Chapter 67

Neither of them could make sense of the situation. Unable to hold back her frustration, Linda called Reece. At that moment, Reece was having dinner at a restaurant with friends, distractedly chatting without checking his phone.

When Reece heard his phone ring, he answered, “What’s up?”

Linda, furious at his casual tone, shot back, “I want to ask you the same thing!” She questioned him, her words spilling out. “Do you really not trust me? You’re hiding everything from me, and that’s just too much.”

Today, Linda had been overwhelmed by the relentless online gossip about Reece and Sienna, which was hard to bear. What upset her most was the realization that Reece had concealed things from her.

Reece respected his agent, but that didn’t give Linda the right to speak to him in such a way. “What exactly am I hiding from you? Can you just calm down? If you can’t talk properly, I’ll hang up,” he demanded.

Reece’s cold tone felt like a bucket of ice water poured over Linda. Only then did she recognize that her jealousy and anger had clouded her judgment.

Taking a deep breath, Linda said, “I’m sorry. I’m just really upset about everything online. It made me overreact. Did you see the latest trending topics? You’re in the spotlight again. You dominated half of today’s trends.”

Reece replied, “I’m having dinner and haven’t checked my phone. What happened?”

Linda pressed, keeping her emotions in check. “Someone posted pictures of you and Sienna meeting privately online. Every single one is quite suggestive.”

Reece frowned. “How could there be such photos?”

Linda wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. She couldn’t believe he was turning the questions back on her. “They must have pulled surveillance footage from your private meetings and taken screenshots.”

“Some people, either accidentally or intentionally, followed you and captured photos of your affair,” she added.

Reece furrowed his brow deeper. “Mind your words. We’re not having an affair.”

Linda didn’t want to get into that debate with him. “Aside from that, pictures of you and Sienna wearing matching couple pendants, costing 2 million dollars, have also surfaced. You both wore them several times at different events.”

Reece looked confused. “What couple pendants! That can’t be true!”

“When have I ever worn matching pendants with Sienna! It’s ridiculous,” he wondered.

“They’re not rumors, and the photos aren’t edited,” Linda said, her frustration bubbling over into laughter. “We had our tech department verify it. The photos haven’t been altered at all.”

“Are you still not willing to be honest with me?” she pressed. “How can we manage public relations like this?”

Reece felt even more perplexed. “I’m not hiding anything. How can I be honest!”

“I’ll check the trending topics and call you back,” Reece said before hanging up. He immediately went online and, to his dismay, found the intimate photos of him and Sienna.

After seeing the pictures, a surge of anger welled up in Reece’s chest. All those photos were taken from awkward angles to create suggestive interpretations. The photo of Sienna pressed against him had been taken when she accidentally slipped and fell onto him. He had quickly helped her up, maintaining distance afterward. The picture of them looking at his phone showed them with their heads together, but he had instinctively pulled away right after. The one with her lips near his car was even more absurd. Sienna had leaned in to talk to him just as he had sat up suddenly, causing her lips to brush against his car.

The angles of those photos were so tricky that even if he went out to explain, few would believe him. It was clear that a team was behind this. At that moment, Reece didn’t suspect Phoebe at all. First, Reece thought it was unlikely that Phoebe would have obtained surveillance footage or arranged for someone to follow him. Second, he didn’t want to believe that Phoebe could be so ruthless toward him.

Stepping back, Reece clicked on another image. When he saw the highlighted pendant, a look of shock crossed his face, and his heart sank. It was the pendant that the person had given him, claiming it had been blessed for his safety, which was why Reece wore it constantly. Sometimes it accidentally peeked out during events, and someone had captured it in a photo. This time, since he was in the village for the live broadcast, Reece had thought it best to leave the pendant in the safe to avoid damaging it while working. As for Sienna’s pendant, he hadn’t given it to her, and he was unaware that she even had one.

According to the information the netizens had dug up, there were only two limited editions of that pendant in the world. The crucial point was that they were not sold separately.

Seeing all this made everything clear to him. The pendant Sienna wore had undoubtedly been given to her by that person. With a mix of fury swelling in his chest, Reece nearly smashed his phone against the wall.

“How could I explain this?” he roared inwardly. It made Reece wonder if that person had intentionally plotted everything from the beginning. He couldn’t help but suspect that the earlier intimate photos had also been orchestrated.

As Reece’s expression darkened, he resembled a lion ready to erupt in anger. Jamar and Sienna exchanged glances, bewildered.

“What’s happening?” they wondered. This was the first time they had seen the usually composed Reece so emotionally exposed.

Realizing that his reaction stemmed from looking at his phone, they both quickly checked Twitter and the trending topics. They were taken aback.

Jamar had never anticipated that Sienna and Reece had developed such a relationship privately. The ambiguity of their connection, especially with matching pendants, left him in shock.

Staring at the two of them, Jamar blurted out, “What is your relationship?”

Everyone in the Jenkins family knew Reece was Phoebe’s boyfriend. So, even though Jamar cared for Sienna, it was hard for him to accept that these two had an affair behind Phoebe’s back.

Sienna was equally surprised that so many photos of her meeting Reece alone had been unearthed. The intimate photos were indeed the result of her deliberately pretending to create ambiguity to reel Reece in. Of course, she could never admit that. As for the couple pendant, it was not a gift from Reece. It was a birthday present she had received. If she hadn’t seen the photos on Twitter today, she wouldn’t have known that Reece had one too. To maintain her image and avoid being caught, Sienna seldom wore it. She only wore it to several events simply because she liked it.

When Jamar questioned them, Reece immediately denied it. “We’re just normal friends.”

Sienna snapped back to reality. “Right, our relationship isn’t what the rumors online suggest.”

Sienna was nearly driven to the brink by anger. Those people were cursing her for these photos, while she was completely innocent. I can’t reveal my feelings for Reece in front of him and my brothers, nor can I admit anything online. Otherwise, I would be branded as a mistress, and the backlash would be unbearable, Sienna wondered.

Jamar’s face turned red with anger. “If you have no relationship, then what about those photos and the couple pendants? How can you say you haven’t met privately behind our backs?”

The photos were solid evidence, confirmed through verification. This left Reece and Sienna unable to refute his claims. They had indeed met alone several times.

Reece explained, “We have met, but it’s not as the rumors online suggest. The photos were taken at tricky angles.”

Jamar glared at Reece, fury in his eyes. “Do you think I’m an idiot! To capture such angles, you would have to be close to each other!”

Reece, you scumbag, how could you do this behind Phoebe’s back while being with her! Do you have any respect for Phoebe? Jamar spoke in frustration. “No wonder she wants to break up with you and cut ties. You’ve gone too far.”

Reece’s betrayal and hurtful actions toward Phoebe were simply unforgivable.