From Now On, It’s Not About You Chapter 04

From Now On, It’s Not About You Chapter 04

I stared at him in shock. I had no idea what he was talking about.

Then his phone came flying at me.

The screen was already open. It showed explicit photos of Willow.

The key areas had been pixelated, but the outline of her body was completely exposed.

Her address and phone number had been posted underneath.

The headline read: [Ungrateful Scholarship Leech Sluts It Up with Her Sponsor’s Alpha Boyfriend.

Free Whore, First Come First Served.]

The comments had already reached tens of thousands. Every single one was disgusting.

[Trash from the gutter. Being poor limits nothing-least of all how wide she spreads her legs.]

[A shameless slut like her spreads ’em for any guy.]

[An ungrateful leech like her doesn’t deserve to live.]

[Heading over now. Anybody wanna join?]

Ryan’s face was dark with fury.

“Willow slit her wrists because of this. She almost died.”

“I’ve already contacted the media. You’re coming to the hospital to apologize publicly and admit that you faked those images out of jealousy.”

I looked at him as though he were a stranger.

“I didn’t do this. I’m not going.”

At some point, Willow had entered the room.

She was dressed in a flimsy hospital gown, looking pitifully fragile, sobbing so hard she could

barely catch her breath.

“Ryan, forget it. Don’t make things harder for Phoebe because of me.”

“It’s my fault. I was shameless enough to fall in love with you.”

“If Phoebe hates me, I get it. I brought this on myself.”

Ryan wrapped her in his arms. The pain in his eyes was obvious.

“You did nothing wrong. Why should you blame yourself?”

Then he looked at me. Every trace of warmth vanished.

“Phoebe, I’m giving you one last chance.”

“Post a statement right now-publicly clear Willow’s name and apologize to her.”

Suddenly, Willow pulled away from him.

She grabbed my wrist and forced my hand toward her face.

“Phoebe, I just got into Silver Moon Academy-I can’t let my future be destroyed.”

“Just hit me, please! If you’re angry, hit me.”

“You can even beat me to death, I don’t care-just please let me walk away with my reputation

intact.”

She was much stronger than I expected. The force sent me stumbling backward.

My side slammed into the sharp corner of the coffee table, and my vision went black from the pain.

But at that exact moment, Willow screamed. “Ah! Phoebe, don’t kick me!”

She threw herself backward. Ryan rushed over and caught her.

The fury in his eyes burned hotter than ever.

“Phoebe, are you insane?”

“You’d lay a hand on her right in front of me? What else are you capable of?”

He inhaled sharply. Then he pulled out his phone.

A few quick taps later, a familiar sound filled the room.

I went completely still, and my stomach dropped.

“You promised me.”

My eyes turned red.

“You said if I signed the withdrawal papers, you’d delete the video. You lied.”

Every inch of my heart felt crushed beneath something heavy.

Ryan showed no guilt. His expression was ice-cold, utterly merciless.

“I gave you a chance. A tooth for a tooth. Fair’s fair.”

His finger hovered over the send button.

“No!” I shut my eyes tightly. Humiliation burned through me. Tears hit the floor.

“I’ll apologize. I’ll clear her name.”

I logged into my social account.

I confessed to crimes I never committed.

I claimed that jealousy had driven me to fabricate images and slander Willow.

Then I publicly apologized to her.

Within two minutes, the entire tide online had turned.

The hate changed direction and came crashing down on me in waves.

Ryan smiled with satisfaction.

“We’ll let it go this time. Consider it a lesson learned.”

“You’re going to marry me someday. I don’t want my future Luna to be a vicious woman.”

When he finished speaking, he looked over at me.

I was still sitting on the floor, staring ahead without reacting.

For no reason he could explain, his chest suddenly tightened, as if something precious was slipping through his fingers forever.

A flicker of guilt crossed his face.

“I’ll delete the video now.”

But just as he was about to do it, Willow’s face went pale and she collapsed weakly against him.

“Ryan… I feel dizzy. I feel awful…”

He had no choice but to lift her into his arms.

At the door, he looked back once.

“Think about what you’ve done.”

“I’m taking Willow to the hospital. I’ll come see you later.”

The door closed. Silence swallowed everything.

Ten minutes later, my phone lit up.

Meanwhile, Ryan had already taken Willow to the hospital.

After every test came back normal, he finally pulled out his phone to call me.

The moment he unlocked the screen, his entire body went rigid.

Flooding the entire internet was that very same video from his phone-the uncensored, high-definition video of me.

And beneath it, a netizen had commented: [That two-faced slut just tried to bolt.}

[She was surrounded by people who’d tracked her down and ended up falling into the river herself]

[The current was so strong, she’s definitely dead. How satisfying.”