Chapter 9 The Direction of Public Opinion

The comments section had already blown up. In just a few hours, the likes and comments had both crossed ten thousand.

People were going wild in the comments shipping the two of them as a couple. Some wrote:

[A perfect match made in heaven — Mr. Graham and Chloe are literally made for each other.]

[Mr. Graham spoils Chloe so much. This is what a real fairytale romance looks like.]

[The way things are going, they must be getting engaged or married soon. Wishing them all the best!]

Not many people knew that Luna and Marcus were actually husband and wife.

After all, it wasn't exactly a proud story — the CEO of Graham Group getting injured, being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, and then marrying someone who looked just like her.

The Graham family had been worried the news would reach Marcus, so his wedding with Luna had been kept extremely low-key. So low-key that most people didn't even know Luna existed.

[I heard Mr. Graham had a girlfriend who'd been with him for years and stayed by his side through his injury without ever leaving. So it was Chloe all along — beautiful inside and out.]

Chloe liked that comment, as if she was perfectly happy to let people believe it.

Luna's fingertips trembled slightly. The glow of her phone screen lit up her face, making her look unusually pale.

It felt like an invisible hand had quietly squeezed her heart, and a dull, spreading ache bloomed through her chest.

She'd always known Chloe wasn't someone who played by the rules. But she hadn't expected her to stoop this low.

So shameless. So openly taking credit for things she never did, wearing them like a badge of honor.

And she was doing it publicly on social media — wasn't she afraid of being exposed?

Or... had Marcus given her his blessing?

"That shameless woman! I can't believe her!" Emily was fuming, her teeth clenched as she read through the comments.

She stood with her hands on her hips, chest heaving. "You're Marcus's legal wife. You're the one who was there for him for five years. Who does she think she is, acting like she owns the place?"

"No, I'm not just going to sit here and watch you get treated like this. I'm going in the comments right now to expose her. I'll post your wedding photos and the ones of you helping Marcus with his rehab — let everyone see exactly what kind of homewrecker she really is!"

She reached out to grab the phone, ready to start typing, but Luna quickly caught her hand.

Luna shook her head gently, as if even that small motion took everything she had. Her voice was calm and quiet. "Leave it, Emily. It's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" Emily froze, then turned to stare at Luna. "Luna, why are you still letting people walk all over you? She's coming after you directly now — are you really okay with that? Are you just going to stand there while she steals your identity and enjoys everything that was supposed to be yours?"

Luna let out a soft sigh and looked at Emily. "I'm not being a pushover. I'm just tired. The only thing I can do right now is walk away from all of this and focus on living my own life."

"Even if you expose her, then what? Marcus will just take her side. And all the online drama will only drag us deeper into the mess. I'd rather just not see it and save myself the headache."

She already knew how things stood after what happened at the hospital.

Marcus's heart clearly leaned toward Chloe.

Rather than exhausting herself arguing about it — only for Chloe to kick up another scene — Luna would rather just remove herself from the picture. She didn't want to get tangled up with those two anymore. She didn't want Marcus to have any hold over her emotions.

She needed to start her life over.

Logan spoke up quietly from beside them, echoing her words. "Luna's right, Emily. The more you engage with someone like Chloe, the more satisfaction she gets out of it. It'll only make you miserable. What Luna needs right now is peace — to move on and leave the past behind, not to keep getting dragged back into it."

Emily looked at the exhaustion in Luna's eyes, and her anger slowly gave way to something softer — concern.

She stepped forward and pulled Luna into a hug, her voice gentling. "Okay. We'll ignore her. But Luna, if anything hurts, you have to tell me. Don't carry it alone. I'm always here for you."

Luna nodded quietly, a small, tired smile crossing her lips. "I know. Thank you, Emily."

Emily patted her on the back, murmuring soft words of comfort. Logan sat quietly by the hospital bed, not saying anything more, just being there.

Luna leaned against her best friend and let herself hope for a little peace and quiet.

But it didn't last.

That same afternoon, the tide online turned completely — and it caught her totally off guard.

Emily was peeling an apple for Logan when her phone suddenly buzzed.

She picked it up, glanced at the screen, and her expression shifted to pure shock. "Luna! Luna, come look — the whole mood online has flipped. Someone's speaking up for you!"

Luna blinked, slowly opening her eyes and looking over in confusion. "What happened?"

She couldn't make sense of it.

Just that morning, the comments had been full of people praising Chloe and Marcus. How had everything shifted in just a few hours?

Emily quickly held the phone out to her, voice buzzing with excitement. "Look — someone posted a bunch of photos online. They've completely blown Chloe's cover."