Kayla leaned in quickly. “Mom, Grandpa’s a smart man. He wouldn’t say something without reason. The company’s already in Dad’s hands. Keeping the shares in your name doesn’t affect him at all, so why is he so insistent you hand them over?
For you, it’s different. Those shares are the protection Grandpa left you.”
Bailee, despite her gentle and sheltered demeanor, had grown up in an elite family. She understood perfectly well what Kayla was hinting at. For a moment, her face went quiet, as if the words had sunk deep and left her in thought.
They talked for a while longer. As Bailee was about to leave, Kayla added, “Mom, when you’ve got free time, you should stop by Dad’s company more often. He works so hard every day.
“If you show up once in a while with a meal for him, he’ll be over the moon.”
Whether that surprise turned out to be pleasant or not, Bailee would find out soon enough.
But Bailee missed the undertone completely. She thought Kayla had let go of the earlier argument and was just trying to bring her parents closer. A blush rose to her carefully kept cheeks.
She shot Kayla a mock glare and huffed, “Alright, alright. You’re far too clever for your own good.”
When the door closed, it sealed away the shy look lingering on Bailee’s face.
Kayla let out a long, helpless sigh. ‘Mom, if only you could always stay this happy.’
The next morning, the moment Kayla stepped through the school gates, she sensed something was off. A strange atmosphere wrapped around her like an invisible net.
Dozens of eyes turned her way, sharp as searchlights. Whispers and muffled laughter trailed in their wake.
Puzzled, Kayla pinched her smooth cheek, assuming they were still gossiping about her run–in with Marianna. She brushed it off and kept walking.
But once inside the classroom, the tension was impossible to ignore.
Her classmates‘ stares swept over her like X–rays, scanning every inch of her. Curiosity flickered in their eyes, mingled with surprise, and something sly, almost gleeful.
Kayla’s heart gave a nervous lurch. It felt as if she were an oddity on display, surrounded by gawking onlookers. The discomfort prickled through her, and at last, she realized something was truly wrong.
‘Did I put on weight these past few days? Is that why everyone keeps staring at me?” she murmured and pinched her slim waist in doubt, frowning at the absurd thought.
It made no sense, She’d been training bard at boxing lately, drenched in sweat every day. If anything, she should have lost weight.
Tania, who had been watching Kayla feign nonchalance, pressed her lips together. Her gaze slid down to Kayla’s stomach, her expression turning grave
Finally, she gathered her courage. “Kay… are you… I mean… could you be…”
Kayla rolled her eyes and tapped Tania lightly on the forehead, laughing. “What’s with you today, tripping over your words?
1/3
7:42 pm
Chapter 75
You keep staring at my stomach like that. Anyone would think I’m pregnant.”
65 vouchers
The words had barely left her mouth when Tania froze, eyes wide as saucers. She just stared at Kayla in shock.
What’s with that look? Kayla frowned. “Don’t tell me you actually think I’m pregnant? Seriously, what goes on in your head?
Shaking her head, Kayla chuckled and took a sip of water. The idea was ridiculous.
But Tania didn’t laugh. She nodded instead, her face a swirl of hesitation and worry. “I’m not imagining things. Everyone knows you went to the hospital’s OB–GYN department for a prenatal checkup. The whole school is saying you’re pregnant. You really don’t know?”
Kayla choked. She spat out her water and coughed violently, her eyes widening.
Tania quickly handed her tissues. Kayla wiped her mouth, her smile gone, her voice tight with disbelief. “A prenatal checkup? When did I ever do that?”
Then, suddenly, she froze. A memory flashed through her mind.
That day at the hospital, when she went to settle Payton’s mother’s medical bills, she had accidentally walked into the OB- GYN wing for a moment.
She hadn’t even registered for an exam as she’d simply gone to the wrong department.
And yet, somehow, the story had twisted into her getting a prenatal checkup. The rumor was outrageous.
Tania, seeing Kayla’s baffled look, hurriedly pulled out her phone and opened the campus forum.
“Someone posted a picture of you coming out of the OB–GYN,” she said anxiously. “It’s everywhere. Just look.”
Right across the homepage was a headline so bold and brash it practically shouted off the screen.
Doubtful, Kayla took the phone, but as she scrolled, her eyes widened and her face darkened.
Just as Tania had warned, someone had caught her on camera leaving the OB–GYN. Worse, the post even included a clipped recording of a doctor’s conversation.
The voice asking the questions had been altered beyond recognition, but the content was suggestive enough to convince anyone she was pregnant.
Kayla’s lips twisted into a cold smile.
Whoever was behind this rumor had gone to remarkable lengths. Not only had they hand–picked incriminating photos, they’d even managed to get hold of a recording and cut it to fit their narrative.
The malice was clear. They wanted nothing more than to brand her with the scandal of pregnancy,
And they hadn’t stopped there. The post went on to name every boy she had ever been close to, speculating whose child she might be carrying The writer painted her as a frivolous flirt, a butterfly flitting from one boy to the next.
The sharpest blow, however, was reserved for Davon.
The post dredged up years of her history with him, laying out every act of affection she had ever shown, woven together into a timeline that turned her into a pathetic, love–obsessed fool.
2/3
7:42 pm
Chapter 73
no vouchers
The author’s words dripped with exaggeration, suggesting she was now trying to trap him with a child she carried.
The post had only been live for a few hours, yet the view count had exploded. The comments were a storm of jeers, crude jokes and venomous slander.
Kayla’s smile lingered, but her eyes were like shards of ice.
This wasn’t idle gossip. It was an attack, planned and deliberate.
Those photos and that recording hadn’t been collected casually. They were weapons, crafted for this very purpose.
But what unsettled her most was how much the poster knew. Some of the details about her and Davon were things only the two of them should have known. The thought made her stomach clench. Was Davon involved?
Before she could chase the thought further, a voice rang out from the doorway. “Kayla, Ms. Nielsen wants to see you in her
office.
Tania’s face drained of color. “Kay, do you think this is about all of this?”
Kayla reached over, squeezed her hand gently, and managed a faint smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
After all, lies were lies. She wasn’t pregnant, and there was nothing to be afraid of.
At the entrance to the faculty office, she nearly collided with Marianna, who was carrying a stack of papers out.
Marianna’s eyes flicked instinctively to Kayla’s stomach, and the smirk that followed was laced with malice and gloating satisfaction.
3/3
