Ste returned to the hospital room, carrying the takeout she''d picked up for Joshua.


    "Sorry, I''m a bitte," she apologized.


    Joshua set his phone aside and studied her face. “You seem to be in a good mood. Did something nice happen?"


    Ste touched her own cheek, as if to check whether her emotions were that obvious. "Is it really that noticeable?"


    He grinned. "Very."


    Ste hesitated for a moment, but decided not to keep it from him-he''d find out about Rachel eventually, anyway.


    "I got my hands on solid proof that Rachel''s been faking her illness," she said quietly. "If this goes public, there''s no way she''ll be able to recover her reputation."


    Joshua didn''t even look surprised. Instead, he smiled. "Well, congrattions. You wanted to expose her, and now you''ve got exactly what you need."


    Ste didn''t mention that it was Foreman who''d provided the evidence. She trusted Joshua, but it didn''t feel right to drag Foreman''s name into this, not when it could make trouble for him.


    She gave a small nod and began unpacking the food. "Let''s eat first."


    Joshua gave her a long, thoughtful look, then started his meal with his usual quiet,posed grace.


    ***


    The next morning, social media was aze. Trending hashtags like "Rachel Fakes Her Illness,” “Rachel''s Terminal Diagnosis Exposed,” and “Rachel the Fraud" shot up to the top of the charts.


    Video clips and images revealing Rachel''s deception had been posted from Ste''s ount. She''d even written a lengthy post,ying out the tangled history between her and Rachel in painstaking detail.


    With Ste''s current level of fame and a massive online following, her exposé went viral in under two hours.


    Meanwhile, Rachel,pletely oblivious, was on the phone with Joshua.


    "Joshua, ticket sales for my concert are terrible. Even after dropping the price, nobody''s buying," she


    note of desperation. “You were rightst time-I need someone tofill the seats. Could you help me out again? Maybe get your team and some friends toe? Just... don''t let the ce look empty."


    Without hesitation, Joshua agreed. "Sure, I''ll take care of it."


    Only then did Rachel breathe a sigh of relief, a small smile spreading across her lips. "Thank you, Joshua. In the end, you''re the only one I can really rely on."


    Joshua smiled—a strange, unreadable expression—but said nothing more. Having gotten what she wanted, Rachel didn''t feel like chatting with him any longer. She made up an excuse and ended the call.


    Almost immediately, her phone rang again. This time it was the manager from her agency, sounding panicked.


    "Rachel, have you seen the news? The trending topics?!" he blurted out.


    Rachel frowned. "What''s trending?"


    The manager''s words tumbled over each other. "Ste-she''s exposed everything online. The inte''s exploded, and we can''t get any of the posts taken down. Rachel, you need to check this out!"


    Rachel didn''t so much as flinch. Her voice was calm, almost bored. "With Ste''s poprity, it''s no surprise you can''t take anything down. Jasper and Haynes will handle it."


    Her manager sounded close to tears. "But-but this time it''s different!"


    Rachel''s confidence didn''t waver. "There''s nothing different about it. Don''t worry. I''ll take a look, but in half an hour, it''ll all be gone from the trending list anyway."


    She hung up and dismissed the warning from her mind.


    Unhurriedly, she made herself a cup of tea, then settled into a chair by the floor-to-ceiling windows of here seaside condo. As she sipped her tea and scrolled through the news on her phone, she gazed out at the ocean.


    Haynes had bought her this apartment-it boasted the best view in town. Rachel


    intended to enjoy it, no matter what the world was saying about her.