"Calin! Did you and Shin Keir ever date?"
"What do you think about the rumors saying you were once a couple? Is Yeri Zhi the reason the relationship ended?"
Do you know Venice Zhi, Yeri's cousin? She claimed you and Shin Keir were very close before he started seeing Yeri!"
"Calin, for the sake of your fans, can you please tell us the truth?"
Another reporter squeezed forward.
"Why did you get engaged around the same time Shin Keir announced his engagement? Which one of you got engaged first?"
"And what about your fiancé, Bryce Gate? How does he feel about all this?"
Questions exploded from every direction like fireworks.
Calin wore a pair of dark sunglasses that concealed her eyes completely, her expression remained calm.
Her assistants and security staff quickly formed a barrier around her, trying to push the reporters back.
"I think…" Calin raised a hand slightly, signaling for the reporters to calm down.
"it's better not to dwell too much on the past."
A faint, almost nostalgic smile touched her lips.
"As for Brother Shin… he will always be someone I admire."
The reporters immediately leaned in closer. "What about your relationship with Madam Keir?"
For a split second, Calin hesitated. She lowered her gaze slightly before answering.
"Madam Keir…she has never really liked women around Brother Shin. I think… she tends to see them as competition."
The reporters exchanged glances.
That answer alone was enough to ignite ten new theories.
"Then why did Madam Keir slap you at the engagement banquet?"
Calin sighed softly. "It was just a misunderstanding. She thought I was the one Brother Shin got engaged to."
Misunderstanding?
Mistaken identity?
Before anyone could digest it, another voice cut through loudly:
"Then what do you think of Yeri Zhi?!"
Calin didn't respond, she simply adjusted her sunglasses slightly, as if she hadn't heard the question at all.
The silence felt louder than any answer.
Before the reporters could press further, security finally rushed in and the crowd was forcefully pushed back.
The moment passed but the spark had already landed in dry grass.
Not even an hour later, the "shotgun interview" exploded across the internet.
Netizens immediately transformed overnight into self-proclaimed detectives.
"She said not to dwell on the past… that means there was a past."
"That smile when she mentioned admiring Shin Keir? That's not admiration. That's unresolved feelings."
"Her hesitation when talking about Madam Keir, did you see that? She's clearly uncomfortable!"
To many, it was already confirmed.
Calin Ricci and Shin Keir had once been together.
Perhaps they simply chose not to expose it now to avoid making things awkward…especially since both were engaged to other people.
And in this narrative, Calin became something else entirely.
The graceful one, someone who chose silence out of consideration.
After all, she was a celebrity, her fans were known to be fiercely protective, ready to storm battlefields over the smallest slight.
Then Madam Keir striking Calin, the outrage ignited instantly and fans flooded comment sections with anger.
"A misunderstanding? So Madam Keir thought Calin was Shin's fiancée?"
"Then… that slap was never meant for her?"
"She was just a victim of mistaken identity, and yet Yeri Zhi said nothing?"
"Shin Keir didn't even apologize?!"
The narrative twisted again. All the previous clarifications, the evidence, the sympathy Yeri had just gained tilted.
"If she really loved Shin Keir, why didn't she step forward and clarify at the banquet? Why let someone else take the slap meant for her?"
"Staying silent while someone else suffers? That's disgusting."
The labels came one after another, sticking to her name like thorns. A coward, hypocrite and opportunist.
Many began to assume that Yeri clung to Shin Keir to escape the Nafplion family.
It turns out she was never as innocent as she appeared.
Another detail sharp-eyed netizens picked up on was how Calin looked slightly like Yeri when she wore sunglasses.
Many pointed out that their facial shapes, certain angles, and even their noses and lips appeared strikingly similar.
Some claimed they had mistaken Calin for Yeri at first glance, while others insisted it was the resemblance in her side profile or smile.
Because of this, comparisons between the two quickly began trending.
Most of the votes leaned toward Calin, especially in terms of family background, status, achievements, career, and character.
Many jested that Yeri's only advantage over Calin was her youth.
This only fueled public curiosity with people became increasingly eager to know what Shin Keir was thinking.
What kind of woman did he prefer? Why did he choose Yeri when there were so many beautiful and well-matched socialites around him?
---
Meanwhile, Madam Ricci was out shopping with a friend when someone recognized her.
A phone was suddenly thrust in front of her face as someone blurted out, "Did Shin Keir cheat on your daughter?"
Madam Ricci froze in shock, but before she could respond, three more people quickly surrounded her, their voices overlapping with excitement.
"Calin said Shin Keir will always be someone she admires. Were they childhood sweethearts?"
"Madam Ricci, when Calin was slapped, you immediately confronted Madam Keir. You seemed to know a lot and clearly dislike the Keir family. For your daughter's sake, can you tell us if she suffered any injustice?"
"Madam Ricci, I admire you for standing up for Calin without caring about anything else."
"What do you know about Yeri Zhi?"
Bombarded from all sides, Madam Ricci initially felt irritated but as she heard their words of praise and validation, her expression gradually shifted into one of pride.
Yes, this was how people should see it. Yet, from her own daughter, all she had received was criticism for losing her composure.
"To be honest, Elder Madam Keir was very fond of Calin since she was a child," she began, her tone steady. "She was even the one most eager for the two to get engaged."
They fell silent at once, making sure to capture every word and expression clearly.
"As for Yeri Zhi, I don't know much about her. In fact, I had never even heard of the Zhi family until this engagement was announced." She waved her hand dismissively, a trace of disdain on her face. "As for how those two got together, don't ask me. I have no idea. In any case, my daughter has long moved on and is now happily engaged to her fiancé, Bryce Gate."
More questions followed, but Madam Ricci either declined to answer or simply shook her head.
Not long after, her driver and her friend's bodyguard arrived, helping them leave the scene.
Still, her few statements were more than enough.
[ Elder Madam Keir was fond of Calin ]
[ Calin has already moved on. ]
Those words further cemented Yeri in the public eye as the third party, provoking the netizens.
"I felt sorry for Yeri when she cried to save her dog, but after finding out she's a mistress… damn, why wasn't she the one beaten instead of her dog?"
"Shin and Calin would've been the perfect couple. They match in status, and both are high achievers with high IQs. Isn't Calin a genius in programming? And with Shin as the CEO of a tech conglomerate, they could've been a real power couple. Shin Keir, snap out of it and take Calin back!"
"It's not too late! Let's make them realize their feelings and reconcile! Huhuhu~ I can't accept this. I love Shin Keir, but if it's Calin, I'm willing to let him go, lol."
"You people should leave Calin alone! A cheater is a cheater. Why should she take him back? 🙄 Even without Yeri Zhi, he'd probably cheat with another woman."
"It just hit me… Shin is an illegitimate son. That means Master Keir cheated on his wife, and now Shin has done the same. The saying is true, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Like father, like son. And yet you all blame Yeri alone?"
One person replied to that comment:
"Exactly. There are so many mistresses out there, but most wives only take revenge on the woman and forgive their husband. It's honestly pathetic. Besides, Yeri is very young. Shin must have taken advantage of her innocence. A man like him could easily make any woman fall madly in love."
"Why feel sorry for Calin? She's lucky she dodged a bullet. So what if it's Shin Keir? Just look at what happened to Eleanor Keir. She probably went mad from her husband's betrayal. Calin is already successful and now has a rich fiancé who's also a CEO."
—
Elder Madam Keir had only just begun to recover from her previous fainting spell, her condition still fragile, yet Hadi arrived at the hospital carrying what could only be described as a storm disguised as conversation.
He brought complaints, spoke about being deceived by Bryce into an investment, his voice filled with grievance, each word piling onto the next without pause.
To him, it was venting. To the old matriarch, it was a hammer striking an already fractured mind, her temples throbbed and vision dimmed.
But Hadi, oblivious as ever, failed to notice.
When he visited again, the old matriarch weakly asked about the situation outside and he answered without restraint, almost eagerly, as if delivering exciting news rather than ruin.
Hadi revealed that Shin Keir had publicly admitted he was not Eleanor's biological son, that Eleanor's situation had already been exposed.
And then, as if adding kindling to an already raging fire, he spoke of how Shin and Yeri were being torn apart online because Madam Ricci had stepped forward, revealing that she had originally favored Calin as Shin's fiancée.
Elder Madam Keir " ..."
Hadi chatted incessantly, completely unaware that what he was actually announcing was the slow, brutal dismantling of the Keir family's reputation, now dragged through the mud and trampled beneath the feet of the public.
The old matriarch's face grew paler with every word, the color draining as though someone had pulled the life straight out of her veins, her breathing turned shallow and ragged.
Suddenly, the steady rhythm of the heart monitor shattered into a sharp, urgent alarm.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Elder Madam Keir's eyes rolled back as her body went limp. This time, it was far worse than before.
Hadi panicked, his voice breaking as he rushed to the door. He shouted into the hallway as if the building itself had caught fire.
Within seconds, medical staff stormed in. The old matriarch was swiftly wheeled into the ER.
Hadi stood frozen in place, his face drained of color, his mind blank.
Hours later, the doctor announced that Elder Madam Keir had suffered a heart attack and had fallen into a coma.