Chapter 154
Chapter 154
My eyes immediately narrowed. “Oh God. Are you having company?” I blurted, glancing over her shoulder. I scanned the living room, but there wasn’t any sign of anyone–just her.
“A–ah… company?” she echoed, her voice faltering slightly as she leaned against the door, which now looked more like she was trying to block my view of the room. “Ah… no. No. 1–why would I have a company? No–hell no!” She waved her hand like she was swatting a fly. “No company at all.”
I raised a brow. “Chillax, girl. You don’t have to hide it. If someone’s in there, it’s cool. I’ll just… leave. It’s no biggie.”
Her gaze flickered toward the apartment behind her, just for a second. Then she shook her head and opened the door wider. “No, it’s fine. Come in.”
“Okay,” I said softly, stepping inside. “As you wish.”
The apartment smelled like vanilla with a faintly roasted coffee and a high quality wine. It was warm, cozy, but with that awkward silence that lingered a little too long.
“So…” She finally broke the silence as her eyes dropped to the backpack slung across my shoulder. “Are you… here for a sleepover?”
“Sort of,” I said, raising my eyebrows with a sheepish half–smile. “Hey, you don’t mind if I crash here, do you?”
“No, absolutely not,” she said quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. “I’m happy to have you.”
“Thanks, girl.” I dropped my backpack on the couch and exhaled, finally letting the weight of the day slip off my shoulders. “I think I’ll stay here for a while.”
That made her pause.
“Why?” she asked immediately, her words sharp and concerned.
I couldn’t help but frown at her reaction.
“I mean,” she added quickly, “I’m glad you’re here. Honestly. It’ll be fun to have a roommate. But you don’t look good, Lucy. Those dark circles, your red, swollen eyes… What happened? Is everything okay?”
“No,” I said honestly, my voice barely a whisper. “It’s not.”
“Oh,” she muttered, lightly hitting her palm against her forehead. “Duh.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “The announcement. I completely forgot. I’m so sorry. It must be so hard for you…” She reached for my hand and guided me to sit beside her on the couch. Her warmth, her concern–it was the first real comfort I’d felt all day, enough to make me overlook the suspicious behavior she’d shown just moments earlier. “I can’t believe Kaiden turned out to be such a cheater,” she continued, shaking her head with a frown.
“No,” I said softly, my eyes fixed on the carpet. “He isn’t a cheater. It was just a PR stunt… to fix the mess Queen Bee made.”
“Oh, that it is,” she replied in a slow tone, then raised her voice slightly as she added, “Anyway…” She shook her head in exaggerated disbelief. “I can’t believe Rubina would pull such a wicked move. I mean, first she posts as Queen Bee and trashes Mr. Sterwalt’s reputation, and now she’s helping him clean it up? Gosh, She’s the real bitch, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, my voice barely audible.
But my chest tightened.
Something didn’t sit right.
Wait.
I looked at Clara sharply, my thoughts suddenly spinning. My heartbeat quickened as a creeping suspicion slithered its way into my gut
10:59 Tue, 8 Jul G
Chapter 154
I never told her.
I never told anyone that Rubina was Queen Bee.
“How did you know Rubina is the new Queen Bee?” I asked, slowly narrowing my
“Wh–what?” Clara stammered, trying to cover her nervousness with a forced smile. “What do you mean?”
“You just said Rubina posted as Queen Bee,” I repeated, my tone firmer now, steady as a blade being drawn.
“I did?” Her voice pitched higher, confusion spreading across her face–or should I say fake confusion. She blinked too many times. Bit her lip too quickly.
Classic signs.
“Yes, Clara,” I said, rising from the couch, heart pounding. “You did.”
A heavy silence hung between us.
Then-
CRASH!
The sharp, unmistakable sound of glass shattering rang out from the other
room.
jolted and whipped around toward the noise. My spine stiffened, the hair on the back of my neck rising.
“You lied to me,” I whispered, my voice trembling with the cold sting of betrayal. “You have company.”
I didn’t wait for her response. I stormed toward her the room’s door and flung it open.
And what I saw made my blood freeze.
There he was.
Marco.
Our ex–chef. The same man my mom used to secretly date–only to later humiliate him and have him fired from Sterwalt Mansion. And now, there he was, standing in Clara’s bedroom, half–naked, wearing nothing but a pair of ridiculous, flower–printed boxers.
“Marco?” I choked out. “What are you doing here?”
He looked like a deer caught in headlights. “I… 1 just came here to… take
clothes,” he mumbled, his eyes darting between me and Clara.
But it wasn’t his half–naked body that stole my attention.
It was the bed.
My gaze shifted past him to the mattress–where scattered across the sheets were photographs. Dozens of them. Familiar ones.
Too familiar.
I stepped forward slowly, and the moment I got a clear view of the photographs, my breath hitched.
They were the same photos Queen Bee posted.
The exact same ones.
My knees almost buckled.
“So…” I whispered, heart racing. “Rubiria wasn’t the new Queen Bee.”
10:59 Tue, 8 Jul G\
Chapter 154
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Clara was now in the doorway, one hand hidden behind her back. Her expression was unreadable now–no fake confusion, no guilt. Just something
colder. Darker.
“It was you.” I continued.
She tilted her head slightly, letting out a small, disappointed sigh. “I wanted to play a little longer with you,” she said softly. “But-”
WHAM!
A blinding, white–hot pain detonated at the back of my skull. The world spun violently, lurching sideways like a broken carousel.
Sound dulled, as if I’d been plunged underwater.
All I could hear was a high–pitched ringing in my ears, and through the blur, I caught a glimpse of Clara’s expression–a mix of annoyance and something almost… amused.
The floor lurched and my legs gave out.
And then, the world went black. Dark and cold.
To be continued…
AD
