I Pretended To Be His Crush For Three Years Chapter 05

I Pretended To Be His Crush For Three Years Chapter 05

“Ms. Nyssa,” Nora managed a smile. “What can I do for you?”

Nyssa smiled faintly. “Nothing major. I just wanted to meet you properly.”

“I’ve seen your work. The colors are beautiful.”

Nora could tell she meant it. And that made it worse. The more sincere Nyssa was, the more disgusting Nora felt.

Those three years should have been hers. Reid’s tenderness should have been hers.

She looked away. “Thank you,” she managed.

She wanted to leave. Nyssa caught her arm. “Ms. Nora, you look pale. Are you feeling unwell?”

“I know you and Reid just broke up, so this might be awkward. But I promise I don’t mean any—”

A waiter passed behind them. Someone jostled him.

The champagne tower on his tray tilted—straight toward Nora and Nyssa.

“Watch out!” someone shouted.

But it happened too fast. Nora froze, bracing for impact.

A hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the way, shielding her from the falling glass and flying champagne.

A familiar scent flooded her senses.

Her eyes flew open. Reid. He was holding her.

What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be saving Nyssa?

“You—” she started.

A cold voice cut in. The system.

[Warning! Warning! Nyssa’s approval rating has dropped by 8%. Current rating: 72%. Host behavior is severely deviating from mission objectives. Correct immediately.]

Nora and Reid both turned.

Nyssa stood a few feet away, soaked in champagne, a cut on her arm from broken glass. She wasn’t crying. Wasn’t complaining. Wasn’t even frowning.

She just looked at Reid with flat, unreadable eyes.

Nora pushed Reid away. Hard.

The room was silent for a moment. Then murmurs flooded in like a tide.

She couldn’t stay here.

“I’m sorry… I have to go.”

This time, she finally said the words out loud. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t know who she was saying it to.

She walked toward the exit. No footsteps followed. She hadn’t expected any.

Outside, the night air hit her face. She shivered, hailed a cab, gave her address.

By the time she got home, social media was already on fire.

#ReidCallowayRescuesExGirlfriend# was trending number one. The comments were brutal.

“Nora, seriously? You knew he’d be there and you still showed up. Pathetic.”

“He was so good to her when they were together. Wrote her songs, declared his love on stage. And she still can’t let go.”

“Poor Nyssa—her boyfriend didn’t even save her. She got drenched, cut her arm, and had to stand there alone.”

“They’re not officially together yet, but they might as well be.”

“She’s a wealthy heiress and he’s a rock star. Why would he ever settle for Nora?”

Further down, a long blog post titled: “Nora’s Post-Breakup Moves—Coincidence or Calculated?”

It was detailed. Excoriating. It painted her as manipulative, desperate, a social climber who’d used her relationship for fame and was now trying to milk it for more.

The top comment had thousands of likes: “Reid spent three years doing charity work by dating her. Now that he’s finally free, she won’t let go. Absolutely disgusting.”

Disgusting.

She’d heard that word in her dreams so many times.

She placed her phone face-down and lay back.

The doorbell rang.

She froze. Who would be here this late? Hailey wouldn’t come without calling. Property management was long gone.

She got up and walked to the door. Through the peephole, she saw Reid.