99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 88

I looked again, standing there in the pouring rain for what seemed like a long enough time for someone to peek back up if someone did indeed try to hide from me.

I told myself it was just a simple trick of the rain, clearly.

I was stressed with everything going on, in addition to revising the project for Lucien.

My heart was still heavy at the thought of his father having to suffer, even in his weakened state.

Losing one’s true mate was hard on the wolf; it was even harder when their pups turned on them, betraying the kin bond.

With both bonds shattered, Alpha Emeric was barely hanging on, locked away in that dark and chilled suite at the furthest end of the packhouse, forbidden for all to venture to. Lucien was only preserving what was left of his father to ensure he suffered.

A chill coursed through my body, and I shuddered.

I shook the feeling off and went back inside, headed straight to my desk and got right back to work.

I was so completely lost in my creative zone all afternoon that it wasn’t until I put the finishing touches on my revision design that I found myself alone in the deserted office, the evening hours having fallen without me ever noticing.

“The day may have slipped by, but I am finally done,” I sighed, rubbing the kinks from my neck as I started packing up for the day.

Just then, my colleague Lila hurried past, then froze mid-step, startled by my presence there.

Turning back, she gave me a once-over with a weird, evaluating stare.

“Well, Claire,” she theatrically patted my shoulder, “you really surprised me today. I never pegged you for someone with such unconventional preferences.”

My hands froze over my files. “I don’t get. What do you mean?”

Lila just jerked her chin toward the phone, smirking. “Then you should check out the trending page. I have to say, it’s real juicy stuff.”

With that loaded comment and a knowing glance, she strutted away.

Dread coiled tight around my chest.

My mind instantly flashed back to earlier when I thought I caught someone spying on me.

Was there really someone there, and was there a connection to whatever the hell Lila was gesturing towards?

I unlocked my phone and tapped the trending tab, only to flinch at the shocking headline:

#SterlingHeir’sExMateCaught InScandalous Older ManAffair

The blazing BREAKING label seared my vision.

My gut twisted violently, there was no way that this was about me. Right? That angry internal voice shouted back about who else would it be.

With fingers gone numb, I opened the tag.

At the top sat a video uploaded by Edmonton’s most infamous rumour mill, topped with deliberately provocative text.

“#The Sterling’s Alpha heir Ex-Mate Caught in Scandalous Elderly Romance. Bombshell! Hot News!!! The former future Luna of the Sterling Moon pack, identified as Claire Reese, was photographed in a drenched embrace with a mysterious senior tycoon outside her office! Eyewitnesses claim she was all over him, arm-in-arm, with chauffeur-driven rides and pricey presents allegedly involved. Is this ‘love’ really crossing age barriers or just a transactional affair? Has the rejected castaway become too desperate for standards?”

–

The comments that followed were despicable.

[That sugar baby life treating you well? Who needs a ring when you will inherit grampas fortune in weeks.]

The video was clearly doctored with malicious intent from this afternoon’s footage.

It showed a slow-motion close-up of me tenderly holding an umbrella for Bart while looping my arm through his slathered with romantic filters and sappy music-followed by him handing me a fancy gift bag, freezing on my smiling upturned face.

The twisted cinematography and selective editing warped an innocent act of respect into something sordid and suggestive.

The top comment with tens of thousands of likes screamed.

[EWWW! She’d screw a senior citizen for money? I always thought she got a bad deal with the arrogant Sterling heir, but I guess not. She’s just as bad, if not worse!]

A cesspool of comments bubbled up beneath.

[Grampa traded in his knitted cardigan for this stuffy blazer, just to impress-bet his family doesn’t know he’s a silver fox! Do you think his grandchildren are older or younger than the gold digger?]

[She is a designer? More like DESIGN-HOE! An insult to the profession! She works for Moonves? I definitely won’t be going there anymore. As a mated woman, I have two grandfathers, I can’t risk their pensions.]

[I’m literally gagging. No wonder the Sterling Moon pack’s Alpha family rejected her]

[That fossil’s collecting social security! You think she loves the sensation of his saggy skin brushing . against her body? Does she get wild at the whiff of his stale cologne and pepermint breath? What an inspiring romance! *gag me now*]

[How’d someone this classless even get into a company like Moonves? Or is the boss also an older man looking for thrills?]

The comment section drowned under a tidal wave of hate.

My full name, employer, profession, and even work photos were dragged through the mud, exposed for millions to mock and maul.

People were demanding my personal home address, stating that I must be cheap and willing to be with anyone. #LikeMotherLikeDaughter was used a lot within the comment feeds.

My phone slipped from nerveless fingers, screen shattering against the desk.

My initial reaction was not anger. It was the bone-deep cold of understanding.

I knew the masterminds behind this attack.

It was Breanne and Queenie.

They were at it again.

This time, their tactics were downright vile; they meant to drag my name through the mud, publicly shame me, and destroy both my career and reputation, leaving me with no way out.

I stood motionless in the deserted office, my body trembling uncontrollably. Not from fear, but from that deep, isolating chill of being surrounded by the world’s toxic vitriol.

In that moment, I suddenly understood with painful clarity; this was the same despair my mother had once endured.

But I was not my mother. Tears were not my weapon.

I believed firmly in an eye for an eye. But for Breanne and Queenie, I would take both eyes.

They wanted to humiliate me? I would now return the favor a thousandfold.

I rose, my gaze locking onto the light still glowing at the end of the hallway. I knew it was coming from Queenie’s office. She deliberately stayed to watch me break, but she was in for a surprise now. I was the one holding the hammer!

I took a step, determined to confront Queenie head-on.

Then, the shattered phone on my desk suddenly buzzed violently.

On the cracked screen, a name flashed.

Liam Sterling.