Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown novel Chapter 259

“What’s wrong?” Serena asked. She was the kind of person who couldn’t hide her feelings, and Gabrielle spotted her unease right away.

Gabrielle looked embarrassed. “I… my phone’s acting up… Um, I brought you a little gift from my trip…”

“Gabrielle, hand me your phone,” Serena said, reaching out with a tone that brooked no argument.

Gabrielle hesitated, clearly reluctant.

“If you won’t give me yours, I’ll check my own.” Serena’s words left no room for protest.

Left with no choice, Gabrielle handed over her phone.

Before Serena could finish scrolling, Gabrielle blurted out, “Serena, don’t pay attention to what people are saying online. They’re just making things up.”

But Serena ignored her and kept reading.

Since the latest episode aired, the show had shot to the top of the trending charts again. This time, though, it wasn’t just Serena’s name everyone was talking about—Cynthia Lynwood and Rosa were trending, too.

Cynthia was trending because someone had dug up that she was apparently Aaron’s girlfriend, sparking rumors that she’d gotten onto the show through connections.

As for Serena, her initial popularity came from her impressive performance on the show, but early that morning, a rumor exploded in the comments section. Someone claimed the only reason Serena answered every question correctly was because she had a special relationship with the show’s director, who had supposedly fed her the answers in advance.

The accusation landed like a bombshell, sending shockwaves through the fandom.

As if on cue, someone exposed that Cynthia had joined the show with backing from a sponsor. That left only Rosa as the so-called “real deal”—the only contestant with genuine ability, according to the internet. Suddenly, every Instagram post related to *Antiquities Gambit* was flooded with praise for Rosa.

Serena scrolled through the chaos, taking it all in before finally handing the phone back to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle’s worry showed on her face. “Don’t let this get to you, Serena. I’ll go home right now and ask my dad to run some PR for you.”