Chapter Thirty-Five – The Leak It started with a ping. Yn was halfway through lunch when her phone lit up with a message from an unknown number: You might want to check the group chat. She opened it — and froze. Screenshots. Dozens of them. Private texts between her and Malachi. Photos she’d never posted. And worse… fragments of conversations about her family. Things she’d only ever told a handful of people in confidence. Her stomach dropped. The captions were cruel, twisting her words into something ugly. No wonder he left. Guess the perfect girl isn’t so perfect. Her family’s a mess. The cafeteria noise blurred into a dull roar. She could feel eyes on her, hear the low hum of whispers spreading like wildfire. She scrolled, her hands trembling. Whoever had leaked this hadn’t just gone for her reputation — they’d gone for her heart. One screenshot showed a message she’d sent Malachi late at night: I’m scared you’ll leave like everyone else. Underneath, someone had added: Guess she was right. Yn’s throat tightened. She wanted to stand, to shout, to demand who had done it — but her voice felt trapped somewhere deep inside. She shoved her phone into her bag and walked out, ignoring the stares. The hallway felt longer than it ever had, every step echoing like she was moving through a tunnel. By the time she reached the empty stairwell, her chest was burning. Not from anger — from the sharp, suffocating mix of betrayal and humiliation. She’d fought so hard to survive Lila’s games. She’d endured Malachi’s rejection. But this… this was different. This was someone ripping open wounds she’d barely begun to heal. And as she sat on the cold steps, the truth hit her like a second wave: The crown she’d been given wasn’t just hollow. It was poisoned.
