Novel & Cerita Heard It Through The Grapevine Drama

I heard about the engagement on Thursday. Pol mentioned it while we were waiting for the centrifuge. He had heard it from someone at the Ironveil branch of the institute network, who had heard it from someone at the administrative office, which was how pack news traveled: not in announcements but in layers, each person adding one degree of distance until the information arrived somewhere neutral and unremarkable, like a shared lab with a centrifuge running and a colleague who had no idea the news was not neutral to the person standing next to him.

Kathryn tilts her head, curiosity sharp behind her glasses. “How comes? Aren’t you tired of the drama New York spits out every other week?” Before I can scramble for something clever, Elena jumps in, her green eyes darting between us like she’s tossing a grenade into the conversation. “Speaking of drama—did you guys see the scandal about that heiress who died in a car crash? Running away with her lover?” My mimosa goes down the wrong way, and I choke, sputtering into the rim of my glass as the world tilts sideways, and cold sweeps through me, draining the blood from my face.

“The Word Around” Jace’s POV The grapevine was often how information got around in this line of business, whether it be real or concocted stories, it always made its rounds. And it tended to stick, unless someone powerful enough didn’t want it to. I eventually chalked that terrible dream that left me in shambles to my subconscious leaning into the rumours of Dimitri’s ghost coming back to haunt the world. Though pushing the words out of my mind was harder than I had expected I was able to do it.

The next morning I saw the new appear on the news like my life was constantly monitored BILLIONAIRE CEO MR CROFT OF THE CROFT INDUSTRIES COMMENCES THEIR ONGOING DIVORCE HEARING ON THE 18TH OF FEBRUARY… I cleaned my face several times trying to get the sleep off my eyes and to confirm if what i was seeing was actually real I immediately dialed Daniels line and as usual he picked “Have you seen the news?”my voice was intense. “No i just woke up”His voice was soft,sleepy and low,”let me check”he groaned. “Shit mara this is crazy what's he doing chasing clout or something?” “It's Vivienne that's doing all these I just know it but she should know I'm not scared of her”

The headline screamed: BREAKING NEWS: DYLAN WINTHROP AND I ARE OFFICIALLY ENGAGED. Below it, a picture of me and Lisa from a family dinner. And then… a voice recording. My stomach plummeted. No. No, no, no. The recording icon stared back at me, the exact audio from last night, when our parents announced the engagement. The moment my life became a public spectacle. The comments were a frantic blur, impossible to read: *OH MY GOD!!! I KNEW IT. I LITERALLY KNEW IT. BLACKWOOD'S POWER COUPLE. THIS IS INSANE. WAIT THEY'RE ACTUALLY GETTING MARRIED??

I was about to ask Jason what was happening, only to realize the video had already been disconnected. What came after was relayed to me by him later. He said he panicked and accidentally ended the call. Ambulances and police arrived later. Statements were taken, and the scene took hours to settle. Fortunately, no one died. Gavin, who was stabbed, refused to settle and insisted on pressing charges. “Then her bridesmaids pooled money together and dug up dirt on him to force a settlement.” Jason clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed. “Gavin’s reputation is basically ruined now. I heard his company even used it as an excuse to fire him…”

In her voice, Gabriel could completely hear her grinding her teeth. “Two more weeks.” Brandon said coldly. After Brandon finished speaking, Diana said nothing more, which surprised him a bit. “Is there anything else?” My mother doesn’t say, so I will. “Ah, as for the Roadlamp family, Henry…” Tit… tit… tit… “Aaaaa, this shit!!!” After hearing ‘tit’ from the other end, Diana shouted into the phone. She did not expect that in this world, except for her husband, there was a second person who dared to hang up the phone before her.

DAMIEN'S POV The inky night air hung heavy, like a cloud of suspense as I leaned back in my chair. The study lamp cast that long shadow across the room. In an instant, the stillness of the night was dismissed as my phone ran. A number that I didn't know flashed across the screen. I picked up, irritation crawling into my voice. "What is it? The voice at the other end was trembling and sounded fumbling. "Mr. Gray, I have something that you may want to hear. There's somebody from the media team snooping around. They found the transfers and had been snooping on what you've been doing."

Too loud for the moment. He glanced at the screen. I did too. JEFF (PA) I didn’t even know he had a PA. He answered. “Yeah?” Long pause. His eyes shifted. His jaw clenched. “Where?” “What platform?” “Send me the links. Now.” He ended the call and just stood there. Silent. My chest tightened. “What is it?” He turned the phone toward me. My eyes locked on the headline. “Leaked Docs Reveal Billionaire Ryan Graham’s Marriage Was a Business Deal”

It sounded completely unreasonable. “Did you forget where I work? It’s basically a gossip hub. I hear all kinds of rich people’s drama straight from the mouths of the wealthy ladies and heiresses who come to the spa for beauty treatments. Last time, the mother and daughter who got rejected by Luke stopped by. I wasn’t paying much attention to them, but when they started talking about you, I had to listen.”