Chapter 25: The Gold Digger

 

The next morning, Harper woke up with a headache. Not from alcohol, but from the memory of the night before. The car. The massage. The almost-kiss.

"Argh!" She buried her face in the pillow. "How am I supposed to face him today?"

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Her phone vibrated on the nightstand. It wasn't an alarm. It was a barrage of messages.

[Liam]: SISTER-IN-LAW! YOU ARE FAMOUS! [Liam]: Wait, I mean Harper! Look at T*****r! [Liam]: Wait, don't look at T*****r! [Liam]: Actually, maybe don't look at your phone at all.

Harper frowned. She sat up and opened social media. Her jaw dropped.

Trending #1: #TheMysteryInBlue Trending #2: #SterlingComeback Trending #3: #CinderellaExposed

She clicked the first hashtag. Photos from the engagement party were everywhere. There were photos of Sebastian looking like a dark god at the piano. And there were photos of her. Standing beside him, pushing his wheelchair, whispering in his ear.

@FashionKilla: Who is she? That dress is custom Leo! She looks like royalty! @SterlingFan: Finally, a woman worthy of our King! They look so good together!

Harper smiled. Okay, this wasn't so bad. She looked pretty good.

Then, she clicked the third hashtag: #CinderellaExposed.

The mood shifted instantly. Someone—an anonymous account—had posted a photo of her ID badge. Name: Harper Evans. Position: Domestic Caretaker / Maid. Education: Undergraduate (Rejected from Corporate).

The caption read:

"Stop worshipping her. She's not a princess. She's just a maid who wipes his floors. Guess she found a faster way to climb the corporate ladder: by climbing into her disabled boss's bed. #GoldDigger"

The comments were vicious. @User123: Ew. A maid? She probably seduced him because he's lonely. @RichGirl: That dress costs $200k. No way she bought that. She's clearly taking advantage of a vulnerable disabled man. Disgusting. @JulianFan: No wonder Julian dumped him. Sebastian has low standards now.

Harper’s hands trembled. The smile vanished. She felt cold. "Vulnerable disabled man"? "Seducing him"? They made her sound like a predator. Like she was using Sebastian.

A tear fell onto the screen. She wasn't crying because they insulted her. She was crying because they insulted him. They were saying he was easily manipulated just because he couldn't walk.

Knock, knock.

"Harper?" Sebastian’s voice came from the hallway. "Breakfast."

Harper wiped her eyes frantically. "I... I'm not hungry!"

"Open the door," Sebastian ordered. His voice wasn't angry, but it was firm.

Harper hesitated, then opened the door a crack. Sebastian sat in his wheelchair. He was holding a tablet. His face was darker than the storm yesterday.

He looked at her red eyes. His grip on the tablet tightened until the screen cracked.

"Who showed you?" Sebastian asked, his voice dangerously low.

"I saw it myself," Harper sniffled. "It's fine. They're just keyboard warriors. I don't care."

"I care." Sebastian wheeled himself into her room (ignoring boundaries for the first time). He handed her the tablet.

"Read this."

Harper looked. It wasn't the nasty comments. It was an email to the Legal Department.

To: Legal Team From: Sebastian Sterling Subject: DEFAMATION. Identify every single user who used the hashtag #GoldDigger. Send cease and desist letters. Sue the original poster for libel. Bankruptcy is the goal.

Harper gasped. "Sebastian! You can't sue the internet! There are thousands of them!"

"I have enough lawyers for thousands," Sebastian said calmly. "But that takes too long."

He took his phone out. "So I did something faster."

"What?"

"I logged into my T*****r."

Harper’s eyes widened. Sebastian Sterling hadn't posted on social media in five years. His account had 10 million followers, but it was a ghost town.

"What did you do?"

Sebastian showed her the screen. He had posted one photo. It wasn't a professional shot from the party. It was the Polaroid Harper took yesterday. The one of him in the garden, holding the hose, creating a rainbow, with a rare, soft smile on his face.

The caption was short.

@SebastianSterling:

"She didn't climb into my world. She built a garden in it when it was desolate. She is not my maid. She is my savior. Anyone who insults her is my enemy. P.S. I bought the dress. And she looked better in it than anyone else ever could."

Harper stared at the screen. The post had been up for 10 minutes. Likes: 500k. Retweets: 200k.

The comments section had done a complete 180. @User1: OMG. He called her his SAVIOR? @FanGirl: I'm crying. This is the most romantic thing I've ever seen. @Hater: (Deleted Account)

Harper looked up at Sebastian. Tears welled up again, but this time they were happy ones. "You... you posted the rainbow picture? That was private!"

"It's my favorite picture," Sebastian shrugged, acting nonchalant. "And I wanted them to see the real me. The me that you brought back."

He reached out and took her hand. His thumb brushed away a tear on her cheek.

"Don't cry over insects, Happy Puppy," he whispered. "Let them talk. I only listen to you."

Harper sniffled, laughing through her tears. "You called me your savior publicly. Now I can never quit."

Sebastian smirked. "That was the plan."