Chapter 94: Is that her lover

By the time Anna stepped out of the bathroom, her phone was already lighting up like fireworks.

Her post, just a simple one had exploded. Hundreds of likes, dozens of comments, and her follower count climbing by the minute.

“Should I grant their request? They seem too eager to know me,” she murmured, half amused, half flustered.

With that thought, she grabbed her phone, hurried to the window, and stretched out her arm toward the sky. The soft evening light bathed her skin, giving it a pale, golden glow.

Click. Click.

Anna examined the pictures for a moment, biting her lip thoughtfully before choosing one. Her hand looked delicate, her skin fair, her wrist slightly curved as if reaching for the clouds.

“Good enough,” she whispered and uploaded it with a short caption—

’Here you go.’

Within minutes, her notifications blew up again. Likes. Comments. Shares. People went wild over a picture that didn’t even show her face.

Anna stared at the screen, half amused, half horrified. “I just posted a hand! Are they serious?”

Shaking her head, she logged off and tossed her phone aside, deciding to spend the rest of the evening in peace.

***

Meanwhile, in Daniel’s office, peace was the last thing on his mind.

Sitting behind his desk, he scrolled through Anna’s newly posted picture, his expression unreadable until he started reading the comments.

User 1: “Damn, she’s a white beauty. Look at those hands—they’re so soft.”

User 2: “Why tease us with just a hand pic? We want to see the face!”

User 3: “Those chubby fingers are adorable. Bet she’s gorgeous.”

User 4: “Does she have a personal account? I’d propose on the spot.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened. His eyes darkened, storm brewing, dangerous and sharp.

“Henry,” he said, voice low and clipped.

The poor assistant flinched, already sensing trouble. “Yes, Boss?”

Daniel’s eyes didn’t leave the screen. “How do you find out if someone has a personal account apart from their public one?”

Henry blinked, completely thrown. “Boss… that’s not something you can just find out. Only the account holder can—”

“Then find a way.”

Henry almost choked on air. Was his boss seriously asking him to track down his wife’s secret account?

He swallowed hard, forcing a nervous smile. “Boss, with all due respect, social media privacy is… um, tricky. Maybe we should—”

Daniel finally looked up, his expression blank but his tone deadly calm. “Do I look like I care about privacy, Henry?”

Henry’s lips parted, but no sound came out. He had worked for Daniel long enough to know there was no arguing with that tone.

What baffled him, though, was how a man like Daniel, who rarely allowed interviews, ignored publicity, and once called social media ’a breeding ground for fools had now gone as far as creating a fake account just to scroll through his wife’s page.

All because of a picture.

A hand picture.

Henry sighed internally. ’Love really does turn the most rational people insane.’

Meanwhile, Daniel’s eyes remained glued to the screen, his fingers tapping the desk slowly.

He didn’t like the idea of strangers drooling over her. Not one bit.

And maybe it was irrational, but that small, simple photo had reminded him that Anna wasn’t just the woman in his house. She was a woman the world was starting to notice.

And that, for Daniel, was more dangerous than any deal he had ever made.

Daniel’s thumb hovered over the phone for only a second before he started typing, his expression dark and focused.

Henry, standing nearby, didn’t even dare to breathe as he watched his boss’s jaw flex with every word he tapped out.

Then with a final, sharp click Daniel hit send.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered under his breath, his voice dangerously calm. “How dare he think about proposing to my wife.”

Henry’s lips twitched, caught between a laugh and a grimace. He leaned slightly forward, curious and immediately regretted it.

On the glowing screen, Daniel’s freshly posted comment stood bold under Anna’s photo for the entire internet to see:

@Darkknight_07: She’s already taken. So stop dreaming.

Henry nearly choked. “Boss—”

Daniel’s expression didn’t waver. “What?”

“Did you just… post that publicly?” Henry asked, his voice cracking with disbelief.

Daniel shrugged, leaning back in his chair as though he hadn’t just started a social media war. “Good. Now they’ll know she’s not available.”

“B-But Boss—”

“What?” Daniel repeated, his tone calm, but the edge in it made Henry straighten instantly.

“Nothing. I was just… admiring your, uh, efficiency.”

Daniel gave him a flat look, then turned his eyes back to the screen.

Already, replies were flooding in under his comment.

User 1: “Who the hell is this @Darkknight_07? Is he her boyfriend?”

User 2: “Taken??! Nooo, my heart!”

User 3: “DarkKnight sounds possessive… kinda hot though.”

User 4: “Is that her lover?? Damn, now I’m even more curious about her.”

Henry dragged a hand down his face, suppressing the urge to scream.

Congratulations, Boss, he thought miserably. You’ve just turned a hand photo into a national mystery romance.

Daniel, however, looked rather satisfied. “Now they’ll think twice before writing nonsense about her.”

Henry sighed. “Or… they’ll just make it worse.”

Daniel arched a brow. “What do you mean?”

Henry gestured helplessly to the comments, where fans were now going wild, forming theories about who DarkKnight_07 was.

Some were convinced he was Anna’s secret lover. Others speculated he was a co-star. One even started a hashtag:

#WhoIsDarkKnight07

Daniel frowned. “What is this?”

Henry’s smile was tight, his voice dry. “Public curiosity, sir. You just made yourself a trending topic.”

For the first time, Daniel looked genuinely caught off guard. “Trending?”

Henry nodded solemnly. “Worldwide, Boss.”

Daniel’s eyes flicked back to the screen. Sure enough, the hashtag was exploding, his mysterious username now being dissected by thousands of curious fans.

He exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “…Wonderful.”

Henry bit his tongue to keep from laughing. “On the bright side, Boss, you just made your wife even more famous.”

Daniel shot him a glare. “Henry.”

“Y-Yes, Boss?”

“Delete every trace of my comment. Now.”

Henry smiled faintly. “Already on it.”

As Henry scrambled to fix the chaos, Daniel leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

“Next time,” he muttered darkly, “I’ll just break their phones instead.”

***

Unaware of the chaos brewing online, Anna had slept through the entire evening peacefully, blissfully ignorant of the storm her one innocent photo had unleashed.

It wasn’t until her stomach let out a loud, unladylike growl that her eyes blinked open.

“Huh…?” she mumbled, squinting at the clock on the nightstand. “Seven already?”

Another louder rumble answered.

“Okay, okay! I get it you’re starving,” she grumbled, dragging herself out of bed with her hair a sleepy mess and her T-shirt hanging loose around her shoulder.

She’d skipped lunch, deciding instead to take a nap after the mental exhaustion of dealing with her mother’s “stamina potion” madness. Now she was paying for it.

As she padded down the hallway, barefoot and still yawning, she debated calling Mariam for dinner but quickly shook her head.

“I can do this myself. It’s just food, not rocket science,” she told herself with a proud little nod.

Her lips curved in a small, satisfied smile.

In her past life, she’d never been allowed near the kitchen. Everything she did was monitored her meals prepared, her clothes chosen, her words measured. But now… every little thing she did for herself like cooking, cleaning, even learning how to fight felt like freedom. Like she was finally living her life.

“Maybe I should actually take up self-defense seriously,” she muttered under her breath. “Next time someone picks a fight, I’ll make sure they regret it.”

Her little pep talk followed her into the warm, cozy kitchen.

“Oh! Madam, what brings you here?” Mariam’s startled voice pulled Anna out of her thoughts.

The older woman turned, eyes widening slightly at the sight of Anna scanning the shelves like a hungry child searching for treasure.

“Mariam,” Anna said with complete seriousness, “do we have something sweet? I’m… suddenly craving cake.”

Mariam blinked. “Cake?”

Anna nodded solemnly. “Preferably chocolate. Or maybe red velvet. But honestly, I’ll take anything with sugar.”

Mariam’s lips twitched, torn between amusement and disbelief. “No, madam, but if you want, I can make one for you.”

Anna’s face brightened immediately. “Really? You can do that?”

“Of course, madam. It will take some time though—”

“That’s fine! I can wait.” Then Anna’s grin turned mischievous. “Or better yet… maybe I’ll help you.”

Mariam froze mid-step, eyes narrowing slightly. “Madam… help?”

“Yes,” Anna said, rolling up her sleeves like a soldier heading into battle. “I’ve seen enough baking videos to know the basics. Flour, sugar, eggs, oven it’s easy.”

The color drained from Mariam’s face. The last time Anna had “helped,” she’d almost set the tea towel on fire while boiling water. It was then she realized Anna indeed knew cooking but only selected dishes while the rest were made out with chaos.

“Madam, perhaps it would be best if you—”

“Relax,” Anna interrupted, grinning. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Those,” Mariam murmured under her breath, “are the most dangerous words ever spoken.”

Still, she didn’t stop her and instead, with a resigned smile, handed Anna a whisk.

Twenty minutes later…

The kitchen looked like a snowstorm had exploded inside it.

Flour dusted every surface, eggshells littered the counter, and the mixing bowl towered over a small mountain of chaos. Anna stood in the middle of it all with batter smeared across her cheek, her ponytail coming undone but her grin? Unapologetically proud.

“See? Told you I could do it!” she said, holding up a lopsided bowl of thick, chocolatey batter.

Mariam surveyed the battlefield, her eyes twitching between the mess and Anna’s glowing face, and sighed. “Yes, madam… you certainly did something.”

Anna laughed, dipping a spoon into the mixture and tasting it. “Mmm. Not bad! Maybe I’ll open a bakery if this acting thing doesn’t work out.”

Mariam chuckled softly, shaking her head. “You surprise me every day, madam.”

Anna’s smile softened. “Guess I’m full of surprises,” she said, and for a moment, the warmth in her chest had nothing to do with the oven. It was the simple peace of doing something ordinary, something hers.

Little did she know that while she whisked away happily in her flour-covered bubble, the entire internet was losing its collective mind over her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep