Rubina had barely taken two steps into the room when my voice, sharp and simmering with restrained rage, sliced through the air. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my tone low but laced with fury–carefully modulated so it wouldn’t disturb Dan’s sleep. 

Kaiden stiffened slightly on the couch, and Rubina’s confident poise faltered for a split second. 

I didn’t wait for her answer. 

“What is she doing here, Kaiden?” I turned to him now, my gaze unwavering, demanding answers. “Why is she here?” 

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Rubina’s fake smile wilted, giving way to a frown of confusion, like she had no clue what was happening. Like she was just another innocent soul caught in the crossfire. 

But we knew better. 

We knew the truth now–what she did, what she caused. Last night had stripped away every illusion, and whatever angelic image she had carefully constructed had shattered into a thousand irredeemable pieces. Rubina wasn’t just bad. She was dangerous in the way sweet poisons are. Beautiful. Deceptive. Deadly. 

She blinked at me like I’d accused the wrong person at a crime scene. 

“Introvert…” Kaiden’s voice was gentle–too gentle–as he reached out and placed his hand lightly on my arm. His touch was soft, his thumb brushing in a slow circle against my skin, almost like he was trying to calm the storm rising inside me. 

“Let’s not talk about this here,” he murmured. His eyes flicked toward his dad, who remained peacefully asleep on the hospital bed, a world away from the chaos unravelling just feet away. 

I narrowed my gaze, jaw tight. He was right. This wasn’t the place. But that didn’t mean she should be allowed 

*and here like everything was okay. 

Before I could open my mouth again, another voice cut in. 

“Okay then,” Mom said abruptly, her voice firm as she stepped forward. “Let’s go out and talk.” 

Her heels clicked softly against the sterile floor as she made her way toward the hallway, her back straight, her chin lifted with poised confidence. She didn’t even look at Rubina. It was like Rubina had become something beneath her notice–unworthy of direct attention. 

Outside the room, we gathered in the hallway–far enough from Room 49 so our voices wouldn’t disturb Dan. The white fluorescent lights hummed above us, casting sterile shadows on the polished floor. For a moment, none of us spoke. The silence was thick–coiled with tension, like a thread about 

to snap. 

Then Kaiden turned to Rubina. 

“Give me your phone,” he said. 

His tone was calm. Too calm. 

Rubina blinked. “Wh… why?” 

Still, without argument, she reached into her designer sling bag and pulled out her phone–like a child reluctantly handing over a toy after being caught 

red–handed. 

“Here it is,” she mumbled. 

Kaiden didn’t say a word. 

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Chapter 150 

He simply took the phone, wrapped his fingers around it tightly… and with one sudden motion, he twisted it in his hands until it cracked apart with a sharp snap. The screen shattered. The back casing split. And without flinching, he tossed the broken pieces into the nearby trash bin like they meant nothing. 

Rubina gasped, eyes wide with disbelief. 

“What the hell, Kaiden?!” she shouted, taking a startled step forward. 

“Your phone was hacked,” he said coolly. 

That was it? That was his conclusion? No questions, no doubt–just an easy, clean excuse handed to her like a shield. 

My stomach churned with something bitter. 

He believed her. 

He hadn’t even asked if she wrote the article or posted the pictures. He didn’t wait for proof or denial. He just decided–on his own–that she was innocent. 

This–this was the same Kaiden who hadn’t believed me when I told him Barbara wasn’t behind the post. And I’d shown him proof. 

But for Rubina? He just handed her innocence on a silver platter. 

Unquestioned. Unshaken. Undeserved. 

Rubina crouched beside the trash bin, peering at the broken device like she was mourning a lost loved one. 

“Okay, maybe it was hacked,” she admitted, brushing invisible dust from her leggings as she straightened. “But you didn’t have to break it like that. I had so many photos in there…” 

She sounded wounded, like the phone held pieces of her soul. 

But I’d had enough. 

Looking at Kaiden–his easy trust, his blind loyalty–it was like something inside me finally settled. Like the last illusion had dropped. If he couldn’t see through her now, he never would. Rubina would always have a hold on him. 

But she wouldn’t have one on me. 

Not anymore. 

“By photos,” I said, stepping toward her, “you mean the ones you used in that article?” 

“What?” Rubina blinked, tilting her head slightly like she couldn’t have possibly heard me right. Her voice dripped with faux confusion, her brows pinched into the perfect picture of innocence. “What do you mean?” 

She said it like she had no idea what was going on in the world–as if she wasn’t the very earthquake that shattered everything last night. 

I opened my mouth, but before I could get a word out, Kaiden was already stepping between us. 

“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy–hey,” he said, his voice low and soothing, like he was trying to wrap a blanket around a fire. He gently reached for my arm, his touch meant to calm, to contain. “I don’t think Rubina would ever do something like that.” 

“Something like what?” Rubina piped up instantly, latching onto his words like a lifeline. 

But I didn’t even look at her. 

I kept my eyes on Kaiden, the betrayal in them burning hotter than any words I could say. 

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“Why do you think so?” I asked, my tone sharp, controlled. “Did you get a new clue or something? Something that proves Rubina wasn’t the one who posted that article?” 

Kaiden faltered. 

His lips parted, but no words came out. His silence said it all. He had nothing. Just a feeling. Just blind faith. 

Rubina, of course, wasn’t going to let that moment hang. 

“What the hell?” she snapped, stepping forward. “What do you mean I wasn’t the one who posted the article?” Her voice pitched up, each syllable laced with dramatic disbelief. “Which article are you even talking about?” 

And that was it. 

The final straw. 

My blood boiled beneath my skin, the anger crackling through my bones like electricity. 

“The recent article,” I spat, my jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. “The one that showed Kaiden getting out of my hotel room.” 

“What?” Rubina’s voice cracked as her eyes widened in a show of disbelief. “I… I…” She stammered, shaking her head violently as though she could shake the accusation off with enough denial. “I didn’t do it. I didn’t post that article. I swear.” 

Her hands trembled as they hovered near her chest, clutching the invisible pearls of her innocence. But I’d seen enough. Heard enough. I wasn’t buying 

1. it. 

“Oh, keep your swear to yourself,” I snapped, taking a step forward. “We have proof.” 

Her expression froze, lips parted. 

“Kaiden had people investigate,” I went on, the words sharper now, slicing through the air with every s your phone that posted that article.” 

2. “And they confirmed it themselves–it was 

Rubina paled, her mouth opening again, but before she could utter another weak denial, Kaiden’s voice cut in. 

“Lucy–hey,” he said, stepping between us again, his hand reaching for mine like I was a storm he could anchor. His tone was gentle, but underneath it… 

hesitation. 

“He said the article was posted from Rubina’s phone,” Kaiden explained slowly, carefully. “He didn’t say Rubina was the one who posted it. There’s a difference.” 

I scoffed. 

Not because it was funny–but because if I didn’t let the sound escape, I would’ve exploded. 

My anger simmered, bubbling just beneath the surface, but it wasn’t just fury anymore. It was something darker. Something uglier. The kind of ache that forms when you realize someone you care about–someone you trust–is choosing someone else over you. 

And not just anyone. 

Rubina. 

I looked Kaiden dead in the eye. 

“Really?” I said, my voice low, sharp. “That’s what your conclusion is?” 

“Yes,” he replied, letting out a sharp, frustrated breath. “I trust Rubina. She would never do something like that.” He straightened his back, his law set, “This topic ends right here. Right now.” 

08:30 Tue, 1 Jul 

Chapter 150 

I felt something inside me twist. Crack. 

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“No,” I said firmly, taking a step forward, not caring who else was watching or listening. “It doesn’t end here. You need to investigate Rubina the same way you investigated Barbara.” 

His eyes flared with disbelief. “Lucy,” he snapped, my name slicing through his clenched teeth like a warning. “Have you gone mad?” 

I tilted my head, my lips curling into a bitter smile. “Why? Were you mad when you were ‘investigating‘ Barbara?” 

“Barbara and Rubina are different,” Kaiden said, his voice final, like a judge delivering a verdict. 

I stared at him, incredulous. “Why? Because Barbara is my friend and Rubina is yours?” 

His gaze didn’t falter. “She’s your friend too.” 

“No,” I shot back, the word tearing from my throat with all the certainty I had left. “She’s not.” 

“I… I…” Rubina’s voice chimed in then, weak and trembling, but her interruption felt deliberate–calculated. “I’m not your friend?” she asked, her wide, doe–like eyes blinking rapidly like she couldn’t believe it. As if just a few minutes ago she hadn’t walked into that hospital room and looked right through me–like I was nothing. Like I never existed. 

I turned to her fully, feeling something shift inside me. Something that hurt more than expected. 

“No,” I said clearly, facing her dead–on. “YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND, RUBINA JOHNS.” I was angry at her and hated her for what she had done, but still, my heart clenched when I said those words. I pained, alot. 

My voice dropped to a whisper, broken and raw. “You never were.” 

One tear escaped–just one–but it cut like glass as it slid down my cheek. I wiped it away quickly, as falling. 

But the damage was already done. 

To be continued… 

ng it fast enough could stop the rest from 

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