Chapter Forty Five

Runes' eyes twitched as he scrawled through one WeTalk account to another and their talks about him only got increasingly worse with each post he read. What the hell is happening to him right now? Why are there so many Wetalk accounts clowning him on the internet?

He slammed his tablet down on his desk, the clatter echoing sharply in the sudden silence.

His face was flushed, a vein throbbing visibly in his temple, and his hands were clenched into tight fists.

"What is this garbage?!" Rune snarled, pushing himself up from his chair and pacing furiously.

His eyes darted towards Marcus, who stood awkwardly by the door.

Marcus, who had seen the posts and refused to inform Runes of how bad it was getting, stared at his boss in concern. "Sir? Is something wrong?"

"Something wrong?" Rune spun around, pointing a trembling finger at the tablet. "Everything is wrong! My name, Marcus! My name is being dragged through the mud on Wetalk! Look at this!"

He snatched the tablet back up, jabbing a finger at the screen. The Wetalk app was open, filled with trending posts and comments, all indirectly aimed at him.

"This one! 'Mr. Sterling clearly has a talent for fabricating stories. Where's the proof, sir?'" Rune read aloud, his voice dripping with venom.

Marcus stole a glance at the furious man, trying to hide a smirk. He's never seen Runes so worked out about anything and this was just amusing, the sight of it.

"And this! 'So, a man says his fiancée cheated, but the "other man" turns out to be her actual husband? Sounds like someone's a liar.' And look at this one!"

He scrolled wildly, his finger flying across the screen. "'The tabloids who published that article getting sued is just icing on the cake. Makes you wonder who the real snake was in that engagement. Not Thea, apparently.'

Rune threw the tablet back onto the desk. "They're calling me a liar, Marcus! A liar! My reputation... my name... it's being soiled!" His voice rose with each word, barely able to contain his anger.

Marcus cleared his throat. "Sir, with all due respect, there's no direct accusation. No one is explicitly naming you. It's all... implications."

"Implications?!" Rune roared, rounding on him. "Do you think I'm stupid, Marcus?! Everyone knows who they're talking about! Everyone knows my name was tied to Thea Balmero! This is a direct attack on me! On my credibility!"

Marcus nods, forging concern. “I understand where pure coming from sir but this is probably a bunch of Ms Thea's fans being obnoxious sir. This is no reason to get worked up on..”

Runes glared at Marcus and approached jim with a dangerous look in his eyes. “What did you just say? Just some fans of hers? Do you understand the extent of this mess?! I have articles being written about this speculation! It's everywhere you dimwit!” He snapped.

Of course Marcus knew how bad it was. He saw the first post that started it all the night before and he might have used a secret account to shit on his boss in the comments but who's going to tell him?

His job is to try to pacify this man and make sure he doesn't shoot someone dead with how furious he was at the moment. And Marcus being the only one in the office, he needed to save his head.

“Sir, please. I'll look into it but I'm sure it's nothing…” Marcus stated.

Runes' mind immediately jumped to the source. Thea. It had to be her. She had been silent for days, but now, suddenly, these whispers were spreading. It was too convenient.

"And it's all because of that damn video!" Rune continued, running a hand through his hair, messing it up in his agitation. "She goes and claims the man in the video is her husband? And that it was taken out of context? Who does she think she's fooling?"

He clenched his jaw. He had been so careful to paint Thea as the unfaithful one, to make himself look like the wronged party.

It had been working. People had believed him. But now, with the video mysteriously gone and Thea suddenly spinning this ridiculous story, the tide was turning.

Everyone was questioning his credibility and it drove him mad with anger.

"I need to know what she's doing," Rune said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I need to know why she's suddenly saying these things. And how she made that video disappear. No one just wipes something like that from the internet."

He pointed a finger directly at Marcus who wanted to be anywhere but his office right now

"Find her, Marcus. Now. I don't care where she is, find her. She's been hiding, but she clearly isn't hiding anymore. I want answers. And I want them directly from her."

Marcus, though annoyed by his task, nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll get on it right away. Should I contact her directly, or perhaps through Ms Posy? I learnt they've been in contact.”

Rune scoffed. "Posy? No! I want to talk to her. Alone. This is between me and Thea. Find out where she is, and arrange a meeting. Tell her it's urgent. Tell her... tell her I want to understand what all this is. Make it sound like I'm concerned."

He forced a fake look of concern onto his face for a moment, then it vanished, replaced by anger.

"But make sure she knows I'm not playing games."

Marcus nodded again, already pulling out his phone. "Understood, sir. I'll discreetly find her whereabouts and set up a meeting."

"Do it," Rune commanded, turning back to his desk, his eyes scanning the Wetalk feed again, it was only getting worse.

"And quickly, Marcus. My name cannot be tarnished like this. Not for a lie. Not for her. Find out what she's doing. What all this is."

Marcus leaves, thankful to be out of his air. Goodness, it was exhausting working for Runes Sterling and the only reason he was still there was because of his pay.

Nothing else.

Despite the post having no ties to Thea directly, Runes had every reason to think she's behind this and he had to find her and put an end to this mess.