Chapter 5: I Won’t Break

"What is it?"

Hearing Jasmine's words, I quickly let go of her and looked down at her phone.

One glance and all the color drained from my face.

Housewife Jealous of Famous Designer?

Selene Hale Reports Bianca White for Plagiarism—What's the Real Story Behind It?

Can Women Who Engage in Female Rivalry Just Drop Dead Already?

Genius Designer Bianca Responds to Controversy During Cancer Treatment—Live!

These were the headlines pushed to Jasmine's social media.

"Selene, don't look at these. Once the truth comes out, everyone will know which of you and Bianca is the real villain."

Noticing I'd seen her phone, Jasmine coughed, stepped back, and opened one of the articles.

Soon, Bianca's face appeared before us.

"Mr. Locke and I are truly innocent. He's kind to me only because he knows my time is limited. He feels sorry for me, that's all."

"Ah, speaking of which, Ethan and I were meant to be but never got the chance. We were so close back then, but Selene drugged Ethan and slept her way into his life, so we..."

"Forget it. That's all old news. No point bringing it up."

"Fans, I'm going live today to tell you that every single one of my design drafts was drawn by me. Please don't be misled by rumors."

On the livestream, Bianca wore elegant makeup and cried beautifully.

Seeing her like this, her fans were heartbroken and rushed to comfort her in the comments.

[I've seen photos of that Selene. She's gorgeous, but her heart is truly rotten.]

[Being pretty means nothing. This is the era of talent. Bianca can design jewelry. Can she?]

[Of course she can't compare to Bianca. Otherwise she wouldn't be trying to get attention by dragging Bianca's name through the mud.]

[I know this Selene. In college she was always stealing other people's stuff. Can't believe she's moved on to stealing men and design drafts now.]

[Hey, the person above—drop Selene's contact info. Let's all call her and give her a piece of our minds.]

"These people are way out of line. Sharing someone's private information online is illegal. I'm calling a lawyer right now," Jasmine said, standing beside me. She could see the comments in Bianca's livestream too. Her temper flared and she was ready to get lawyers involved immediately.

"Let it go. There are too many people out there that Bianca has fooled. We don't have the time or money to sue them all."

I grabbed Jasmine's hand and laughed bitterly, looking down.

"Besides, didn't you say it yourself? Once the competition committee clears everything up, the voices attacking me will gradually die down."

"But the things they're saying are so awful."

Jasmine looked at me with pity.

"It's fine. They can only shout online. It doesn't affect my real life at all. I'll just stay off my phone for a while. Actually, this works out perfectly—I need to focus on putting together the evidence to report Bianca anyway."

"Alright."

Seeing how determined I was, Jasmine temporarily dropped the idea of suing Bianca and that aggressive netizen.

I thought that if I ignored the negativity, the storm would blow over quickly.

But reality told me I'd underestimated just how persistent netizens could be—and how far Bianca was willing to go.

That night, the online harassment against me got worse.

Old photos from my college years were dug up and posted by someone with an agenda. People who hated me edited my photos into fake memorial portraits and spread sexual rumors about me without mercy.

And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was—my phone number got leaked.

"Hey baby, want to hook up?"

"Little slut, I heard you've been passed around already. Come keep me company tonight."

"Homewrecker, why don't you just die?"

For the next three or four days, the calls and texts never stopped. Every time I checked my phone, there were hundreds more vulgar messages waiting for me.

The nonstop harassment was driving me out of my mind. Even with Jasmine staying by my side, I had nightmares every night.

That's when Ethan called.

"Hello, Ethan..."

Even though I knew Ethan's heart had always belonged to Bianca, we'd been married for seven years.

So the moment I saw his name on the screen, a small, secret hope crept into my chest.

Maybe he was calling to check on me.

But the moment the call connected, his words hit me like a bucket of ice water.

"Scared now? Selene, if you want this to stop, go to the committee right now and withdraw your report. Then go to the hospital and apologize to Bianca in person."

He... did he even hear himself?

I was being cyberbullied, and he wasn't the least bit concerned about me. Instead, he was demanding I apologize to Bianca.

Oh. I got it now.

My name had been trending for days. Ethan must have had a hand in that.

No matter how well-connected Bianca was, she was still just a rising designer. She didn't have the reach to coordinate harassment on that scale.

That kind of organized attack—only someone like Ethan, CEO of a publicly traded company, could pull that off.

My grip on the phone tightened without me even realizing it.

"Ethan, you and Bianca can spin the narrative all you want, but you can't change the facts."

"I'm not backing down. One day, everyone will see exactly who Bianca really is."

It took me a long time to find my voice.

I said my piece in a hoarse whisper, then hung up without hesitating.

Ding ding ding!

The second I tossed my phone onto the couch, it buzzed again.

I didn't want to answer. But it kept ringing.

I had no choice. I squeezed my eyes shut, grabbed the phone, and snapped at whoever was on the other end.

"Ethan, enough! I've already made myself clear. I will not give in to you and Bianca."

"If you have time to threaten me, use it to help your girlfriend find proof that she didn't copy my work—"

A long silence. Then a woman's quiet sigh came through the line.

"Um... Mrs. Locke, I'm not your husband. This is Ms. Linda, Aiden's teacher."

"Aiden got into a fight with a classmate at school. Can you come to the hospital?"