Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 127

Meredith covered her mouth, her eyes instantly sparking with pure gossip. "Oh my god, I think I'm shipping it!! He's literally destroying his enemies for you!"

"Don't be ridiculous." Phoenix reached out and flicked her forehead, rolling her eyes. "It's a marriage of convenience. He probably did it to protect his own ego."

"If his so-called wife gets bullied in public, it makes him look weak."

Meredith rubbed her forehead, leaning in with a cheeky grin. "I think Pierce is a great guy. Why don't you just... turn the fake marriage into a real one?"

"A top-tier man like him is the only one who deserves you."

"Get out of here!"

Phoenix glared at her playfully. "We have to go cure your grandfather tomorrow. Go to sleep."

"Come on, just think about it..." Meredith refused to let it go, looking as if she wanted to physically box Phoenix up and drop her into Pierce's bed right then and there.

Phoenix rolled her eyes and turned her back to the girl, closing her eyes to rest.

Still, a ripple of something unfamiliar stirred in her chest. Pierce Sterling... was becoming more impossible to read by the day.

...

Meanwhile, at Starlet Media.

Ian stormed into the agency, looking like a complete wreck, and was immediately dragged into the emergency conference room.

The atmosphere inside was suffocatingly tense.

"The public narrative is a total disaster right now. Fans are screaming that they've been conned, and they're turning on you in droves." Rowena Reed slammed her hands onto the conference table, her glare slicing through the PR team like a knife. "If we don't contain this, Ian is finished! The breach of contract fees for his endorsements and movie deals alone will bankrupt us!"

"I need a damage control plan. Now!"

"Rowena, the public is getting completely out of hand, especially since..." A male employee glanced nervously at Ian, swallowing hard.

Ian violently slammed his fist onto the table, a vein throbbing at his temple. "Spit it out! Why the hell are you looking at me?"

The employee shrank back, his voice shaking. "Lennox Lane just made a post. He admitted he took the photos and called you... a hypocritical piece of trash."

"What?!" Ian's pupils shrank. He frantically pulled out his phone.

The moment he read Lennox's tweet, his vision went black. He nearly collapsed. This parasitic loser, who usually followed him around like a pathetic dog, actually stabbed him in the back at a time like this?!

He had assumed a server took the photos. He never imagined his own inner circle would betray him.

"Lennox! You ungrateful bastard! I'm going to kill you!!"

"Ian, calm down!!"

Rowena's sharp scream cut through the air, her eyes freezing over. "The only thing that matters right now is crisis management! If you ever want to work in this industry again, shut your mouth, swallow your temper, and cooperate with my team!"

He wore a thin white button-down, the collar slightly undone, his hair deliberately messy, radiating a fragile, tragic beauty. He was seated in a professional recording studio, heavily implying he had been grinding away at work this entire time.

He offered the camera a bitter, forced smile, his usually smooth voice slightly hoarse. "I'm sorry for taking up public resources so late at night."

"I know who I am, and I originally planned to ignore these vicious rumors. But the narrative online has severely hurt the fans who trust me."

His eyes grew red, tears shimmering perfectly in the light. That look of absolute sincerity and heartbreaking grievance instantly shattered the defenses of countless fans.

"I've been working back-to-back shooting the new series, and I've been pulling all-nighters recording the soundtrack. I literally just found out someone was spreading rumors about me."

Ian gave a helpless shrug, sighing deeply. "I'm just sitting here working, and somehow I'm the villain."

[He's so dedicated!! Working all night just to get attacked by haters! The internet is heartless!]

[I told you there was no way someone as gentle as him would go to a place like that! It's obviously a deepfake!]

[We will protect you forever! We always support you!]

Watching the tide of the comments turn, Ian took a deep breath, flashing his signature dazzling smile. "Thank you. Thank you for believing in me. For you, I will keep delivering my absolute best."

"I've said my piece. I'm leaving the rest to the legal team to clear my name."

With that, he stood up and offered a deeply humble, ninety-degree bow to the camera.