Free Web NovelChapter 26: Vanessa’s Growing Interest?
Vanessa sat cross-legged on her bed, laptop open, phone beside her.
Penina had gone to work an hour ago. The apartment was quiet except for the soft hum of the ceiling fan and the occasional click of Vanessa’s mouse. Outside, the Seattle evening had settled into a gray twilight, the kind that made everything look like it was filmed through a filter.
She had been staring at Liam’s Instagram for twenty minutes.
And there was nothing to stare at.
One picture. One single picture, posted over a or two year ago. A selfie with Liam in a suit, tie loosened, blonde hair pushed back, blue eyes tired but sharp. The caption was blank. The comments were full of women—compliments, heart emojis, the occasional "call me."
He hadn’t replied to any of them.
Vanessa scrolled down. Then up, then down again.
No vacation photos. No gym selfies. No pictures of food, no sunsets, no inspirational quotes about grind culture. His following list was small—maybe fifty people, mostly colleagues and old college friends. His followers were in the thousands, but he didn’t follow back.
"Private," Vanessa thought. "Really private."
She leaned back against her headboard.
Most men his age—especially men with his former status—used social media like a resume. Look at me, look at my life, and look at the restaurants I eat at, the cars I drive, the women I date. They posted constantly, hungry for validation, desperate to prove they were winning.
But Liam?
Liam had posted once. And even that one post felt reluctant, like someone had forced him to do it.
"That’s... interesting," Vanessa admitted to herself.
She didn’t know why it appealed to her. Maybe because it was rare. Maybe because it reminded her of the old days, before everything became a performance. Or maybe because it made him harder to figure out, and Vanessa hated being confused.
She typed Sara into the search bar, Mrs. Harriet had given her all the information she needed regarding his private life.
It didn’t take long to find her.
Sara’s Instagram was the opposite of Liam’s. Hundreds of posts with thousands of followers. Aesthetic grids, perfectly curated, every photo filtered within an inch of its life. Beach pictures, club pictures, mirror selfies in outfits that cost more than most people’s rent.
Vanessa scrolled and scrolled.
And the more she scrolled, the more her stomach turned.
"This is the ex?"
Sara was gorgeous. There was no denying it. Twenty-two years old, maybe twenty-three. Long blonde hair, tan skin, a body that looked like it had been designed in a laboratory. Flat stomach with long legs. And a very seductive smile.
But her eyes...
Vanessa zoomed in on a selfie. Sara’s eyes were empty. The smile rarely reached them.
It was the smile of someone who knew exactly what she looked like and exactly what that look was worth.
"She used him," Vanessa realized. "She used him and threw him away."
She found a photo of them together in one of her numerous highlights, Rachel had failed to check this part as she wasn’t so familiar with IG. Liam’s arm around Sara’s waist. Both of them dressed up for some event—a wedding, maybe, or a charity gala. Liam was smiling. Genuinely smiling. Like he couldn’t believe his luck.
Sara was looking at the camera.
Not at him.
Vanessa closed the tab after finishing her mini investigation but unknown to her, she had opened a just recently posted picture on said highlight which meant that Sara could see she had gone through her highlights.
She sat in the darkening room, phone in her lap, and tried to understand. Why would a man like Liam—smart, successful, attractive—get involved with someone like Sara? The signs were obvious. The photos alone told a story of vanity and ambition and a woman who loved herself more than anyone else.
"Maybe he didn’t see it," Vanessa thought. "Or maybe he didn’t want to."
She picked up her phone and typed a message to Mrs. Harriet. Then deleted it. Then typed it again. ƒreewebɳovel.com
[Vanessa: I need more time.]
She didn’t send it.
Instead, she opened her notes app and started writing.
Liam Cole
· 25 years old
· Private. Doesn’t post on social media.
· Ex-girlfriend: Sara (22, gorgeous, superficial, probably a gold digger)
· Former senior associate at Harlan & Associates
· Fired over a private video
· Doesn’t respond to obvious flirting
· Not swayed by appearance (or at least, doesn’t show it)
Vanessa stared at the list.
Then she added one more line.
· What is his weakness?
She didn’t have an answer.
But she was going to find one.
