, forcing myself not to roll my eyes. "What do you want?"
"Christina, listen..." Zoe flashed that irritatingly familiar smile and stood up as if we were best friends. "There’s been a misunderstanding. I ca to explain everything."
"We’re not on a first-na basis. Don’t pretend we’re friends."
Zoe’s eyes instantly welled with tears, her voice softening. "When Cassian and I got together, I had no idea he was with soone else. If I had known..."
I didn’t believe her for a second.
"Even if you knew, you would have pursued him anyway. You don’t love him for who he is, you love what he gives you. You don’t care about his relationship status or being the other woman."
"That’s not true!" Her voice rose. "If I’d known about Ysolde, I never would have agreed to date him. But... but I’ve fallen in love with him now. And he’s broken up with Ysolde. So... so it was just bad timing."
"Save the emotional performance for soone who cares. Ysolde is my friend. You should have stayed away from her man from the beginning. Now you’re playing innocent with this ’love conquers all’ bullshit. Do you really think I can’t see through your act?"
"I..." Zoe bit her lip again, tears spilling over. "I just wanted to...clear things up. I’m not a howrecker."
What an actress. I’d barely said anything harsh and she was already crying. Anyone watching would think I was bullying her, when she was the one who stole soone’s boyfriend and had the audacity to show up at my door.
Who exactly was the side piece here?
I was so angry I almost wanted to laugh.
"Tell that to Ysolde. Actually, don’t. She doesn’t want to hear it, and neither do I. Nobody cares, so just stop."
Zoe’s face flushed crimson as if I’d slapped her. "I didn’t want to bother her," she sniffled. "I ca because Alpha Cassian asked to, and... I thought maybe we could discuss custom jewelry."
"You’ve got to be kidding. I already told you—no. Priya, show her out."
I turned and walked away without another glance, heading straight upstairs.
Behind , I could hear Priya halfheartedly trying to usher Zoe out, but I couldn’t care less.
Back in my studio, I grabbed my phone and texted Hudson,
[Tell your buddy to keep Zoe away from !]
I tossed my phone onto the table, but the silence felt unbearable.
I picked up my phone again and started scrolling through videos to pass ti.
And then I saw it.
"Rising Star Zoe Foster’s Custom Jewelry Request Rejected!"
The post ntioned that this designer apparently acted like a diva, claiming she only works with A-list celebrities.
There was a video attachnt, obviously taken by paparazzi, showing Zoe leaving my studio.
She wore a mask, her eyes red and puffy as if she’d been crying, looking like the world was against her.
The view count was increasing by the second.
By the ti I finished watching, it already had a thousand likes.
As I stared at it, Daniel rushed in, his usual calm replaced by urgency.
"Is this about us?" He nodded toward my phone screen, where the video was paused.
"Obviously."
"What a ss," he muttered. "That woman ca here looking for trouble. What’s wrong with not working with her? We don’t have to take every client who walks through our door."
Priya ca panting up the stairs, clearly winded from running. "Zoe left less than half an hour ago. How did news spread so fast?"
"She staged the whole thing," I muttered, scanning the comnts section, which was mostly negative. "She twisted everything. Even if paparazzi caught her on video, they couldn’t possibly know what we discussed. She must have told them. Now she’s making it sound like I rejected her because she’s not famous enough."
I couldn’t understand why she would do this.
Was it revenge for what happened at the club?
I frowned as I scrolled through the comnts.
Most posts ca from Zoe’s fans, viciously attacking .
[ZF is at her career peak. What kind of designer would refuse to work with her?]
[Is that @CVanceJewels? I think her na was Christina Vance or sothing. Forr Nyx Collective mber. Guess she’s gone solo now.]
[Oh, so now she thinks she’s too good for rising stars? How cute.]
[I always said her designs were diocre. Turns out her personality is too.]
[Zoe’s on fire right now, and so nobody designer is throwing shade? What a joke.]
[@CVanceJewels probably thinks she’s the next big thing. Wake up: nobody knows who you are.]
[Avoid this designer at all costs! Major red flags!]
I scrolled down, my chest burning as they dug deeper into —my real na, my background, even old comnts I’d posted years ago.
They investigated everything.
"How dare they," Akira growled. "They don’t know us at all."
"It’s spreading," I whispered.
The comnts evolved from casual insults to personal attacks.
The tone grew increasingly vicious.
Priya trembled. "This isn’t right. I thought she was a nice person. I even made her coffee!"
"This is ridiculous," Daniel muttered, tapping on his phone. "I’m reporting this. It’s completely fabricated. She’s been famous for five minutes. How does she already have so many rabid fans?"
Both of them kept reporting the video, and within minutes, it was removed.
Not just the video—the account that posted it was deleted too.
"Did we win?" Priya and Daniel exchanged glances. "We won!"
They high-fived each other triumphantly.
My phone vibrated.
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