chapter884

Yara finally snapped back to reality. She stared at her phone, frozen, unable to move her fingers as the caller ID flashed on the screen. When the ringtone stopped, she let out a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding. For a second, she felt oddly relieved. But then the phone started ringing again.

All eyes in the room were on her. Her roommates stared, curious and a little worried. Yara's face went pale. She grabbed her phone and slipped out onto the balcony, her heart pounding.

Grandpa? Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Lewis sounded like he was holding himself together by a thread. "Yara, tell me the truth. Does this mess on the school forum have anything to do with you?"

Her chest tightened. Of course he knew. "Grandpa, I'll come to your office now." She didn't wait for a response. She hung up right away, her hands shaking.

Tina watched her with concern. "Yara, are you okay?"

Yara's voice came out rough, barely there. "I'm fine, Tina. Someone's definitely stirring things up on purpose. I'm going to talk to my grandpa and figure out who's trying to ruin his reputation."

Tina nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. Go talk to him, Yara."

"Okay."

Yara had never felt so embarrassed in her life. She kept her head down the whole way from the dorm to the office building, but she could still feel the stares. Whispers seemed to follow her everywhere.

"Did you see that post on the forum? Do you really think Mr. Johnson wrote it?"

"The Norwood family is loaded, and Mr. Norwood's a medical genius. Mr. Johnson is always telling us to learn from him. Maybe he really did post it."

"I heard Mr. Johnson is super strict with Yara. He doesn't let her date at all."

Same here. He supposedly told her she can't have a boyfriend until she graduates. And that account said. some terrible things, just don't buy that it was Mr. Johnson."

"If it wasn't him, then who was it?"

Yara picked up her pace. She just wanted to get this over with.

When she finally reached Lewis's office, she found him sitting behind his desk in a crisp suit, his silver hair neatly combed, looking every bit the part of a stern authority figure. Atza, fifty-eight, he looked so fit that people often mistook him for her

father, not her grandfather.

Grandpa... Her voice was small. She closed the door softly behind her, eyes glued

to the floor, too scared to look up and meet his gaze.

"Tell me what happened." Lewis's tone was strict, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. He waited, giving her space to explain.

Yara twisted her hands together, her nerves a tangled mess. Lewis noticed, his eyes narrowing.

"No need for excuses. You told me before you used my number to register an account on the school forum. Is that the one everyone's talking about now?"

Yara's heart dropped. She remembered her freshman year, when the school held the campus queen vote. Everyone got one vote per account, so she'd borrowed her family's numbers to help herself out. Eventually, her grandpa's account became her secret backup. No one else was supposed to see the personal info on the forum, or so she'd thought. Today, everything was out in the open. It had to be a technical glitch, right?

Grandpa, I did use your number to register, but I honestly have no idea how things

got so messed up this time."

Lewis's disappointment was clear. He could tell she still wasn't telling the whole truth.