Venice froze, completely unprepared for Yeri's direct confrontation, her lips parted, but no explanation came.
Then she met Shin Keir's gaze, her heart skipped a beat.
There was something unsettling about those cold, deep eyes, like a quiet abyss that pulled everything in without effort.
Fear coiled in her chest, and yet there was also a strange flutter.
In that moment, she finally understood why so many women admired him and why just as many resented Yeri for standing beside him.
"Who told you that I'm close to another woman?" Shin asked, his voice calm, but carrying a weight that pressed down like unseen gravity.
"I- I…" Venice stammered, her thoughts scattering under his gaze. Afraid of being blamed, she blurted out, "It was Calin! I just happened to meet her at the hospital, and she mentioned- "
Yeri's brows lifted slightly, clearly not expecting that name to surface, let alone that the two even knew each other.
But Venice quickly added, almost tripping over her own words, "She never said she dated you! It was the netizens who misunderstood. I didn't mean it like that!"
Her voice wavered, caught between fear of offending Shin Keir or offending Calin.
Nolan, sensing the tension, quickly stepped in with a forced chuckle. "Yeri, you should spend more time with Venice. You're cousins, after all. You should support each other, show the public that all those rumors are nonsense."
"She'd probably be happiest if I were miserable," Yeri said flatly. "There's no need to pretend."
Nolan's expression darkened instantly. "Yeri! Is this how you speak to your uncle? Where is your respect?"
Beside him, Venice lowered her head slightly, her expression turning pitiful on cue.
"I really didn't expect netizens to twist my words like that…" she said softly, just loud enough for nearby guests to hear.
With Hadi's earlier commotion, attention had already gathered. Now, with Shin and Yeri standing there, the scene had become a quiet spectacle.
If they could appear close to Shin Keir, they would gain face. If not, then Yeri could conveniently become the villain.
Either way, they wouldn't lose.
Shin spoke. "I'm not unaware of the internal affairs of the Zhi family."
Nolan stiffened, a flicker of unease crossed his face.
That single sentence was enough.
He wasn't just making a casual remark, he was exposing what lay beneath the surface. The discord within the Zhi family. The ambitions Nolan thought he had concealed.
After all, the reason Nolan had arranged to meet Hadi here tonight was simple: he wanted help securing the CEO position of Zhi Corporation.
But with Shin Keir standing on Klaus Zhi's side, then even Hadi might not be able to pull some strings.
Venice, meanwhile, continued her performance, her eyes slightly reddened as she played the part of the wronged party.
Too bad, it was the wrong audience.
Unlike the ever-hungry tide of netizens, the people dining here were not so easily swayed by dramatics and half-baked narratives.
Wealth had a way of sharpening judgment. Most of them had their own storms to manage; they knew better than to trust every nonsense floating online.
And more importantly, they knew exactly who not to offend.
Venice then stepped forward and grabbed Yeri's hand, her grip tight, almost desperate.
"Yeri, listen to me, I really- "
Yeri frowned, instinctively trying to pull away but Venice didn't let go.
When Yeri finally tugged her hand free, Venice stumbled.
"Ah!"
She let out a sharp cry and collapsed onto the floor, clutching her stomach as if struck by an invisible force.
Yeri ".…"
Which third-rate script did she borrow this from?
Nolan rushed forward, helping Venice up while shooting Yeri a furious glare. "Yeri, you didn't have to push her. Are you so arrogant now that you're engaged with Shin Keir?"
Yeri's hand was gently taken.
"Does it hurt?" Shin asked, his voice low, his attention entirely on her.
Yeri pointed at Venice without hesitation. "She did it on purpose."
She turned her wrist slightly, revealing the faint redness blooming against her skin.
"I didn't!" Venice blurted out, panic breaking through her fragile act. "I really didn't!"
"Next time," Shin said evenly, his voice carrying enough weight to quiet even the murmurs nearby, "I won't tolerate anyone harming Yeri, even if they're her relatives."
At that moment, the restaurant manager hurried over, clearly alerted by the commotion.
"Young Master Keir, what seems to be the problem? Are you alright?" he asked, though his stern glance toward Venice and Nolan betrayed where his assumptions already lay.
Shin just said it was nothing.
Venice, still a rookie in high society, finally realized she had made a fool of herself.
A few guests cast subtle, amused glances her way, not sympathy but judgment.
She wasn't the heroine of this scene, but rather the entertainment.
When Hadi finally returned, Venice's eyes lit up as if she had found her anchor. She leaned into him, her body going soft, boneless, seeking support.
But Hadi's expression was off, his earlier arrogance had drained away, replaced with something tight and unsettled. Whatever answer he received from the bank, it clearly wasn't in his favor.
Meanwhile, Shin and Yeri had already turned away, neither of them had any intention of staying.
Hadi glanced at their retreating figures, something unreadable flickering in his eyes but in the end, pride stopped him.
Instead, he pulled Venice aside and told her there's an issue with the bank so she had to cover him for now.
For someone who had always loathed Shin Keir, asking him for help was never an option.
Venice hesitated, momentarily stunned, but quickly nodded, choosing to believe him.
In the end, Nolan Zhi paid.
Nolan forced a smile as he paid, consoling himself that it couldn't be helped. After all, he still needed Hadi's favor, even so, a bitter taste settled at the back of his throat.
---
The next morning, the internet woke up to a storm already in full swing.
A headline spread like wildfire:
[ Zahn Neri and his wife have officially filed for divorce. ]
The source? "Reliable insider."
Which, in the language of the internet, meant just believable enough to explode.
No one had ever clearly seen what Doctor Neri's wife looked like. But one narrative had long taken root: That she had wormed her way into the Neri family by drugging him.
So when the divorce news broke, reactions split like cracked glass.
Some questioned it but most celebrated it.
"He's finally free!"
"Justice for Doctor Neri!"
"That woman got what she deserved!"
The comment sections turned into a digital parade, confetti made of assumptions, and applause stitched from ignorance.
Curiosity, once sparked, became a hunt.
Who was his wife?
The internet dug eagerly, uncovering scraps like a childhood sweetheart but also a desperate, insecure woman who couldn't wait any longer so she drugged Zahn Neri to stabilise her position.
Truth had long since stopped being the point.
Then like oil poured onto fire, another headline surged.
Doctor Neri as Shin Keir's closest friend, fabricated Yeri's medical records.
The claims returned, uglier than before and Yeri needing constant blood transfusions resurfaced.
The pressure shifted instantly, dragging Neri Medical Hospital under the spotlight.
"Release her real records!"
"We demand transparency!"
The netizens demanded.
People claiming to be Yeri's "blood donors" began surfacing, each with their own dramatic story.
Self-declared victims.
Some with 'evidence' or witness, some outright absurd, and others came forward claiming they had spent the night with Shin Keir.
But just as the chaos reached its peak, it was replaced by an even bigger news, impossible to ignore.
Doctor Neri's now ex-wife had filed an official lawsuit, against her own father and against Madam Neri, Zahn's mother.
The charges?
Defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault.
Netizens erupted, speculations twisted into overdrive and the narrative began to shift, uncertain and unstable, like a house built on sand finally meeting the tide.
When Yeri saw the news, she recalled what she had witnessed at her engagement banquet.
Indeed, it was the calm before the storm.
What did surprise her was Doctor Neri agreeing to the divorce.
For some time, he had refused and held onto it with quiet stubbornness, as if letting go meant something far heavier than just a marriage.
Perhaps learning the truth had broken something in him.
That Lianna had never been the villain and she, too, had been a victim.
Neri Medical Hospital did not hesitate.
Before the rumors could fully ferment into something irreversible, an official statement was released, firm, and unyielding.
There was no fabrication in Yeri's medical records, and as for Zahn Neri, a doctor of his standing would never violate his oath for the sake of personal connections.
Just as the statement began circulating, another controversial photos were thrown as if someone had been waiting for this exact moment.
Those marketing accounts that had previously spread Yeri's so-called "black materials" released a new set of photos.
It was Yeri Zhi and Lianna together.
The caption simply read:
[Yeri Zhi and Lianna Neri, Zahn Neri's ex-wife]
That was all it took and comments flooded in, faster than reason could catch up.
Speculations of Yeri being involved in their divorce, outrageous allegations of a doctor developing feelings for his patient.
Others claimed Yeri and Lianna as birds of a feather, no wonder they're friends. Both schemed their way into wealth.
Yeri's scalp prickled as she scrolled.
She could endure the insults aimed at her but she couldn't accept dragging Lianna along.
Anxious, she dialed Lianna's number.
The call rang a few times before it connected.
"Hello?" Lianna's voice came through, calm as ever.
"Are you okay?" Yeri asked immediately. "Have you seen what's happening online?"
"I have," Lianna replied.
Yeri exhaled softly, "I'll handle it. I'm sorry… you got dragged into this because of me."
On the other end, Lianna laughed.
"I don't blame you," she said. "And I'm not worried, there are more important things I need to focus on right now. Besides, Zahn has already arranged for bodyguards to stay with me and Sean."
Yeri blinked slightly at that.
For a moment, she was tempted to ask about the divorce, but she held herself back.
It was personal, delicate in a way that words could easily mishandle. Unless Lianna chose to speak of it herself, it was better left untouched.
So instead, she softened her voice. "If there's anything I can do, anything at all, just tell me. Don't hesitate."
"I will. In fact, I was hoping you could connect me with Young Master Keir. There's something I'd like to discuss with him," Lianna said.