Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Celeste stared at the picture Amara just showed her. It was taken two nights ago, from the night at the club.
She had her head pressed against his chest, and Dominic had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist like he’d do it again and again if given the chance. Another one showed him lifting her over his shoulders. Her head was thrown back in laughter, her legs were dangling, and her skirt was dangerously close to revealing too much.
There were others too. Shots taken from different angles. Some were of her sitting on his lap, others of him whispering into her ear with an intensity that left no room for interpretation.
She was so drunk that night that she almost didn’t remember anything.
Amara’s expression was tight. "This has already made rounds on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit... even a few gossip blogs picked it up."
Celeste’s fingers trembled as she scrolled through the images. Her pulse hammered against her skin. Her mind was a spinning carousel of shame and disbelief.
So many questions flooded the internet.
Some asked: "Who is this mysterious girl in Dominic Cross’s arms?"
Others speculated: "Is she the reason for the rumored tension between Landon Cross and Dominic Cross?"
Another read: "Is she playing uncle and nephew against each other for clout?"
"Another gold-digger climbing her way up using the Cross bloodline?" Another sneered.
But the comment section... that was where it got vicious.
@RoyalTea: "Typical desperate social climber. Can’t pick one man so she goes for the whole bloodline."
@DomFanClub: "This girl looks like she knows exactly what she’s doing. First Landon, now Dominic? She’s collecting Cross men like Pokémon."
@SincereBitch_: "She’s clearly a hoe. No self-respecting woman would behave like that in public with a man like Dominic. I mean he’s a 10, but emotionally 0. Fall in love at your own risk,"
@Landon_Babe_: "Wait, wasn’t she just announced as Landon’s fiancée? And she’s grinding on his uncle at a club?? I hope he dumps her."
@HauteMess: "Imagine being that shameless and still looking smug about it."
@CrossFamilyWatch: "She’s about to ruin an empire. And for what? Five seconds of attention?"
@PrettyPoison: "She probably thinks she’s the main character. Sis, you’re a plot twist...and not the good kind."
Celeste dropped the phone. Her fingers were unable to hold it anymore. Her throat dried out, and her stomach twisted. She felt like she’d been publicly stripped of every ounce of dignity.
"I can’t...I can’t breathe," she whispered.
Amara moved closer and gripped her shoulders. "It’s just online noise. You know how the internet is. They’ll forget about this in a week."
"A week is enough to ruin everything."
Her engagement. Her career. Her future. Her school. Even her name. Everything was in the line right now.
She hadn’t even done anything wrong.
Had she?
She laughed. She had let loose. She had trusted Dominic.... trusted that he wouldn’t let her fall. She had leaned into him, not because of lust or manipulation, but because, in that brief moment, she had felt safe.
Now, those seconds were being weaponized against her.
"I never wanted this," she whispered, sinking onto the edge of the couch. "I was just trying to forget the stress for one night."
"I know," Amara said, sitting beside her. "But people won’t care about context. They see a woman in a short dress laughing with a powerful man and they assume the worst."
Celeste clutched her head, fingers pressing into her scalp. "Landon is going to see this."
"He might have already." She scoffed, obviously displeased that her friend cared about that lying bastard.
Celeste squeezed her eyes shut. "I can’t face him. Not after this. What should I say?"
That she hadn’t meant it? That she hadn’t even thought about it being inappropriate? That she had no idea someone would take pictures? That she hadn’t known how tightly Dominic held her until the flash captured it? That she didn’t pull away?
Because she hadn’t. That was the worst part. She loved all of it with Dominic even when she had a fiancée. Dominic had touched her and she hadn’t pulled away.
She had leaned into him like she belonged there, and now, the world has seen it.
.....
Hours passed. The silence in her apartment was too loud. Her phone buzzed every few minutes with new notifications, pings from blogs, or DMs from strangers who felt entitled to her shame.
Some sent threats.
Others sent unsolicited advice. And a few asked if she’d be open to interviews to tell her side of the story.
She threw the phone under a pillow.
When night came, she couldn’t sleep.
Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her. In just a few hours, her reflection had hollow-eyes and she was beyond pale.
She picked up her laptop and did the one thing she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do.
She Googled herself.
The headlines were brutal.
Dominic Cross’s Mystery Woman: Homewrecker or Fiancée-in-Crisis?
Celeste Monroe: From Unknown to Overnight Scandal.
Cross Family Implosion: Did Landon’s Fiancée Cross the Line?
There was even a TikTok with 1.2 million views breaking down her "body language" with both men.
The internet was analyzing her smile, her posture, her hand placement and everything like she was some puzzle they were desperate to solve.
Someone had found her old photos from college.
Someone else dug up a harmless tweet from 2019 where she said, "Older men are just built differently. I get it now."
Celeste gasped. That was a harmless tweet. She had no connections with the Cross then. She didn’t even know they existed.
That was now a proof everyone held on to, and apparently, with that tweet, they said she had always had her sights set on Dominic.
It was all spiraling.
And she couldn’t stop it.
She thought about calling Landon.
Then she thought better of it.
What would she even say?
He would be hurt. Not because he loved her, but because he feels he might have lost to his uncle.
Even if there was nothing between her and Dominic, the pictures said otherwise.