Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Chapter 271

Rosa pressed a trembling hand to her cheek, her voice sharp with anger and wounded pride. "Miss Sullivan, what on earth do you think you're doing?"

Serena's gaze was icy. "You were the one who spread those rumors online about me cheating, weren't you?"

A jolt of panic shot through Rosa, but she quickly recovered, clinging to bravado. "Miss Sullivan, don't you dare accuse me of something so outrageous. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Funny, isn't it? After the show aired, Cynthia Lynwood and I were both bombarded with hate online. But you? You got nothing but praise."

"That still doesn't prove a thing. Don't forget, Cynthia Lynwood's reputation has been cleared, too. People online are singing her praises now as well."

A mocking smile tugged at Serena's lips. "So what, you want me to believe Cynthia was the mastermind? I have to admit, it's a pretty clever plan."

Rosa's face registered shock, but she quickly masked it with practiced indifference. "I have no idea what you mean."

Serena leaned in, her tone steely. "You knew about the tension between me and Cynthia, so you made sure to rope her in. That way, I'd immediately suspect she was behind all of this. You calculated every angle-except one. If Cynthia really wanted to smear me online, she's got Aaron in her corner. She could have bought top trending spots in a heartbeat. Why bother hiring bots to drum up buzz all night long, just barely pushing the story up the ranks?"

The blood drained from Rosa's face.

After a moment, she gave a bitter laugh. "Fine, maybe it was me. So what? What are you going to do about it?"

composed. "Right now, there's no law against people like you those who fan the flames

sight of the voice recording app, Rosa went

Serena said softly. "What do you think Aaron will do when he finds out you orchestrated an

out, and she collapsed heavily onto the

a satisfied glance, Serena pocketed her phone and strode

the building's entrance, Serena ran straight

clicking against the marble as she approached. The sweetness in

ignored her, not

BUM

her path. "Serena, the night the episode aired-did Aaron come

over it a hundred times in her mind; there was only one place

enigmatic smile. "Shouldn't you be asking Aaron

"So you're getting back at

looked at her,

Cynthia just scoffed. "You really think your little tricks are going

back to me. Four years,

for four years and never won him over. Maybe it's time to wake up and let go-for