He was dying of curiosity. Unable to contain himself any longer, he had driven to Dn''s ce, desperate for an answer.


    Of course, he''d spent the afternoon specting. After thinking it over and over, he had settled on one conclusion: Dn had said it just to provoke Bianca.


    It all came down to his theory that men retained a sense of possession over their ex-girlfriends. They felt a sense of ''loss'' after a breakup, leading them to say hurtful things they didn''t mean just to get a reaction.


    "It was fake, right?" Jude said, letting out a long breath of relief, confident in his own reasoning. "You just said it to get under Bianca''s skin. There''s no way you could actually like Noreen."


    "Who told you it was fake?" Dn replied after taking a long drink of water. His voice was slow and measured, each word delivered with an unprecedented certainty.


    Jude''s mind went nk for a second, then a roaring sound filled his ears. It felt like his brain was about to explode. He was utterly shocked. Hearing it over the phone was one thing, but hearing Dn say it to his face was a whole different level of stunning.


    His mouth hung open, but no words came out.


    "What about Bianca?" Jude finally managed to ask, his first thought still of her. "She was with you for six years! How many six years does a person get in their life?"


    Dn''s voice was cold and detached, his expression equally remote. "You believe everything she says?"


    "But....." Jude struggled to articte his thoughts, wanting to defend her but finding himself at a loss for words.


    It was Dn who spoke first. "You were going to say she followed me abroad, spent six years there with me, and that her love runs deep, right?" He said this with a chilling, sarcastic edge to his voice. "Except I was in Xandia, and she was in Borealia. We barely saw each other once a year. Are you sure she was following *me*?"


    "For six years, I didn''te back, yet rumors of our romance were constantly circting back home. Did you ever stop to wonder where those rumors came from?"<fn347f> The source of th?s content is F?ndNovel</fn347f>


    "And why is it that after six years, just when Omniva Group started having problems, new rumors about our ''troubled'' rtionship started spreading?"


    "I never bothered to rify because I didn''t see the point. But that doesn''t make any of it true."


    Jude stammered, "You... you mean, someone was deliberately spreading those rumors? That you and Bianca were never actually together?"


    "You could say that," Dn confirmed unequivocally.


    Jude felt another wave of shock wash over him. Twice in one evening was enough to leave himpletely numb. Everything he thought was real tumed out to be fake, and what he thought was fake turned out to be real.


    What was true anymore? Jude felt like his brain was short-circuiting.


    As if on cue, Dn pped him on the shoulder, his tone almost consoling. "I know you''re not the sharpest tool in the shed, but


    should still warn you: don''t just


    believe everyone. You''ll get sold out


    without even realizing it."


    Jude wanted to say Bianca wasn''t that kind of person, but the words wouldn''t


    "Also," Dn continued, "Uncle found


    a good home for Omniva Group. You should try learning from Noreen instead of wasting your time on trivial matters. You don''t want to keep disappointing him, do you?"


    Jude''s heart felt heavy.