“Quick, it really is Daniel!” someone shouted.
“Miss, do you know the man inside is Daniel from Jenkins Group? He’s married. Are you his mistress?” another voice pressed.
“Miss, how long have you been his mistress?” came the relentless questioning.
“Miss, you look kind of familiar,” one of the paparazzi noted.
Tina froze, the words “he’s married” hitting her like a thunderbolt.
‘The stranger I slept with is married,’ she thought, panic surging in her chest.
Desperate to escape, she tried to run, but the two paparazzi had her cornered. The man from inside emerged slowly, his demeanor casual. “What’s all this about?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
“Daniel, that woman just came out of your room with her clothes all messed up. Are you two, like, together?” one of the paparazzi pressed.
Daniel clicked his tongue, annoyance creeping into his voice. “No. I don’t even know her. Alright, everyone go home.”
Whitney watched the unfolding drama through the peephole, her heart racing. She turned around but collided with what felt like a solid wall behind her.
“Whoa,” she gasped.
Klein raised an eyebrow, curious. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing, nothing at all,” she stammered, oblivious to the slight smirk tugging at his lips. “We should wait a bit before heading out,” she suggested, her mind racing with thoughts of the chaos outside.
The scene beyond the door resembled a circus, paparazzi swarming and people gathering to witness the unfolding spectacle.
If she and Klein stepped out of this room now, the cameras would undoubtedly turn their lenses toward them.
“Don’t worry,” Klein said softly, trying to soothe her anxiety. “No one’s going to take pictures of me. I already sent people to clear everyone out.”
Whitney looked down, contemplating the situation. ‘Could Tina have been the one who drugged him?’ she wondered, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to fit together.
“Mom, what am I supposed to do now? They definitely caught my face on camera!” Tina exclaimed, her voice trembling with a mix of panic and indignation. “I might as well just throw myself into the river!”
Laura’s heart sank as she gazed at her daughter, disappointment etched across her features, and she could feel a headache creeping in. This was not how she envisioned her daughter’s life unfolding.
But Tina was her only daughter, and that fact weighed heavily on Laura.
If only her body had functioned as it should have, Samuel wouldn’t treat her like this. If she had given him a son, their lives would have been so different; Samuel’s entire empire would have been destined for her boy. But instead, she had given birth to a daughter, and that had changed everything.
“Stop panicking, Tina!” Laura snapped, her voice sharper than she intended. “I told you to keep your cool. How on earth did Daniel end up with your room key?”
Laura had meticulously orchestrated everything. The server was supposed to discreetly slip something into Klein’s drink, and then Tina would have the perfect opportunity to watch as the server assisted Klein to his room.
But what happened instead was that Tina found herself alone in the room, and a married man walked in with the key card.
Tina was just as confused. It wasn’t that she had refused to help escort Klein upstairs; she simply couldn’t bring herself to tell Laura about how Klein had looked at her with disdain before.
Even in front of her mother, she stubbornly refused to admit that she had been beaten by Whitney.
“Mom, I was worried he might get suspicious, so I went up first to wait for him,” Tina explained, her voice trembling. “But then Daniel came in and pushed me onto the bed right away. The lights were off, and I thought it was him.”
That part was true. In her mind, Tina had convinced herself that even the most restrained, cold-hearted men would become desperate when under the influence of drugs.
She had even envisioned Whitney’s face when she found out, and the thought had sent a thrill through her.
But then the lights flickered on, and her fantasy crumbled into pieces.
Laura listened intently to Tina’s explanation, and the frustration bubbling inside her only intensified.
“Alright, did you take anything?” she asked, her tone sharp.
Laura’s eyes narrowed, a chill settling in her gaze. “For heaven’s sake, please tell me you at least took the morning-after pill.”
Tina froze, her breath hitching in her throat. “I-“
Laura could feel the pressure building in her temples. “I’ll have someone pick it up and bring it here. You need to take it immediately.”
‘Her reputation is already in tatters, but we cannot let her end up pregnant too,’ she thought grimly. “That would ruin her completely!”
“Okay,” Tina said, her voice thick with tears, the weight of her situation crashing down on her. “Mom, what about the paparazzi?”
“I’ll take care of it. You don’t need to worry about any of that right now,” Laura replied firmly, her voice steadying with resolve. “This whole mess? It stays between us. Deny everything, no matter what.”
As for Daniel, if Tina remained silent, he wouldn’t dare to spill the truth either.
But something about this entire situation felt off to Laura. ‘Someone set her up,’ she mused, her mind racing through the possible scenarios. “This wasn’t just a stroke of bad luck.”
–
“Mr. Harris, those paparazzi you had me contact last night are inquiring whether they should send you the photos first,” Ryan asked, his tone respectful yet curious.
Klein’s expression remained icy, devoid of any warmth. “No need for that. Tell them to post everything online directly. Let them know I’ve got their backs. They can publish whatever they want.”
Ryan hesitated for a moment, processing the implications of Klein’s words. “Understood.”
‘Tina must have really angered Klein this time,’ he thought, a sense of foreboding creeping in. ‘Who knows how much of her reputation will survive this scandal?’
Klein didn’t even flinch. A woman who dared to conspire against him had no right to expect mercy or compassion.
Still, he had finally achieved what he desired yesterday-he had kissed his wife.
–
Whitney’s mind had been a blur since she returned from the party the night before.
[Whitney, why did you guys leave so early yesterday?] The message from Joanne popped up on her phone, pulling her from her thoughts.
The two had hit it off instantly, exchanging contact information before the night came to an end.
Whitney stared at her phone screen, feeling her cheeks flush with warmth.
Yesterday, she had waited until the set emptied, then followed Klein out without a word.
During the drive back, she couldn’t muster the courage to look at him. Her gaze remained fixed anywhere but on the man seated next to her, her heart racing with anxiety.
She had kissed her best friend’s uncle.
No matter how many times she scrubbed her teeth that night, she could still taste him lingering on her lips.
With trembling fingers, she typed out a message: [Joanne, I wasn’t feeling great yesterday, so I had to leave early.]
–
Joanne replied almost instantly: [No worries! When I wrap up filming, let’s grab dinner together.]
Whitney smiled at the screen, typing back: [Sounds good.]
‘Having a celebrity friend is kind of thrilling,’ she thought, a flutter of excitement dancing in her chest.
–
At noon, Whitney made her way downstairs for lunch and spotted a familiar figure looming at the end of the hall. Her expression darkened.
“Whitney, I’m telling you, this restaurant is really good, and they’ve got a fifty percent off opening special going on,” Valerie chimed in, her enthusiasm palpable.
Whitney cut her off, her patience wearing thin. “Valerie, go in and grab us a table. I’ll get some water and be right there. What do you guys want to drink?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.