You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 129

Sydney was about to press him for details, but Ashton suddenly glanced down at his phone. A new message had just popped up on the screen. His eyes locked onto the text, freezing in place for a long, heavy moment before his lips twisted into a violently cold smirk. "He didn't just get dumped. He's about to be completely ruined."

The message was from Julian, and it read:

[I will transfer the twenty million dollars to your account. Please stop harassing Sylvia, otherwise things will turn very ugly between our families.]

Sydney immediately sensed the shift in the atmosphere. "Ashton, what are you talking about..."

But Ashton was already dialing a number and walking out of the booth, his broad shoulders radiating a terrifying, barely contained fury.

-

Ever since Sylvia confessed the truth to Julian, she felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off her chest. She could finally breathe.

For the next two days, Ashton went completely dark. No phone calls, no texts, absolutely nothing.

Without the debt, he had lost his only leverage to harass her, yet the total silence left Sylvia with a deep, creeping sense of dread.

Meanwhile, Julian's schedule suddenly exploded. He had already been busy, but now he was practically unreachable.

However, he never mentioned what he was actually dealing with.

Sylvia had her own exhausting schedule to manage. Now that her debt had shifted from Ashton to Julian, she felt an intense pressure to work as hard as possible to build a nest egg and pay him back.

Penelope Caldwell booked her a spot on a reality show called *Campfire Chronicles*, a program focused on the slow, relaxing pace of outdoor living.

While the show heavily marketed itself as a 'healing, unscripted' experience, it absolutely had a set framework. The production team handed out specific tasks and engineered situations to guarantee enough drama for the ratings.

During the first episode, the cast was forced to build their campsite from scratch. The crew provided absolutely zero help; they had to assemble everything with their own hands.

Sylvia barely recognized most of the other celebrities, save for one deeply familiar face: Zoe Meade.

Zoe acted as if their vicious audition rivalry had never happened. The moment the cameras rolled, she locked arms with Sylvia, putting on a sickeningly sweet performance to trick the audience into believing they were best friends.

Trapped on camera, Sylvia couldn't exactly shove her away.

Another guest was Zack Zane, an actor who had previously starred in a massive hit drama alongside Zoe. The two of them had been heavily shipped by the public, and Zack played right into it by doting on Zoe constantly throughout the shoot.

Ethan was completely indifferent to the cameras and was there strictly for the camping experience. While the celebrities had spent the last hour gossiping and flirting, he had silently and efficiently built his entire tent alone.

While the others were still fumbling with their poles, he simply sat in a folding chair and read a book, completely ignoring the manufactured social dynamics.

As a successful author, he didn't care about screen time or public opinion. He had his own solid foundation.

By choosing to team up with him, Sylvia guaranteed a peaceful afternoon. The two of them completed their cooking task with zero communication. They didn't speak a single word to each other.

"LMAO, this genuinely needs its own spin-off: Solo Camping."

"Are they operating in parallel universes? They haven't even made eye contact once. Is this aggressive social distancing?"

"The editing team is trying so hard with the romantic graphics, but it's just so painfully awkward. I'm dying."

Thanks to the massive popularity of the celebrity guests, the first episode generated explosive traffic. Naturally, Sylvia's smaller fanbase ended up getting brutally dragged through the mud by Zoe's army of followers.

But this was exactly what the producers wanted. Outrage generated clicks. They claimed to be a wholesome, healing show, but they were absolutely desperate for the toxic engagement.