Chapter 122

The trending list exploded overnight.

#MusicQueenSophiaLaurentOnceLickedBootsOfRichFamily#

#SophiaLaurentHomewreckerHistoryExposed#

#HeirWinstonStolenFromChildhoodSweetheartByMusicMogul#

Marketing accounts coordinated their attacks, flooding the internet with salacious revelations.

The allegations were a toxic mix of truth and fiction.

At the center were Ethan Winston, heir to the Winston Group conglomerate, music icon Sophia Laurent, and socialite Isabella Evans.

The Winston Group owned multiple entertainment companies, making Ethan a regular fixture in both business and gossip columns.

He was considered one of "Hollywood's Three Most Eligible Bachelors" alongside William Lowell and Alexander Valdemar.

The exposé detailed Ethan and Isabella's childhood romance.

Their families were old money acquaintances who grew up together.

The post included intimate childhood photos of the pair.

Young Ethan held Isabella's hand, his sunlit smile radiating pure affection.

Comments erupted:

"OMG! This is fairy-tale love!"

"The way Ethan looks at Isabella—so tender!"

"So she's the legendary first love!"

"Now THIS is a power couple!"

Then the narrative took a sharp turn.

Subsequent photos showed Sophia with Ethan.

Ethan remained stone-faced while Sophia beamed in every shot.

One showed Sophia waiting outside Winston Tower late at night.

Another captured her serving Ethan soup with excessive enthusiasm.

A particularly damning image depicted Sophia struggling to support a drunken Ethan.

Public outrage mounted:

"Disgusting! She's clearly throwing herself at him!"

"No shame chasing wealth and status!"

"Homewreckers deserve hell!"

"No wonder Isabella left the country—who could endure this?"

Sophia scrolled through the posts with a bitter smile.

The photos were real.

The events had indeed occurred.

She and Ethan got together a year after Isabella's departure.

During a family memorial trip, she'd recognized Ethan as the boy who once saved her life.

From then on, she quietly followed his career.

After Isabella left, Ethan drowned himself in alcohol.

She'd only approached him out of concern.

Then Ethan unexpectedly proposed dating.