LOVE IN PARIS: Married To My Brother-in-law-Chapter 45: Photos

Nadia let out a bitter laugh, her eyes narrowing. "Throw you under the bus? Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not the one who started all this. But if you think I’m going to be your scapegoat, you’re wrong. We’re in this together. Like it or not."

His jaw tightened and he glared at her, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. " At this point, I don’t care what you have to do, apologize, confess, lie. I don’t care. But you’re going to fix this, or I’ll make sure you take the full blame for everything."

Her lips curled into a smirk, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and defiance.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? You’re as deep in this as I am. We both know that the only way out is to take her down. You can’t save our reputation without making her the villain."

Manuel clenched his fists, struggling to keep his anger in check. "Don’t push me. We both know this didn’t have to go this far if not for your idiocy."

She leaned back against the pillows, her smirk growing. "Too late for regrets now, Manuel. What we need to do is find Yvette, the only way to get out of this is taking her down. The public already hates her, they think she’s a jealous, bitter ex. All we need to do is to push her further into the fire".

"If we can control her, then maybe we can spin this in our favor. You know her well, she always listen to you and would agree. But without her... then this whole thing blows up in our faces."

"I’ll go find her". He said quietly, his tone icy. "But don’t think for a second that this is over. You’re going to do your part, or I’ll make sure you face the consequences."

As he turned to leave, Nadia’s voice followed him, dripping with false sweetness. "I knew you’d come around, Manuel. We always work best when we’re on the same team."

He didn’t respond, slamming the door behind him as he left the hospital room, his mind filled with the weight of the decisions he was about to make.

Manuel stood outside Yvette’s old apartment building unaware that she had long moved out, the crisp evening air doing little to cool the heat of anxiety and anger churning inside him.

After repeated calls, his frustration reached a peak. He dialed her number again, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Yvette pick up". He urged into the phone, his voice a mix of urgency and exasperation. "We need to talk. Please, just answer."

He glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her but the street was even more quiet.

When he approached the building’s entrance, he stopped a passing neighbor.

"Excuse me, do you know where the occupant of this apartment went? I can’t seem to reach her."

The neighbor, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes, looked up with surprise. "Oh, dear. She moved out a while ago. Didn’t you know? I thought everyone knew."

Manuel’s heart sank. "Moved out? When?"

"A few weeks back. She just packed up and left. She didn’t even say where she was going. I figured she just needed a break or something, youngsters these days are sure unpredictable."

Manuel felt a wave of panic wash over him. He stepped back, staring blankly at the building. Where could she possibly be?

He pulled out his phone again checking if she’d replied his messages but there was nothing of the such.

He called her once more, but it was still unanswered. His mind raced, his thoughts spiraling into worst-case scenarios. Just then, a notification pinged on his phone, pulling his attention.

The social media feeds were alive with activity, and as he opened the app, a flurry of notifications bombarded him.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw the headline:

"Secret Affair: CEO Manuel Lorenzo and Actress Nadia Caught In A Secret Relationship Scandal!"

"CEO Caught In Another Secret Relationship With Another Artiste Nadia".

Beneath the headline were several photographs: he and Nadia in what appeared to be intimate moments.

One showed them sitting close together at an exclusive restaurant, leaning in as though sharing private words.

Another captured them entering a hotel side-by-side, their faces barely visible, but the angles suggested an intimacy that would be hard to deny.

He swiped through the photos, his face tightening with every image.

"Damn it," He cursed under his breath, scrolling furiously.

He quickly scrolled through the comments which kept pouring in waves, his hands trembling in fury:

"I knew it! Another dirty CEO messing with his stars. Total scum!"

"This whole situation isn’t as simple as it seems, I don’t dare to judge anyone any longer"

"How dumb do they think we are?!"

"No wonder she’s the top leading lady of the company, sleeping her way up , huh?. What a disgrace"

But some of Nadia’s fan were quick to defend her or at least doubted the authenticity of the claims:

"No way! This is certainly photoshopped. I don’t believe it. She’s smarter than this."

"Nadia would never stoop so low. I trust my idol".

"Is this Yvette’s handwork, you can do better girl. Nadia has been single for years" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"This has got to be some sort of smear campaign. Where’s the real evidence? These photos could be taken out of context!"

Despite the few voices of doubt, the overwhelming sentiment was clear: people believed it, and his reputation was plummeting.

Without wasting another second, Manuel immediately dialed his personal assistant. His voice was sharp, tinged with the panic he tried to suppress.

"Did you see the news?" He demanded.

There was a brief pause before the person on the other end of the line responded. "Yes, sir, it just broke. It’s spreading fast."

"I want this shut down. Now. Contact the PR team. Get our lawyers involved. I don’t care what it takes. Find the anonymous person who posted it ,trace the account. Get them to take this down, and make sure this is buried". He bellowed , pacing to and fro outside Yvette’s apartment.

His PA hesitated, knowing the difficulty of what he was asking. "Sir, it’s everywhere. The images are being reshared across multiple platforms. It’s going to be tough to contain—"

"Then make it not tough!" He snapped, his patience wearing thin. "I don’t care how you do it. Pay them off. Threaten lawsuits. Just make it stop!"

"Understood, Sir. I’ll get right on it."