Jake chuckled sheepishly. "Ah, well... Mr. Gardner gave me a little nudge in the right direction. That''s when it hit me."


    "I see..." Harold replied. "Well, stick close to Mr. Gardner and keep learning. We''ve still got a long way to go."


    Everything unfolded exactly as Joshua had predicted. The moment they posted news about Aurora and Leonard online, the posts were either deleted or shadow- banned. The few that slipped through the cracks were quickly dismissed as fan- fiction from shippers.


    Leonard''s influence was more potent than they''d imagined. He had decreed that no news would appear online, and so, not a single story surfaced. The inte remained a peaceful, curated space where fans of Sellers or Leonard continued their usual shipping wars.


    However, in the exclusive circles of high society, a different story was beginning to take root.


    In the VIP lounge of a private club, a group of wealthy heirs, whose lives revolved around drinking and chasing women, were gathered, trading boasts.


    "What? Aurora and Leonard are together?"


    Across the table, another one of them took a long swig of his drink, slurring his words. "Who said gettin'' a room together means they''re *together*... Maybe they just, you know, had a quick shag?"


    A third heir snorted. "A quick shag.'' Why not just say they had a wholesome sleepover and talked about their feelings all night?"


    The one who broke the story let out


    a loud belch, then looked around


    conspiratorially. Seeing they were among friends, he leaned in and whispered, "Listen, I''ve got a buddy who happened to be staying at th?t Lerman Group hotel the other night. He saw Simone and Sellers in the elevator. A minuteter, a whole pack of reporters followed them up. My friend knew something big was about to go down, so he snuck after them. And you''ll never guess what he saw."


    His audience, hooked, urged him on.


    "What did he see? Spit it out, man!"


    The storyteller dropped the act, his voice now a low, dramatic whisper. "He saw Leonard and Aurora, caught in the act. Sellers was there to bust them The reporters got the scoop of a lifetime, but Leonard''s security shut it all down. I heard they


    searched every single one of them to make sure no footage got out. They were even scanned to check if they''d swallowed a memory card or something."


    Another heir''s eyes widened. "Are you serious? Aurora''s always been so prim and proper, totally scandal-free. I heard a reporter once tailed her for a whole year trying to dig up dirt and came back with nothing."


    The storyteller sneered. "And you believe that? The Williams family could easily hire someone to follow her for a year just to nt some positive press. We''re all in the same world here. We know that nobody''s that clean But Aurora? Not a single blemish, only glowing reports. Doesn''t that strike you as odd?"


    The young men exchanged nces. "You know... now that you mention it, it does."


    One of them, who had a long-standing crush on Aurora, scowled, unwilling to hear his goddess ndered. "Talk is cheap. If you can''t show us proof, don''t be surprised if I cut you off."


    This angered the storyteller. "Tch, you think I''d make this up? You''ve been kissing her feet for how long and you probably don''t even have her number, right? I thought she was so high and mighty, so pure. Turns out, she''s no different from any of those other party girls."


    With a flourish, he pulled out his phone.


    "Here. See for yourself."