Free Web NovelChapter 21: From villain to sweetheart
The gang rumors died instantly. By the time the video had two million views, the narrative had changed: Lyvana wasn’t a criminal. She was a victim of a bitter, jealous woman.
The netizens who were attacking her ten minutes ago were now flooding social media with heart emojis and apologies.
In the kitchen, Lyvana was staring blankly at a pot of tea when Emily who had arrived an hour ago, burst through the door. She was vibrating with excitement. She held her phone out to her.
"Liv! You are not going to believe this. Take a look," Emily said, shoving the screen in front of Lyvana’s face.
Lyvana squinted at the bright display. It was a shaky, live-streamed video of a woman standing right in front of what appears to be Aurora. The woman was hysterical, screaming about how she had hired the thugs because she hated Lyvana’s success.
"Who is she?" Lyvana whispered, her brow furrowed. "I’ve never seen her in my life."
"Who cares?" Emily said, scrolling through the comments. "Look! People are calling her ’The witch of Aurora.’ They’re saying you’re a hero for staying quiet while this crazy lady stalked you. The gang rumors are gone, Liv. Completely gone."
Lyvana watched the woman in the video closely. The confession felt... too perfect.
"It’s a miracle," Emily breathed, leaning against the counter.
"It’s a miracle I guess," Lyvana murmured.
Elsewhere, in a room that smelled of expensive perfume, Clarisse was screaming into her phone. Her face was flushed, and her perfect makeup was starting to smear from the heat of her anger.
"What the fuck!" she snapped, pacing the floor.
She listened for a second, her eyes widening as she watched the confession video on her laptop. The view count was climbing by the hundreds every second.
"No, you listen to me, you incompetent riffraff!" she spat into the receiver. "You’re telling me someone just destroyed everything we’ve done? Just like that?"
There was a pause.
"I don’t give a damn," she responded. "Find out who the hell that woman in the video is! I didn’t hire her!"
There was a stuttered response on the other end, but Clarisse didn’t want to hear it.
"No excuses. Just find out who is protecting that girl!"
She slammed the phone shut and hurled it at the wall. It cracked and slid to the floor.
She sank into her vanity chair, her fingers digging into her scalp as she pulled at her hair.
"Why is this stupid girl so lucky?" she hissed at her own reflection. "Every time I trip her, someone catches her. Every time I bury her, she comes back cleaner than before."
She gripped the edge of her vanity until her knuckles turned white. She had spent a fortune to ruin Lyvana’s reputation — buying off reporters, paying for the gang smear campaign, and orchestrating the break-in.
In less than an hour, someone had messed up her plan. They hadn’t just cleared Lyvana’s name; they had turned her into a national sweetheart.
At this rate, Lyvana was the most popular girl in the city today. The sympathy from the public was the kind of PR that money couldn’t buy, and Clarisse had handed it to her on a silver platter.
The fact that someone had stepped out and admitted to creating the mess, wiped Lyvana’s reputation completely clean.
....
Lyvana spent the rest of the day on the phone with her grandmother and her stepmother. Her grandmother was relieved, though she insisted that Mark’s connections were surely the reason the culprit confessed so quickly. Lyvana didn’t argue; she let them believe what they needed to.
As night fell, the apartment grew quiet. Emily had drifted off to sleep on the couch, leaving Lyvana alone with her thoughts.
She picked up her phone, and as if he had been waiting for her to touch it, the screen lit up.
Private Number.
Julian.
"Hello?" she answered quickly.
"You’re still awake," Julian’s deep, smooth voice came from the other end.
Lyvana felt a strange spark of electricity chase down her spine. Had she been waiting for his call?
She leaned back in her chair.
"I doubt sleep was ever an option tonight. How was your trip?"
"Productive," he replied. freēwebnovel.com
She could hear the faint sound of a lighter clicking, then the steady exhale of a breath.
"Though it seems I should have stayed closer," he added. "I heard a lot has happened in the short while I’ve been gone."
"You could say that," Lyvana replied. "I went from a criminal to a national sweetheart in one afternoon. I think I have you to thank for that."
"I don’t like it when people touch what belongs to me, Lyvana," Julian said, his voice dropping low.
Her fingers tightened around the phone. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, by giving herself to any man.
Sorry Julian, I don’t belong to anyone.
"How did you do it?" she asked instead not wanting him to argue.
"Come to my penthouse and I’ll tell you."
Lyvana walked to the window, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"You’re back in the city?" she asked surprised.
"My plane just touched down," he said.
"It’s late, Julian." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"I know," he said. "But I have to leave again tomorrow morning. I need to see you are alright."
"Fine," she said.
"I’ll send a car," Julian said, and the line went dead.
Lyvana felt a rush of excitement, but she convinced herself it was because she needed him as an ally. They had to start thinking of a plan. Leaving things to chance was not an option now.
Lyvana looked at Emily, who was still sleeping on the couch. She gently helped her into the bedroom so she could sleep in her bed.
Then, Lyvana went to her own room to get ready. She took a quick shower then picked out a simple but pretty dress and put on a little bit of makeup.
She felt a new sense of energy. Before leaving, she wrote a quick note on the kitchen counter for Emily to see later.
When the doorbell rang, Lyvana smiled. She thought it was Marco coming to pick her up. She hurried to the door and opened it wide.
Lyvana felt the warmth drain from her face.
It wasn’t Marco. It was Mark. He was standing there with a confused look on his face, staring at her fancy dress and makeup.
"Lyvana?" he asked, looking her up and down. "Where are you going so late at night?"
