Chapter Four
1698 Words
---
Adriana's trembling finger hovered over the trending post.
She tapped it.
The screen loaded for what felt like an eternity.
Then a photo appeared, making her heart stop for a second. It was the picture Chris had taken yesterday while showing her around the garden.
She remembered laughing because he had accidentally stepped into the fountain.
Someone had cropped Chris out.
The caption read:
"Who exactly is Adriana Smith?
The mysterious girl who suddenly moved into the Williams Mansion. Sources claim she has been getting unusually close to all three Williams brothers. Looks like another gold digger has found herself a billionaire family."
Her breathing became uneven.
"W-What..."
She scrolled.
She saw another picture.
This one was taken outside the music room.
Chris was smiling at her.
The angle made them look... intimate.
Another caption.
"The youngest brother seems completely charmed already."
She shook her head.
"No..."
Her thumb continued scrolling.
Another photograph.
This time...
She was standing beside Alex while he helped her carry books after breakfast.
The caption beneath it was even worse.
"One brother isn't enough?"
Her vision blurred.
The comments loaded,thousands of strangers,some laughed,some mocked her,even called her names.
One comment caught her eye.
---She'll probably marry one of them for their money.
Another.
--- These poor girls always know exactly which rich family to target.
She locked her phone immediately.
"I can't..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her phone buzzed again.
It was Zoe.
"I'm coming over," Zoe said without waiting for a greeting.
"You shouldn't be alone."
---
Zoe came over to the Mansion.Staring amazingly at the interiors of the house.
Martha showed her the way to Adriana's room.
"Adrie."
"Oh my gosh,so this is where you stay"
Zoe paced around the room with excitement, almost forgetting her reason for coming over.
"Zoe.Stop!"
Zoe rushed to Adrie and hugged her.
"Nobody will speak ill of you as long as we go to the same college"
Adrie looked at her.
"I think I'd take the day off today".
Zoe pulled her closer.
"If you hide today... they'll think they're right."
"Yeah,you are right."
"They're not going to do anything to me anyways"
---
She walks into campus with her head facing the ground.
Zoe patted her back slowly.
"I'm here."
Immediately...
Conversations stop.
Students stared at her with disgust....
"What're you looking at,b*tch!"
Zoe gnarled at one of them.
Some whisper,others pretend not to look.
As they pass , a girl deliberately says loud enough for everyone to hear,
"Some people really know how to upgrade their lives."
Laughter follows.
Another student mutters,
"I wonder which brother she's dating."
Adriana keeps walking.
Her fingers tighten around her backpack straps.
She totally ignored them .
Zoe is the complete opposite of Adriana.
She is confident,loud, and protective.
She storms into the classroom.
"Who posted that nonsense?"
Everywhere became silent.
"I asked a question."
Nobody answers.
One girl rolls her eyes.
"It's just gossip."
Zoe slams her notebook onto the desk.
"Gossip?"
"You people are destroying someone's reputation."
Adriana gently grabs Zoe's hand.
"It's okay."
"No."
"It isn't."
Zoe stormed out of the class angrily....
---
Williams Mansion
That evening...
Mrs. Williams notices Adriana is unusually quiet.
She barely eats.
Chris tries making jokes.
Still nothing....
Alex notices too.They were all worried what could be wrong with her.
Max?
He says nothing.
Until...
Chris asks,
"Adriana... are you okay?"
She forces a smile.
"I'm just tired."
Max finally looks up.
He knows she's lying.
But he doesn't ask questions.
It's not like he is bothered anyway.
---
Late that night.
Inside Williams Group.
Max had received a call from Ethan.
He found something on Adriana Smith.
Ethan walks into his office holding a tablet.
"Have you seen this?"
Max barely looks up.
"What is it?"
Ethan places the tablet on the desk.
It was the same article about Adriana.
Max's expression hardens as he scrolls through the comments.
Then...
He notices something.
One particular photograph.
His eyes narrow.
"Where did they get this?"
Ethan frowns.
"What?"
Max zooms in.
The picture had been taken...
Inside the Williams Mansion.
Only someone with access to the estate could have captured it.
His jaw clenched.
"This wasn't random."
Someone is definitely watching his family.
He wondered if it was Adriana's doing.
But she wouldn't have posted an article speaking bad about herself,he thought.
He concluded it must be someone that hates her.
Though his conclusion doesn't mean he wouldn't still approach her.
--Williams Mansion--
Adriana came downstairs to get water from the kitchen when Max came in from the main door to the house.
His gaze swept over her from head to toe, his expression filled with nothing but disdain.
"So, this is your strategy,huh?"
Adriana frowned.
"...What?"
He let out a humorless laugh.
"I almost admired how quickly you started."
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Really?" he asked, arching a brow. "One day in this house and you're already laughing with Chris in the music room."
"And now you make it an article for fame?"
Her eyes widened.
"You saw that?"
"I see everything that happens under my roof."
His voice grew colder.
"You've barely unpacked your bags, yet you've already found your way into my brother's company."
"It wasn't like that."
"And what made you think I posted the article"
He took another step closer.
"Chris has a kind heart. He trusts people too easily."
"So do you think I planned that?"
"I think you're smarter than you look."
The words struck her harder than she expected.
"You know exactly what you're doing."
She stared at him, speechless.
"You smile..."
He ticked each point off with his fingers.
"You act innocent."
"You pretend to be fragile."
"And before anyone realizes it..."
"You've wrapped them around your finger."
Adriana shook her head.
"That's not true."
"Isn't it?"
His eyes bored into hers.
"My mother already adores you."
"Chris can't stop smiling around you."
"It won't be long before Alex follows."
His jaw tightened.
"I know girls like you."
Tears threatened to gather in Adriana's eyes, but she stubbornly blinked them away.
"You don't know me."
"I know enough."
"No..."
Her voice trembled, but she refused to look away.
"You've decided who I am without giving me a chance."
He ignored her....
"If your plan is to seduce my brothers so you can secure a place in this family..."
His next words landed like a slap.
"...it's pathetic."
Everywhere became silent.
Adriana felt the air leave her lungs.
For a moment...
She couldn't speak.
She had been called poor.
She had been called an orphan.
She had even been pitied.
But never...
Never had anyone questioned her dignity.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"So that's what you think of me?"
"That's exactly what I think."
She looked into his eyes, searching for even the smallest trace of compassion.
There was none.
Only suspicion and contempt.
A lump formed in her throat.
"I lost my parents."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I lost my home."
"I lost everything."
She swallowed painfully.
"And somehow..."
She forced herself to meet his gaze.
"...you've managed to make me feel like losing all of that still wasn't enough."
For the first time...
Max said nothing.
She continued quietly,
"You don't have to like me."
"I never asked you to."
"But don't stand there and strip away the little dignity I have left just because you've convinced yourself I'm someone I'm not!"
She dropped the glass of water she had intended to drink and walked out on him.
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