Love's Bitter Edge (Eva and Leonard)

The woman tried to get a closer look at me, but Astrid stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "What do you want?" Astrid asked sharply.

The woman, seemingly not understanding Pyrosian well, gestured awkwardly as she tried to explain herself. The gist of it was that she thought she knew me from before, having seen me during chemotherapy. She seemed flustered, worried Astrid might misunderstand. "Ms. Green, don't you remember me? We went through chemo together. I saw the news back home... I thought it was just gossip, but you're really alive! You... Do you not understand me?"

I avoided her gaze, pretending not to understand what she was saying while feeling a twinge of panic.

Clearly uneasy about the situation, Astrid quickly replied in Aelish, hoping to dismiss her. The woman, now confused, started to doubt herself, her expression growing uncertain.

At that moment, Andrew rushed over. "What are you all doing out here? I told you, Rinatta shouldn't be out in the wind!" he snapped, annoyed at Astrid.

The woman's family approached as well, and Andrew's stern look softened slightly as he addressed them.

"Sorry for the confusion," Astrid explained quickly in Aelish. "She might have mistaken her for someone else."

Andrew picked up on the situation immediately and played along. "You've been in treatment here for years. Why can't you just follow the rules, Rinatta? If you don't want to worry your family, you should focus on your recovery." His words were clearly intended for the woman's ears, and they worked.

As we turned to leave, I overheard the woman's son speaking to her, "The doctor said she's been here for years. They don't let her go outside much. Mom, do you know her?"

"I thought I did... But her name's Rinatta. I don't think I know any foreigners named Rinatta."

"Then maybe you're mistaken."

The woman glanced in my direction one last time, still visibly unsure. However, she didn't say anything more.

Back in the hospital ward, Andrew looked visibly annoyed. "Sorry about that. I didn't expect someone here to recognize you. But you know this hospital's reputation-it's the top cancer treatment facility, so it attracts people from all over the world. You might need to disguise yourself better in the future."

I nodded, still shaken. My appearance had changed a bit since then.

Qu

I had gained weight and looked more like my younger self from school, but the surgeries had also, altered my features. My eyes, in particular, protruded slightly more, making me look different enough for someone to second-guess,

Astrid tried to cheer me up. "Eva-no, Rinatta. From now on, I'll only call you Rinatta. Just pretend you don't understand Pyrosian and you'll be fine. Jack's here to back us up, so there's nothing to worry about."

I nodded slightly, though unease lingered in my heart. Something didn't feel right. It felt like trouble was looming.

My fears were confirmed that night when I received a call from Zack.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

He said in a serious tone, "Eva, our photos from the bar were posted online."

I jolted upright in bed. "Which website? Send me the link."

Astrid, half-asleep beside me, stirred from the commotion and rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked groggily.

But I had no time to explain. My focus was on the images Zack had mentioned.

There were photos of Zack and me

from the bar and an old photo of me with Willis that was deliberately framed to look romantic. What made it worse was that the post had caught the attention of a few influencers who had already shared it

Some gossip forums had picked it up as well, and the views were climbing rapidly-nearing 100,000.