Rising From Betrayal Reborn As The Family Outcast novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Nicolas couldn’t help but look even more upset as he overheard their conversation.

‘Shameless couple? Messing around with my stepsister? What kind of nonsense is that?

‘I didn’t do any of that, seriously!’ he protested to himself.

Even if he tried to explain, no one would believe him.

His reputation was trashed, and there was no way to fix it.

He looked away from his champagne glass.

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With a newfound distance in his voice, he said to Nicole, “My mom needs me for something. I’m gonna go check on her.”

He shot Maxwell a look that basically said, ‘Good luck with this, then hurried off.

After overhearing their gossip, Nicole’s mind was spinning.

Especially when she saw Nicolas growing distant and cold toward her.

That gave her a sinking feeling in her gut.

She turned to Maxwell and asked, “Maxwell, did you hear what they said?”

Maxwell nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

Then, a little awkwardly, he added, “Honestly, your X alt account is kinda cringey. Maybe think about changing your profile pic?

“And Nicolas has always liked Ally. You’re really putting him in a rough spot here.”

With Nicole’s alt account drama and Alicia suddenly cutting off Nicolas, now everyone thought Nicolas and Nicole had something going on.

No wonder Nicolas wanted to steer clear of the whole mess.

And what if Alicia ended up misunderstanding Nicolas because of all this?

He knew Nicolas had only ever had eyes for Alicia, and he was determined to make her his forever.

Nicole really made things awkward this time.

After hearing Maxwell, Nicole thought, ‘So my alt account really did get outed.’

She’d kept that account on lockdown-nobody knew about it except her mom.

She’d always posted about her feelings for Nicolas, but never shared any photos or anything that could reveal his identity.

She never tried to get followers or make it popular, so it just looked like a totally normal account.

She’d been keeping it on purpose, all so she could make a move on Nicolas when the time was right.

But this was the worst possible time for it to go public.

If it got out now, she’d be in for a world of trouble.

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Like, all the other rich kids in their circle would start gossiping and judging her, and Nicolas would probably start acting different around her.

Her eyes grew teary. “I swear, Maxwell, I never meant for any of this to get out.

“I never wanted to ruin things between Nicolas and Alicia, so I just kept it all hidden.

“Back in school, I just picked that profile pic because everyone else was doing it.”

She ventured, “It’s not like I told anyone about that account. I have no idea who’s trying to mess with me and stir things up between me, Nicolas, and Alicia.”

‘If I ever find out who exposed my alt, I swear I won’t let them of easy, she thought.

Seeing Nicole about to cry, Maxwell was itching to get out of there.

He said, “I don’t think anyone was trying to cause drama. Apparently, it was Nicolas’s aunt who told everyone about your alt

account.

“Actually, my brother wanted me to find him, so I’ll head out.”

Maxwell didn’t stick around-he made a beeline for the exit.

Seeing Nicole cry was honestly Maxwell’s worst nightmare right now.

Sure, if she teared up once in a while, she looked pretty sad and you almost felt bad for her-but if she did it all the time, it got old real fast.

And if she started bawling and he didn’t comfort her, he’d just look like a jerk, so honestly, it was better to bail before things got messy.

Nicole just stood there, dumbfounded, as Maxwell made his getaway.

Back then, if she so much as teared up, they’d be the first to try and cheer her up.

But now, remembering what Maxwell said, her mind was racing this was trouble, big time.

She honestly never expected it would be Nicolas’s aunt who exposed her alt account like that.

And she even made sure everyone at the party saw it, spreading the word around.

Now Nicolas’s parents were definitely in the loop, too.

‘How am I supposed to face anyone now?’ Nicole thought, her heart sinking.

She’d always heard Nicolas’s aunt was a total blabbermouth, and turns out it’s true-she’s the absolute worst.

Her mind was all over the place; she had no clue what to do.

On top of that, the rich girls she was supposed to be hanging out with weren’t even giving her the time of day.

Looking totally freaked out, she went straight to find her mom.

Meanwhile, Mavis was running into pretty much the same kind of mess as Nicole.

Most of the ladies at the party kept things civil, putting on polite faces and treating her with basic courtesy.

But there were always a few blunt types, or those who didn’t care about stepping on her toes-they’d just give her the cold shoulder or flat-out ignore her.

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Among them were a few ladies who used to be close with Alicia’s mom, and they started throwing shade at Mavis right to her face.

“Wow, Mavis, you really know how to stir things up. You even made Alicia cut you off,” one of them sneered.

“Who would’ve thought you were so ambitious? Not only did you try to push out the actual daughter, but you even want your own kid to steal her fiancé,” another chimed in.

“You always used to hint and complain, saying no matter what you did, Alicia just wouldn’t accept you or your daughter, and she even flipped out at Leo Hammond,” a third added.

“I knew you were trouble from the start. Isn’t this just you trying o ruin Alicia’s reputation? Guess you really are just a two- faced stepmom,” another scoffed.

“When Leo and Alicia were fighting, you were probably fanning the flames, weren’t you?” one of them sniped.

“You’re just a wannabe who clawed her way up and now thinks she’s a queen. Those gutter tactics of yours? Please, everyone sees right through them. Drop the act.”.

“You and your daughter-what a pair of schemers…”

Those harsh words cut Mavis deep, leaving her feeling miserable

She tried to explain herself, her face full of helpless frustration, but nobody was interested in listening.

Everyone was sure it was Mavis and Nicole who made Alicia break things off.

And even though that was the truth, she’d never admit it-not in a million years.

She was burning with resentment toward Alicia. “That damn girl has totally lost it, pulling a stunt like this,’ Mavis thought bitterly.

All those years she spent building up her good name-just like that, it was trashed.

Just as Mavis was fuming, Nicole leaned in and quietly filled her in on the whole X alt account mess.

Mavis’s heart skipped a beat.

She whispered back, “Just stay calm for now. We’ll talk about it once the party’s over.”

Hearing her mom say that, Nicole took a deep breath, trying her best to steady herself.

Just then, Diana and Vivian walked over.

Diana looked Nicole up and down, clearly judging her.

She went straight for it. “Do you like my son?”

Nicolas and Nicole’s whole situation was already the talk of the party-everyone was just here for the gossip.

When Diana made her move, people started quietly gathering around, eager to see the drama unfold.

Nicole never expected Diana to ask her so bluntly, right to her face.

Her mind spun with thoughts before she finally looked up at Dima, pressed her lips together, and answered. “Yes

With her alt account exposed, there was no way she could deny

She’d registered it with her own ID-if anyone checked, it would be easy to trace back to her.

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Rather than try to argue, she figured it was better to just admit it

‘Maybe Diana will actually be moved by how long I’ve had a crush on Nicolas, Nicole thought. Diana scoffed, “Have you ever actually looked at yourself in the mirror?”

Nicole was totally caught off guard-she never thought Diana would hit her with such a savage Before Nicole could even get a word out, Diana turned and called out, “Nicolas, get over here.” Nicolas was caught off guard when his mom suddenly made a beeline for Nicole.

When he heard her call his name, he could only grit his teeth and head over. “Mom!”

Diana asked, “What’s your relationship with Nicole?”

Nicolas replied immediately, “We’re just friends.”

diss.

He added, “She’s the little sister of two of my closest bros, so I’ve always seen her as a little sister-nothing more.”

‘Of course, only my mom could pull something like this off, Nicolas thought.

Diana pressed further, “If there was a marriage alliance between the Moore and Hammond families, would you agree to get engaged to Nicole?”

Nicolas answered without hesitation, “Absolutely not. I’ve only ever loved Alicia.”

When he was a kid, every time he saw cute and pretty Alicia, he just couldn’t help but follow her around like a puppy.

As they got older, he just fell for Alicia even harder.

And with both families planning to set them up, he was dead sure Alicia was going to be his wife one day.

He couldn’t help but pity Nicole-she really had it tough.

But she and Alicia were total opposites, like night and day.

Alicia was super strong-she always handled things on her own, and would even step up to protect the rest of them.

Honestly, they kind of ended up relying on her.

Nicole, on the other hand, was so delicate and fragile, like she’d break if you so much as touched her.

She was totally dependent on them, treating them like her saviors.

She couldn’t stand the thought of being left behind, terrified of being abandoned.

Without them, it was like a fish out of water-she’d just wither away.

They just couldn’t help but feel protective of her, always finding themselves wanting to go the extra mile to take care of her.

But marrying Nicole? No way, not in a million years.

For starters, he only ever had feelings for Alicia-he never saw Nicole that way, not even once.

Nicole was always crying and acting like the world was ending-he was just way too fragile. As a little sister, spoiling her was

fine.

But as a wife? No way, he just couldn’t deal with that.

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He could handle it once in a while, but having to play therapist every day? No thanks, he didn’t have the patience for that.

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