A Rose Between Thorns

Chapter 107: The Moment Of Truth

The rest of the group were waiting for us downstairs. All of them had very serious expressions on their faces, and my phone would not stop vibrating. It had been going off for hours now, but I had left it downstairs because I wanted to limit distractions. That was before Hobi decided he wanted to spend the day with me.

I resist the urge to check it and merely put it on silent, but Namjoon shakes his head. "We have a serious issue to address. Tajang, I suggest you keep your phone on you."

"What happened?" Hoseok asks as we both take our seats on the couch. 

"Manager Sejin was present at the meeting, the main topic was about some private information that was leaked to the public. Taylor, you changed your number right after your father called way back when, correct?"

I nod with a little worry as to where he was going with this. What's all this talk about my phone for? Did someone put a chip in it when I wasn't looking or something? 

Jungkook was seated at my other side, and he sneakily wrapped an arm around me. He kept a tight hold on me, his arm tensed and I could only wonder as I look at all of their stoic expressions.

"Apparently an anonymous person leaked your new number to the public. It was published on multiple platforms and the accounts have since been deleted, but the damage has been done." Jin continues, sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

My mouth practically falls to the floor as his words register in my brain. Leaked? But how, I only shared my new number with a few people!

"I don't understand," I manage to say, furrowing my brow. "Besides you guys, only a handful of people have my new number. The TXT boys, our managers, PD Bang, Gisselle, Choi, Angelica and Beomseok. As well as my family of course."

"Your family must know about your situation by now, so I don't think any of them would leak your number." Yoongi shifts to sit beside Jin, resting his head on his shoulder while his gaze is fixated on me.

Yoongi is right. I may not get along with a lot of my family, but they wouldn't endanger me like this. They must have heard about the previous incidents, so they wouldn't risk my safety like that. 

"It's safe to assume that whoever leaked the number must be responsible for the previous incidents," Namjoon says, running a hand through his hair. 

"That narrows it down quite a bit. We know it's one of the stylists, so that only leaves Gisselle and Choi." Jimin adds, and I can feel my blood run cold from his words. I know they all crossed Choi off of the list a long time ago, so I know exactly where this conversation is headed.

Gisselle would never do that to me though... would she?

I lean back on the couch as the realization hits. I truly believe she wouldn't do this to me, but what if I'm just being naive? She has her soulmates now, and she's never really been the jealous type. The boys investigated Choi even though she is really close to them, am I being selfish for insisting on protecting my best friend?

I can feel my chest tightening with each passing through that rushes through my head. My mind is spinning as the doubt begins to sink in. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, don't you?" She said that a while ago, and at the time I hesitated. Why did I hesitate?

Maybe it's because some part of me, whether I wanted to admit or not, felt that it could have been a possibility.

My breathing begins to get more shallow as each second passes, I find myself clutching my chest to try and quell the storm of doubts that swell in my mind. I can hardly feel the air passing through my lungs at the mere thought of being betrayed by my best friend.