Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 170

Hudson's lips curled into a faint smile. He walked back over and gently ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine now."

Nora swatted his hand away, smoothing down her messy hair. "Alright, alright, get out of here."

Hudson chuckled softly and turned to leave.

She watched the black Maybach pull out of Cloudwater Estate before slowly turning away.

Just then, her phone buzzed against the dining table.

Caller ID: Chloe Caldwell.

"Hello?"

"Jade! You need to check the trending topics right now!" Chloe shrieked, her frantic voice so loud Nora had to hold the phone away from her ear.

"What's wrong?"

"You and Leo are the number one trending rumor! Everyone's saying you're his girlfriend! Go look!"

"..."

Her and Leo?

What the hell was going on?

Frowning, Nora immediately pulled up social media.

Sitting at the absolute top of the trending list, tagged with a glaring red 'EXPLOSIVE', was the hashtag:

#LeoHamiltonSecretGirlfriend#

She clicked on it. The original post was from a massive gossip blogger. The caption read: [Exclusive from 'The Next Icon' Backstage! Leo Hamilton caught getting intimate with mystery woman! Romance confirmed?!]

The post included a few GIFs clipped from the premiere of The Next Icon broadcast the night before.

In the footage, Leo had just stepped off stage. Nora handed him a water bottle, they exchanged a few quiet words, and Leo smiled. Then, Nora leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

It was a brief, throwaway shot that the production crew had randomly left in the final cut. Netizens had isolated it, zoomed in, slowed it down, and analyzed it to death, inventing a wildly romantic narrative.

Nora scrolled down. The top comments had already been overrun by Leo's rabid fanbase:

[WTF?! Who is this chick? Why is she standing so close to him?!]

[Chill, guys. She's probably just staff or his agent...]

Nora was silent for a couple of seconds. "What did Leo say?"

"I haven't been able to reach him. He headed into the recording studio first thing this morning. His phone is off."

"I've got it. I'll handle it."

Hanging up, Nora leaned back against the couch, her thumb aimlessly swiping across her screen.

The scandal wasn't apocalyptic, but it wasn't minor either.

The smartest move was to ice the story and wait for the hype to die down on its own.

But the fans were actively doxxing her. If they discovered she wasn't actually Jade Reed, or worse, if they dug up the truth from over a decade ago...

This wouldn't just be about a stupid dating rumor anymore.

That man...

Checking the timeline, he had probably already been released from prison.

If her real identity was exposed online, he would absolutely come hunting for her...