The truth was , Shermaine was still a little pissed . She thought , I'm a legit badass , and yet my own fiancé doesn't see it . Instead , he treats me like I'm some kid . It's so damn annoying . I can totally feel that same energy coming off him , and he can't sense it from me ? Figures . Men really don't have a sixth sense . Shermaine knew Joshua telling her not to be a picky eater was him trying to look out for her . And when someone genuinely meant well , she always responded with kindness . So even though she was still annoyed , she let it slide for Joshua's sake . She didn't pick the carrots out again and just ate them . Meanwhile , over at Basterel University , Erin was getting chewed out by her professor for losing her coursework . She looked pale and exhausted - she hadn't slept properly last night , haunted all night by nightmares . She thought , " If my phone and laptop got hacked , does that mean Shermaine already knows who I am ? Did she see the WhatsApp chat history between me and Wendelyn too ? ' After leaving the professor's office , Erin went straight to someone from the computer science department for help . She sought out Bruno Henderson , a top student known for his tech skills . " Bruno , " Erin said , " my phone and laptop got hacked . Can you check them for me ? " Bruno started with her laptop , trying to recover the deleted files . After a few minutes of fiddling , he managed to get the coursework back . But the moment he opened the file , a terrifying face popped up on the screen . Bruno nearly flung the laptop across the room . He clutched his chest . " Holy crap , that scared the hell out of me . " Erin's relief evaporated in an instant . Bruno rolled up his sleeves . " Just wait a moment . " He figured whoever did this was basically declaring war . Erin stared at the strings of code flashing across the screen , her eyes blurring from the overload . But even after half an hour , Bruno still hadn't cracked the firewall Shermaine had put in place . Erin was starting to lose patience . " Bruno , how's it going ? " Bruno wiped the sweat from his forehead . " Zip it . Can't you see I'm in the middle of hacking through this firewall ? " However , after another thirty minutes , Bruno finally gave up and slumped in his chair like a deflated balloon , totally defeated . " Still nothing ? " Erin asked again . " Nope . " Bruno's face was gloomy . " This hacker's good . I can't even get past their damn firewall . " That meant hoping to recover her game data was a complete pipe dream . Erin said , " Can you at least check if my WhatsApp was accessed too ? " " Yeah , sure . " Bruno nodded . After running a quick scan , he said , " Yeah looks like your WhatsApp's been viewed by someone unfamiliar . " Chapter 24 That confirmed it . Shermaine definitely knew Wendelyn was the one putting the strings , Erin's face went even bal . Brune had no idea why Erin had gotten herself into trouble with a hacker , but if he didn't find out who it was , than oven it at switched o ards , the hacker could still access any of her devices anytime . " Don't worry I've got a contact . He's a legend in this field . I'll ask him for help ," Bruno remarked . Erin's mind was blank . She didn't answer right away , torn over whether she should tell Wendelyn what had happened . Just then , Erin's phone rang . It was her mom Lyra Murray calling . " Erin , your dad hit someone with the car . Remember the fifty thousand dollars i gave you to hold on to ? Transfer fifteen thousand back to me right now , " Lyra said , panicked . That money was their family's entire savings . Since Lyra's husband had a gambling problem and spent lots of his time hanging around casinos , she was afraid he'd blow through their savings , so she gave the money to their daughter Erin to keep . Erin was all the way in Basterel - he couldn't get to it even if he wanted to . But unexpectedly , he went out driving a delivery and ended up hitting someone . Now the victim's in the hospital getting emergency treatment , shouting about compensation . Erin thought , ' Fifteen thousand dollars ? ' If she sent that over , her account would be almost empty . Of the thirty thousand Wendelyn had given her, she'd already burned through a few grand on that game yesterday . She'd also tipped three thousand to her favorite male streamer and dropped another seven thousand online shopping for clothes and bags . Still , she had to transfer the money . " Got it , Mom . I'll send it over . " " Hurry ," Lyra urged and then hung up . No matter how reluctant she was , Erin still transferred the fifteen grand . That left her with about seven thousand . What scared Erin more was the thought that Lyra might call again saying fifteen wasn't enough . If she had to send more , her account would be drained dry . Erin knew she couldn't tell Wendelyn about her phone and computer being hacked . If Wendelyn found out , there'd be no way for Erin to get more from her . " Bruno , can you keep what I asked you today between us ? Please don't mention it to anyone else , " Erin begged . Bruno didn't think much of it . It was her privacy , after all . " Sure . No problem . " " Thanks . If your badass friend figures out who the hacker is , please let me know right away , " Erin said . Night fell , and the city lights blurred like spilled paint . Inside the Sterling Billiards Club on Silverwood Avenue , Danielle could feel the chill rolling off Shermaine - she was practically radiating killer intent tonight . Right now , the black ball sat in an impossibly tricky spot . If it went in , Shermaine would take this round too . Shermaine leaned down , her curves smooth and defined . She locked in on the angle , and with one clean strike , sent the ball in , ending the game right there . Danielle , holding her cue , started the next round . After sinking two balls , she didn't get another turn . She sat on the couch . " Who pissed you off ? " Whoever managed to put Shermaine in such a bad mood had to be something else . Danielle was dying to know who it was . Shermaine thought , ' I can't exactly say it's my fiancé , can I ? A staged fiancé at that . There's no point telling Danielle . ' TU Ou vay Chapter 24 " No one . " Shermaine set down the cue and picked up a glass of chilled whiskey to take a sip . At the moment , her phone buzzed , She glanced at it , then set it aside . She figured if that so - called tech expert couldn't even crack her firewall , there was no need to give him the time of day . Since Shermaine had to report to Brightwater Academy the next morning , she and Danielle played a couple more rounds before she headed back . Meanwhile , in a private suite at The Belmont Lounge , a fancy , exclusive club , several of Basterel's top power players were gathered . At the center of it all was Joshua . They were playing poker , but Joshua wasn't . To him , this kind of thing was boring . He only showed up out of courtesy to these guys . Joshua held a cigarette between his fingers , flicked the ash with practiced ease . Then , a man with slate - blue dyed hair finally spoke up , " Joshua , are you seriously going to marry Shermaine ? " The man was Roy Shay . Like Joshua , he held serious weight in the city . Most addressed him with the formal title " Mr. Shay " . Joshua said , " Yeah . " Roy asked , " Seriously ? What's up with your taste ? What's wrong with Wendelyn ? She's gorgeous , sweet , talented - way better than Shermaine . " Joshua shot him a glance . " Stop projecting your type onto my standards . " " I'm not , " Roy muttered , pulling a face . " I'm just saying , Shermaine doesn't seem like a good person . " But then , he felt a chill crawl down his spine at the way Joshua was looking at him - it was downright unsettling . Roy pulled out his phone and tossed it over . " Check out this post . " Joshua raised his hand and caught the phone mid - air . The screen displayed a trending thread on the Basterel University forum , all about Shermaine . It had already racked up tens of thousands of replies . The comments were brutal , nothing but trashing her . Joshua's eyes turned icy . " Delete this post . " Roy let out a groan , clearly disappointed in him . " Joshua , I showed you this so you could see Shermaine's true colors , not to have you rush to her defense . " " She's not like that , " Joshua said . Roy looked stunned . " Oh my goodness . What kind of spell did Shermaine put on you to make you defend her like this ? I've looked into it - those photos are real , not edited . I even checked the security footage . " That student bumped into her and apologized . But Shermaine still went off on her . Come on , Joshua , a woman that petty isn't good enough for you . " Whenever Shermaine came up , what Joshua heard most was that she wasn't good enough for him . He didn't agree . He could ignore what other people said , but not when it came from his own friends . Henry Jean , sitting nearby , made a quick zip - it gesture toward Roy , thinking , ' Can't you see that grim look on Joshua's face ? ' Joshua stubbed out his cigarette . " If anyone dares say that crap to my face again , they better be ready to lose their tongue . " Chapter 25