Bonnie’s eyes drifted to the elegant wooden tissue box on the table. Her temple throbbed and, for the first time all day, tiredness hit her like a wave.
She had stayed up late last night, sorting through grad school materials, then woke up early to dive straight back into her study plan. No nap, no break, just endless review until she left for the mall.
She could feel the exhaustion now. Bonnie rubbed her temple, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught someone pointing a phone at her.
Looking up, she saw a girl hurriedly flip her phone facedown and grab her chopsticks, pretending to be busy with her food. The girl’s awkwardness was painfully obvious.
Bonnie frowned. Normally, she wouldn’t have cared, but so much had happened lately. There had been too many threats and nasty messages. She was drowning in evidence she couldn’t even use. With everything so out of her hands, every small thing made her jumpy.
Just as Bonnie was about to get up and say something, Helen rushed over, face pale. She dropped into the seat next to Bonnie, breathing hard and shaking all over.
“Check online. Right now,” Helen said, fumbling with her phone and swiping the screen a few times before finally pulling up what she wanted. “Bonnie, you have to stay calm. We knew something like this would happen. This time, no matter what people say, we stick together, okay? Anyone who tries to start something, we’ll fight back. If they cross the line, sue them. Really, don’t let them scare you…”
Bonnie felt her heart sink. She took Helen’s phone and opened up the social media app.
Nearly all the top trending topics were about Hannah. Her big comeback had become a huge deal overnight, with promotional posts plastered everywhere.
It wasn’t even that big a show, and Hannah wasn’t some household name. Yet somehow, the hype had exploded.
Bonnie clicked on a random post. In the comments, people were asking who Hannah was. Her fans replied instantly, dropping photo after photo, old screenshots, everything from Hannah’s background and career to her perfect family and enviable relationship.

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