Guilty as Gorgeous | Chapter 21
After finishing the conversation with her mother, Phutphitchaya took a quick, perfunctory shower to wash off the sticky sea breeze. She spent an eternity getting dressed, growing increasingly anxious as her troublesome sister had yet to return.
She was just about to use the hotel phone to call her when the door swung open. The young girl walked in with a face as bright as a sunflower in full bloom, carrying Phutphitchaya's bag over her shoulder.
"What took you so long?"
"Hia Wes went down for a drink at the lounge with P'Win. The receptionist who just started her shift didn't know."
"Hia Wes?"
"He insisted I call him that. Said he has a younger sister who calls him Hia Wes too, but no one else usually dares. He even ordered orange juice and French fries for me while we waited for someone to fetch the bag."
The little villainess skillfully avoided the 'gospel truth,' despite the fact that the bag had been with Panthakant the entire time. He had intended to return it himself after his drinks and business talk with Anavil.
"You actually let him buy you snacks!?"
"I didn't ask," Suphanniga shook her head vigorously. "I told them I had to get back because P'Paan was waiting for her phone, but P'Win said the fries would only take a minute. I was a bit hungry, so I didn't want to refuse their kindness."
"Of course. You're a bottomless pit," Phutphitchaya scolded, taking the bag from her sister with a warning look. "I hope you didn't let him squeeze any information out of you."
"Nooo way. I'm not that stupid," the girl boasted with a pout, keeping the crucial details of their conversation strictly to herself. "He just asked about my studies. He even complimented the company I'm joining after graduation, saying it's very stable with great performance. So, I took the chance to ask him about the work systems I was curious about. Hia Wes is a great teacher—explains things much better than his father, Dr. Phachara. If he gave private lessons at the uni, his class would be full the second registration opened."
"Was he with Mr. Anavil the whole time since you went down?"
"Yes. P'Win looked... stressed, a bit stiff, I guess. But I don't think it's strange."
"Why not?" she asked, her interest piqued.
"Because Hia Wes has this aura, like a high-born lord. He's got so much charisma that people around him just feel naturally intimidated." The girl scratched her chin, itching to spill more. "When I got there, P'Win was stuttering about something—I don't know what."
"And yet you sat there interrupting them for that long."
"They invited me themselves! Both of them. P'Win said I've grown up, that I'm strikingly beautiful and should be an actress like P'Paan. So I told him I couldn't be an actress because I don't know how to act 'fake.' If I ran into a leading lady who was more villainous than the actual villainess, we'd end up in a fistfight right there on set."
The elder sister suppressed a laugh, knowing her sister's fearless tongue all too well. "I hope you didn't mention Nisakorn."
"I didn't."
The girl spoke firmly, hiding the glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes.
"Then go to bed. Thanks for the bag."
"At your service, my lady!"
With that, she leaned over to give her sister a loud, wet kiss on the cheek and hummed a tune as she strolled into the bathroom.
"Oh! Slow down a bit, dear. That's a trailer truck!"
Prayong, sitting in the front passenger seat next to her youngest daughter because she was prone to motion sickness, clutched her chest at Suphanniga's driving. Phutphitchaya sat in the back, eyes closed as she tried to rest.
"It's only a hundred and forty. If I don't overtake now, it'll be dangerous. Look, I'm back in the middle lane now, see?" After saying that, she smoothly veered into the right lane again, overtaking several cars on the left before returning to the lane she had just mentioned with the skill of a seasoned driver.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't go over a hundred and twenty?" The elder sister's voice came from the back.
"I've been doing a hundred and twenty the whole way! I only sped up to overtake."
"Just be careful, dear. I'm going to have a heart attack."
"I'm checking the mirrors constantly, signaling every time. I'm alert every second, Mom."
Phutphitchaya didn't push it further because a Line notification popped up on her phone. She frowned when she saw an ID she didn't recall ever having in her contacts.
When she opened it, her cheeks flared hot at the sight of the sender.
Wesley: Are you back in Bangkok yet, Hottie? Shanya: Did you steal my phone and add your Line!? Wesley: I didn't steal it. Nong Mai accepted the request for me. Didn't she tell you, Paan?
The young woman froze, glaring at the 'good sister' who was currently focused on the road, but she didn't say a word since their mother was present. She desperately wanted to pinch the girl until she was black and blue for being so meddlesome.
Shanya: I'm deleting you. Wesley: Calm down. (He followed up with a laughing sticker that made her breathe heavily.) I just wanted to say I haven't had time to clear the news yet. I have to fly out for work for several days. I'm boarding now. Shanya: What news? Wesley: Ask Paan's manager. I have to go. Shanya: Wait! Let's talk about this first.
He vanished instantly, even as she sent several more sentences. Phutphitchaya eventually gave up and opened Wikrant's Line to ask about the news. She waited an eternity, but he didn't reply. Then, a call came in from a journalist she was quite close to—a university senior of both her and Wikrant, and of the same gender.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she answered immediately.
"P'Windy? Is something wrong?"
She called Winth by the modified name 'Windy.'
"Moshi moshi… I should be asking you that! Eeeeek! I'm so excited! I heard Shanya is about to start a 'feud' with that leading lady. Tell me, dear, is it the real deal? I've bet my entire life savings on you!"
"What feud are you talking about?" she asked, completely bewildered.
"Oh! Trying to tease me, are you? So, did you guys... get it on yet?"
"What!? Get what on?"
"That super-hot guy you were locking lips with on the beach! It turned the salty sea sweet enough to make everyone jealous. I bet that leading lady hates you even more now, but I'm ready to make a billboard to cheer for you if he's that forget-me-not handsome. Ugh! Just talking about it makes my mouth water. You look so innocent, yet you snagged the prize—and it's a 'Suji' grade fish at that! Tell me, what's your secret?"
Suddenly, the realization hit her like a bolt of lightning.
The white flash that had hit her eyes during that stolen kiss wasn't her vision blurring or the lights reflecting off the sea—it was a camera flash.
"But seriously, I'm telling you straight—since you've had news with men, no one has been as sizzling as this guy. If you guys really become a couple, no one will ever dare publish trashy news about you again."
"Why wouldn't they dare?" she asked, gathering her inner strength to suppress her rage.
"How could they? Everyone respects him. Even the bosses, even the 'Empress' Manika and her arrogant son would be totally out of moves if you became a daughter-in-law of this family."
"P'Windy…"
"By the way, how on earth did you get so close to him? As far as I know, Panthakant usually stays away from actresses. Aside from Nisakorn, he's almost never had news with anyone."
The other party kept asking without giving her a chance to explain.
"It's not what you think, P'Windy..." The young woman leaned back against the car seat, exhausted and distressed, wondering how much damage this news had already caused. "It's a misunderstanding."
"Eeeeek! A misunderstanding that required locking lips to 'tune your attitudes'? That is beyond spicy! I'm going to have to borrow that method myself!"
The other person giggled, teasing her out of long-standing familiarity.
"It was an unavoidable accident. I wasn't willing at all," she said, her face burning with humiliation.
"Whaaaat!?" the final syllable was dragged out endlessly. "Then the news that Wan Hom leaked is true! I was wondering which 'Mr. Perfect' you were about to devour. It's truly a blessing from the heavens, Shanya! Tell me when I should start getting a bridesmaid's dress fitted. Don't let me find out from the news later like everyone else; I'll be so hurt!"
"What did Wan Hom tell you, P'Windy?"
The young woman counted to a hundred in her head, furious that she had even bothered to negotiate with Panthakant. If she had known, she would have let that big-mouthed manager pay the fine as a lesson.
"No, no, no! That's not it!" Winth quickly tried to cover for the 'source,' fearing they'd lose future scoops. "Wan just told me you have a top-three hottie pursuing you. He's so generous he's offering an eight-figure contract, he's totally single, filthy rich, and so buff that every 'third gender' and girl in the country will be jealous if you get to eat him."
"That's just fake news."
"If it's fake, why were you sucking face with him to make all the girls jealous?"
"I told you, it was an accident. How far has the news spread?"
She lowered her voice, fearing her mother might suspect something, yet she noticed the driver casting curious glances through the rearview mirror.
"Not that much, dear. Someone just sent the photos to a famous page that posted it on X, then people shared it on TikTok, Facebook, IG, and YouTube. I heard there's a leaked video on Telegram and OnlyFans too. The severity is only about the level of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. People are gossiping like crazy about you being a 'Sugar Baby' or a 'High-society Toy.' That's why I couldn't stand it and had to call you so I could help write news to protect you. Tell me, dear, what's the real truth?"
Even though she had braced herself, Phutphitchaya still took a deep breath to stabilize her emotions.
"P'Windy wants to help, right?"
"Absolutely, Shanya. You know I'm always on your side."
"Then how should we clear it? Can we say it's a doctored photo or AI?" she consulted with a tone of despair. "Or someone who looks like me?"
"Eeeek! Doing that would be lying to the audience. You'd get caught and your credit would be ruined. People these days aren't stupid, dear."
"Are the photos clear?" she asked weakly.
"Not exactly a hundred percent because it was taken at night, but I've seen them..." There was a scrolling sound, indicating the speaker was peering at the images. "Anyone who knows you would definitely say it's Shanya and Panthakant. The clarity isn't more than seventy percent because it's a bit blurry. Such a shame, such a shame."
"That's... something, at least."
"But wait, there's more! A fan came out and confirmed it was you because they just ran into you in Pattaya. They even posted a photo, blurring their own face but yours is 4K clear. Right now, half the country believes it. I don't think you can talk your way out of this one."