Chapter 4

Thud.

The perfume bottle hit the carpet with a dull thud.

Sophie let out a startled cry, quickly picked it up, and playfully stuck out her tongue for the camera, looking all "innocent" and apologetic. "Oops, sorry, I accidentally knocked over something Ms. Langley left behind."

She held the perfume bottle, glanced around, her tone breezy but with a trace of contempt if you listened closely. "Let bygones be bygones. We should always look forward, right, babes?"

The comments section exploded again: [Sophie's right!] [You have to let go of the wrong person to meet the right one!] [Mr. Rowe only has eyes for you now!]

I shut off the tablet, not wanting to see her fake, nauseating face for another second.

Philip was fuming beside me. "Ms. Langley, she's openly dragging your name through the mud and using your history with Mr. Rowe—no, with Jonathan—to get attention! Are we really just going to sit back and let her do this?"

I stared out at the heavy darkness outside, my fingers gliding lightly over the cold glass.

"Just watch?" I smirked. "Of course not."

"Not only am I going to watch, I'm going to add fuel to her fire."

I pulled out my phone and, with practiced ease, created a brand new account. I named it [JonathanAndSophieTrueLoveUnstoppable].

Then I hopped into Sophie's livestream.

Sophie's livestream was already at its peak.

She was pouring her heart out, spinning a tale about how she'd captured Jonathan's attention with her "sincerity and talent."

"Back then, I was just another intern, delivering files for Jonathan. One day, I overheard him worrying about cultural differences in an overseas project. So I pulled out a research paper I'd written in college, polished it up, and quietly left it on his desk..."

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dreamy, completely lost in the romantic story she was spinning for herself.

"I never dreamed he would actually read it. But the very next day, he summoned me to his office to discuss the points in my paper... He said my ideas were unique and gave him a lot of inspiration..."

The comments section was blowing up: [Smart girl!] [So Mr. Rowe was really drawn to your talent!] [This is what soulmates look like!]

I scoffed.

Sophie had studied an art-related major at a third-rate college. I had seen her so-called research report in my previous life; it was nothing more than a shallow, cobbled-together mess of internet articles that was laughably superficial.

Jonathan just threw out a casual "nice idea," and now she's turned it into 'evidence' of some soul-level connection.

What a joke.

My fingers flew across the screen.

[JonathanAndSophieTrueLoveUnstoppable sent a Rocket!]

Flashy special effects instantly took over the whole screen.

Sophie was so caught up in her story that she froze for a second, clearly not expecting anyone to drop such a pricey gift.

She looked at my username and read it out loud, her face lighting up with genuine surprise and excitement. "Thank you thank you, 'JonathanAndSophieTrueLoveUnstoppable,' for the rocket! Thanks for supporting us!"

I kept my face blank and kept clicking.

[JonathanAndSophieTrueLoveUnstoppable] just dropped another rocket!

[JonathanAndSophieTrueLoveUnstoppable] just dropped another rocket!

A whole string of rocket effects took over the screen.

The livestream's popularity shot straight to the top.

The comments section was blowing up:

[Damn, that's a high roller!]

[Who is this hero? They're totally backing Sophie!]

[That username says it all! Jonathan x Sophie ship is real!]

Sophie's face was flushed with excitement as she kept thanking me, looking at my username like she'd just found her guardian angel.

I stopped sending gifts and started typing in the comments, my tone totally fangirl-level hype.

[JonathanAndSophieTrueLoveUnstoppable]: "Sophie and Mr. Rowe are a match made in heaven! You guys are my OTP—endgame for sure! Wishing you all the happiness! Ignore the haters, they're just jealous!"

My comment instantly drew a flood of support from the shippers.

[Absolutely! Endgame! All the best to you two!]

[High roller's got it right! Jonathan x Sophie is the sweetest OTP ever!]

[Jealousy really does make people ugly!]

Sophie watched as the comments flew by, her smile growing even brighter and more confident.

She nodded firmly at the camera, like she was making a vow. "Thank you, everyone! I'll work hard! I'll prove with my actions that nothing can shake my love with Jonathan!"

Watching her float on her own vanity and illusions, I smirked coldly.

Perfect.

That's exactly what I wanted.

Sophie, soak up all this phony fame while you can.

The higher you climb, the more eyes you attract—so when you fall, it'll hurt even more, and you'll crash that much harder.

I'm boosting you up just so you'll hit rock bottom even faster.

Not long after the livestream ended, Sophie posted another update.

It was a grid of nine photos.

There was a shot of her posing with that limited-edition bag, some staged pics of her "domestic goddess" act—arranging flowers and cooking in Jonathan's apartment (though the food looked totally unappetizing), and a side profile of her "hard at work," surrounded by a few files—like an intern would ever have access to anything important.

The caption read: [After meeting you, I finally realized how wonderful life can be. Grateful for everything, and thank you all for always supporting me. Let's walk this road together from now on! @JonathanRowe]

Jonathan didn't like it this time.

But he didn't deny it or clear things up either.

To fans and netizens, that kind of vague attitude pretty much counted as giving his blessing.

A dedicated fan page and hashtag for the "Jonathan & Sophie" couple blew up overnight, and fans went absolutely nuts.

An endless stream of micro-analysis and shipping threads sprang up, obsessively dissecting every tiny interaction to package Sophie and Jonathan into a modern fairy tale of true love overcoming class divides.

Meanwhile, I, the "ex-fiancée," got cast as the clueless background character who stood in the way of true love and didn't know when to bow out.

Whenever one of my fans or a random bystander tried to defend me, they'd instantly get slapped with labels like "jealous," "villainess," or "serves her right for getting dumped," and the shippers would swarm them.

Philip looked at the trending backlash online, deeply worried. "Miss, if this continues, your reputation..."

I set down the financial report and rubbed my temples.

"Philip, reputation can be a burden sometimes," I replied calmly. "Sometimes, letting it go for a while helps you see the bigger picture—and lets the ones who need to expose themselves step right into the spotlight."

I pulled up my phone and scrolled through the hundreds of thousands of comments on Sophie's latest post—all those well-wishes and praise. My eyes were cold as ice.

Let her show off.

Let her hype herself up.

Let her keep milking that "brave in love," "pure and kind," "talented genius" act for all it's worth.

The more flawless and adored she seems now, the harder she'll crash when the truth finally drops.

All I need to do is wait—and when the moment comes, just tip her right over the edge.

Just then, my phone buzzed with a news alert.

[Rowe Group CEO Jonathan Rowe to Attend Next Week's International Business Forum with Assistant Sophie Sinclair]

The International Business Forum?

That's a high-profile event, packed with business big shots and media.

Jonathan was actually bringing Sophie along?

Was he really so blinded by this so-called "true love," or did he think having his "viral sensation" with him would bring some extra benefits?

Or maybe he just wanted to prove to everyone—including me—that he made the right call?

Whatever he was thinking, it didn't matter to me.