The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 364

Valerie continued, "He's a domestic god, a culinary genius, and a total badass who takes down criminals for a living. How did you manage to land a flawless guy like Nathan Peyton?"

"I'm literally drooling with envy."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Aren't you putting him on a bit of a pedestal?"

Sure, Nathan was incredible, but nobody was perfect.

Nora didn't necessarily think he had hidden flaws, but over-romanticizing him was dangerous. If Valerie ever saw him do something terribly normal, the disillusionment would be real.

It was better to just view him as a regular guy from the start.

"Pedestal? Please."

Valerie pulled out her phone and forwarded several video clips to Nora. "Here. Watch these and tell me I'm wrong."

Curious, Nora opened the files.

Seeing the familiar figure on the screen, her eyes widened. "Is this..."

"Your husband."

Nora choked. "Excuse me?"

"Future husband," Valerie corrected with a laugh. "Don't act all shy now. I saw you two at the door earlier. Who are you kidding?"

Nora knew Valerie was going to hold that moment over her head forever. She ignored the tease and kept swiping through the clips.

"Where did you even get these?" she asked in surprise.

The videos were gritty, showing Nathan in high-intensity pursuits and takedowns. They looked like security camera footage.

This kind of footage wasn't supposed to be public.

"My editor gave them to me. The plan was to release them if we ever secured an exclusive interview with him. But since he kept turning me down, these babies stayed in the vault."

Michael was a dependable, drama-free actor. After a decade of consistent success, his fanbase had matured from rabid teenagers into a calm, loyal community.

While new fans joined over the years, the core supporters were older and rarely engaged in petty internet drama.

Between her busy job, Valerie usually only logged on to buy magazines or boost endorsement sales. She never expected to come back to her safe haven and find it up in flames.

Scrolling down patiently, she finally pieced together the timeline.

It started when a brand-new account posted a blurry photo, claiming they had spotted Michael in Luminport City.

At first, fans just debated if it was actually him. A few eagle-eyed users analyzed the background and confirmed the location.

This drew out a wave of lurkers.

A veteran fan politely tagged the original poster, asking them to delete the thread, noting that Michael didn't have any official schedule in Luminport City and that spreading unverified rumors was harmful.

It was a standard, reasonable request, but it apparently kicked the hornet's nest. The new account retaliated by dropping a second, far more explosive photo.