Chapter 4: Aftermath and City Noise

4

The next morning, Rachel was nowhere to be found.

I chewed my sandwich in silence, the El rattling by outside, city alive while I felt half-dead.

The sun was already high, the city humming beyond the apartment windows. The familiar hum of the El train filtered in, a backdrop to my solitary meal.

To my surprise, all the hate comments had vanished overnight.

Even the media outlets that bashed me the hardest—somehow their official accounts had been banned.

A few media friends sent me a photo of my parents at their company, captioned: [Handled it. Don’t worry about a thing.]

I smiled.

I knew my parents would never truly abandon me.

After all, every mess I’d ever made, they’d always cleaned up in the end.

Even my parents’ smiles looked fake—guess I wasn’t the only one faking it lately.

[Speechless. Every time the second female lead quietly helps the male lead, she gives the credit to that couple...]

[Rachel: number one CEO for cold, silent support. If her husband’s happy, she serves him with a smile. If he’s not, she serves him coldly.]

[Too bad the male supporting character is clueless. He was so obviously grossed out last night. Even if he dodged divorce, he probably can’t escape the basement in the end.]

Shocked, I looked from the barrage to my phone, staring at my parents’ photo for ten minutes—finally spotting signs of Photoshop...

I opened Messenger, scrolled to Rachel.

[Are you free today? I have something to talk to you about.]

She replied instantly: [You’ve got the wrong number.]

“...”

[No, honey~]

This time, she replied after a long pause:

[I’m really sorry about last night, letting you see those ugly things. I’m busy today. If you want a divorce, contact a lawyer.]

[No, no, no,] I replied quickly. [Not a divorce.]

Rachel: [Okay, see you this afternoon.]

Barrage:

[I’m dying—divorce? No time. Not divorcing? See you this afternoon.]

[So close! The male supporting character barely avoided the little black room scenario again. Why does it feel like he’s finally realized something and is trying to save himself?]

[Why do I have a bad feeling about this plot point, but I can’t remember why...]

I closed my phone, exhaling, letting the city noise filter back in. I stared out at the city, feeling the weight of a thousand eyes on me. For the first time, I wondered—was I the villain, or just the last one left in the game?