Chapter 865 Hannah Sees Charles' Scandal
Hannah's been in a funk these past few days, totally out of it with everything she does. But even so, she can't shake off the weird vibes from everyone around her, whether she's at work or just chilling after hours.
At work, the second she steps into the office, it's like all eyes are glued to her.
No one says a word, just staring.
Their eyes have this weird pity thing going on.
Pity?
Hannah thinks she must be tripping.
Nothing's happened to her, so why would they feel sorry for her?
She hasn't been with the company long and doesn't really know anyone. All their interactions are strictly business. Even though she doesn't get why they're looking at her like that, she brushes it off.
Same deal after work.
When she steps out of the elevator, the once noisy office goes dead silent.
As she walks from the elevator to the lobby, everyone's eyes are on her.
The folks behind her start whispering.
"Poor girl, how long has it been? She got dumped already. Thought she was Mr. Watson's true love! Didn't expect her to get ditched so fast."
"Yeah! Mr. Watson was all over her back then. Every woman here was jealous. Didn't see this coming."
"I saw it coming! Mr. Watson's always surrounded by hotties. He probably mistook the novelty for love. Now that it's worn off, of course, he's done with her!"
"But look at her, she doesn't seem sad at all. Still coming to work like nothing happened?"
"Bet she got a fat breakup check! She was with Mr. Watson for the money. Now that she's got it, why be sad?"
"Who knows! I've noticed she's been off these past few days. Her face looks like she's heartbroken! Thought I was imagining things! Bet they've been broken up for a while! Mr. Watson probably came back to Sunset Bay to avoid her."
"Really? If that's true, she's really pitiful!"
"Pitiful? With a guy like Mr. Watson, even if I couldn't marry him, just hooking up once would be enough! She must've hooked up with him a bunch! Too jealous to feel sorry for her!"
"Mr. Watson's new girl is a total knockout! Don't know her, but she's way prettier than her."
"Yeah, she's gorgeous and has a killer body! Heard she's super famous in Country Z!"
"Think Mr. Watson will marry her? If so, she's one lucky girl!"
"People always say female celebs get into showbiz to snag rich guys. Used to think that was BS! Now, I believe it."
"She and Mr. Watson are a perfect match."
"Totally agree."
Hannah, already dragging her feet because of all the stares, now hears the whispers around her. She can't catch every word, but she hears enough.
When she hears "new girlfriend," her face goes pale, and she starts shaking like a leaf.
Hannah's mind was racing, 'Charles has a girlfriend? Since when? Why so sudden? How come everyone at work knows but me? Does Stella know too? But we just hung out last night, and she didn't say a word.'
Her eyes started to sting, vision got all blurry, and it felt like the world just hit pause. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't hear a thing.
She wandered aimlessly down the street.
She had no clue what was wrong with her.
It felt like the whole world had gone gray, like someone sucked all the color out.
But she didn't care, just kept walking. Car horns blared in her ears, but she didn't even flinch, stepping right into the road.
It was a green light, so the cars didn't slow down. Hannah stepped out, and they didn't have time to brake.
Just as she was about to get hit, someone yanked her back.
The car that almost nailed her zoomed past.
Hannah didn't even realize she almost got creamed, just stared blankly at Austin, who was holding her tight.
Austin yelled, "Hannah, what the hell are you doing? Do you know how close that was?"
His heart was still pounding from the close call.
Hannah shook off his hand, annoyed, "None of your business."
The light turned green, and she walked across the crosswalk.
Austin, worried, followed her, "None of my business? If it weren't for me, you'd be roadkill! Do you not care about your life?"
This morning, he saw the news about Charles.
He never thought Charles, just back in Sunset Bay, would be caught up in such a scandal.
Despite that, he was stoked.
He figured if Charles had a girlfriend, Hannah would be totally over him.
So he came to pick her up from work, ready to celebrate.
But then he saw her stepping into traffic, almost getting hit. Luckily, he got there in time; otherwise, who knows what would've happened.
Hannah didn't feel like talking, just crossed the road and kept walking.
Austin could tell something was seriously off.
From the moment she walked out of IntelliMerge Technologies, even without saying a word, he could see she had something heavy on her mind.
And it had to be about Charles.
Austin wisely kept his mouth shut, just followed her to make sure she didn't do anything crazy again.
Luckily, Hannah seemed to snap out of it later, not acting so reckless.
Austin silently walked her back to her rental apartment, hanging around outside for a long time. He didn't leave until late at night, making sure she wouldn't go out.
Even though he knew Hannah was super bummed, he couldn't help but feel happy, a smile creeping onto his face.
From now on, Hannah would be all his.
No more competition.
Inside the dark apartment, Hannah curled up alone on the sofa, hugging her legs and burying her face in her knees.
She stayed like that for a long time before slowly lifting her head, pulling out her phone, and searching for Charles's name online.
Soon, her screen was flooded with news articles about Charles and Bethany.
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