Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Chapter 259

"What's wrong?" Serena asked. She was the kind of person who couldn't hide her feelings, and Gabrielle spotted her unease right away.

Gabrielle looked embarrassed. "I... my phone's acting up... Um, I brought you a little gift from my trip..."

"Gabrielle, hand me your phone," Serena said, reaching out with a tone that brooked no argument.

Gabrielle hesitated, clearly reluctant.

"If you won't give me yours, I'll check my own." Serena's words left no room for protest.

Left with no choice, Gabrielle handed over her phone.

Before Serena could finish scrolling, Gabrielle blurted out, "Serena, don't pay attention to what people are saying online. They're just making things up."

But Serena ignored her and kept reading.

Since the latest episode aired, the show had shot to the top of the trending charts again. This time, though, it wasn't just Serena's name everyone was talking about -Cynthia Lynwood and Rosa were trending, too.

because someone had dug up that she was apparently Aaron's girlfriend,

claimed the only reason Serena answered every question correctly was because she had a special relationship with

accusation landed like a bombshell,

if on cue, someone exposed that Cynthia had joined the show with backing from a sponsor. That left only Rosa as the so-called "real deal"-the only contestant with genuine ability, according to the internet. Suddenly, every Instagram post related to

through the chaos, taking it all in before finally handing the phone

let this get to you, Serena. I'll go home right now and ask my dad to run some PR for

had been quietly reading the accusations online, spoke up. "Let

and Gabrielle looked up at him in

time Serena was hospitalized, William had taken care of her all night, and Gabrielle had been impressed with him ever since. If Serena and William ended up together, that would certainly drive Aaron mad with jealousy. Eagerly, she said, "That's perfect, Mr. William's

"I'll just—"

need," Serena interrupted, cutting William off. "If we get a PR team involved, it'll only make

we can't just sit here and let them spread

of fatigue in her expression. "No matter what we

cheated. If we

or trying

make the public more suspicious. Right now, the best