Ch. 2066..2070
Chapter 2066
Chapter 2066 Several hours later, the action in the bedroom settled down at last.
Isabel lay exhaustedly under Roland's naked shoulders and turned on her phone which she had ignored for quite some time now.
She saw more than 99 notifications pop up immediately. There were countless unread messages and more missed calls. There were calls from Amanda, Carla, Triss, Ramona, and even from her family members. She frowned and quickly tapped on her messages. Sure enough, everyone had bombarded her with texts.
Amanda had sent countless texts, but what caught her eye was the last one that read, "Isabel, where are you? You're scaring me. Don't do anything stupid! Worst comes to worst, we can just issue an official apology and things will die down after that. Just don’t do anything rash. I'll have to contact the police if you don't get back to me an hour from now!”
Isabel hurriedly replied, "Hey, Amanda, I’m fine, | just fell asleep accidentally, and my phone died while | was in Slumberland, so | couldn't hear your calls."
She sent a text to Carla as well to assure her that everything was fine.
Triss and Ramona had spammed their group chat with messages as well. In the beginning, they were trying to offer words of encouragement and told her to not take the netizens’ criticism to heart. It was only after they noticed that Isabel was not replying that their tone began to grow frantic.
Isabel finally replied and told them something along the same lines as what she told Amanda. Then, it was time to look at the messages that her mother, Flint, and Caprice had sent to her in turn. Sylvia asked, "Isabel, where are you right now? Hurry up and pick up my call!"
Flint asked, "
is, where have you been? Why aren't you answering our calls?"
Caprice asked, "Hey, sis, | already asked Liam to take care of the comments online. Where are you? We're all worried about you. You can find some friends to drink your worries away if you want. Just don’t do anything rash and hurt yourself."
Isabel suddenly felt a sense of relief wash over her-her family cared a great deal about her. She tapped on the family group chat. Everyone in the family was in the group, even including Caprice and Liam's newborn child.
She sent a short text to the group, "I'm fine.”
Flint replied almost instantly, "Why did you turn off your
phone?"
She replied with the same cover story, "It died while | was sleeping.”
"Oh?" Flint sounded suspicious.
Isabel replied with a funny sticker of a stickman being punched into the air.
Immediately after that, a voice message from Sylvia popped up on the display. She asked urgently, "Isabel, where are you?"
Isabel was afraid of causing her mother any further worry. She stole a glance at Roland first and noticed that he was focused on the book he was reading. Then, she directed her attention back to the phone and replied with a curt voice message, "Mom, I’m at a friend's place right now."
Upon hearing the mention of the word ‘friend’, Roland stiffened.
Isabel seemed to not notice this change in his behavior while she was going through the messages on her phone.
Almost as soon as she sent the messages, Flint began interrogating her, "What kind of friend? Is it a guy or a girl? Come on, give us some details.”
She ignored him.
It was not so much that she was reluctant to tell them about her boyfriend, but she figured that now was not the right time for it, especially considering ongoing circumstances. There were a lot of affairs that needed taking care of. She
would tell them about Roland after the dust had settled.
Sylvia sensed the nonchalant and breezy voice in Isabel's voice and was comforted. She made sure to assure Isabel, ‘ Make sure you get some rest. Your dad and | will help you take care of everything going on online."
Isabel considered for a moment before replying "No, | don’t want any of you to get involved."
When she began her career as an actress, she vowed that she was not going to rely on the influence of her family.
If this incident ended up being what cost her entire career, then so be it; perhaps it was her fate.
Caprice replied, "Sis, we are your family, and so is Liam. It's only right that we help you. Why would you refuse our help?”
Isabel smiled at the kind sentiment but insisted nonetheless, "Caprice, | know you're only looking out for me, but | need you to trust me on this one. I'll handle it myself."
Chapter 2067
Flint spoke up again, "That's right. Besides, if things don’t work out you can start focusing on minding the family business.” Caprice was humored by this and supplied a smiley face.
Isabel chuckled to herself and replied, "Just you wait, fatty Flint. I'll make sure you get punished the next time we meet." Flint was a good sport as usual. "Oooh, scary, I'm out of here."
Isabel made sure to send the occasional text to Amanda, Carla, Triss, and Ramona during her conversation with her family.
Amanda was relieved after seeing her reply, and she told Isabel, "Make sure you stay home and rest up over these next two days. Don’t go anywhere. I'll talk to Isabella's manager."
She made it sound like they were going to negotiate, but it was quite clear that she was going to ask for mercy, which was something that Isabel would never do. She immediately objected, "Amanda, don't ask for anything from them."
Amanda was conflicted. "But if | don’t talk to them, they're going to burn you to the ground." Isabel was surprisingly nonchalant about this. "It's fine. That’s not going to be the end of the world or anything.”
Amanda had to do a double-take before replying, "Isabel, it might not be a big deal to you, but it is for me. | still have my reputation to consider! | know you're very fearless, but you have to consider my position as well!"
Isabel assured her, "Don't worry. Even if | step away from the entertainment industry, you have my personal guarantee that your reputation as a gold-star celebrity agent will be completely unscathed. Maybe you'd end up even more famous."
This got her a sticker of a cartoon figure rolling its eyes back, followed by a message poking fun at her, "Isabel, you're not just a daredevil. You're pretty good at talking out of your butt as well."
Isabel rolled her eyes. She might not be the type to brag about her wealth, but she still came from an affluent family nonetheless. Did she not least give the impression of someone with an affluent status?
Triss and Ramona sent occasional messages to the as well. They claimed that they were going to seek justice for Isabel and post their version of the events online.
Isabel hastily stopped them. "No, it's alright. Don't get involved, please.”
They had no evidence that Isabella had done something to her dress beforehand, and there was nothing they could say that could possibly help her case. Even worse, they might get caught in the crossfire.
However, it was too late as Triss immediately replied, "!
already posted it."
Isabel furrowed her brows upon seeing this and asked, "Are people taking it well? Are they turning on you now?"
Triss returned to her after a while. "Yeah."
Isabel sighed. 'This is how we will do it for now. Both of you just sit this one out."
The scale of the ongoing events had reached a point where they could not possibly help her even if they wanted to.
Both of them were dejected by this, and they did not know what to say anymore after that.
After that, Isabel went online by herself.
The top three topics on the trending chart were about other trending news now. Most of the negative feedback about her had been suppressed. She figured that this was the work of her father and siblings.
However, the truth was that scandals like these ones could not simply be squashed out by force. Even if it was no longer a trending subject, the public sentiment was still largely against her. It was only at the lower end of the trending chart now.
She also noticed the post that Triss put up in hopes of clearing her name. She had written, "Isabel is one of the kindest people | know. She wouldn't step on Isabella's dress for no reason.”
The comment section was swarmed by Isabella's fans and some of the netizens who had been swayed to side with Isabella as well.
The aggression of these comments varied. Some of them were rather tame and only accused Triss of having only said this because she was Isabel's friend and that she was only doing this because Isabel helped her out in the past.
Some of the more unruly members directly insulted her without any reserve. Triss refused to give in. Not only did she refuse to delete the post, but she even pinned it on the top of the page.
Isabel did not know whether she should commend Triss for her loyalty to a friend or to be concerned if she had truly lost her mind and gone off the deep end.
She sighed tiredly and tossed the phone aside, then she leaned back into Roland's arms.
Chapter 2068
“Roland, | feel terrible." She suddenly felt vulnerable when she burrowed herself into his solid chest.
Roland set aside the book and turned to cast a look at her.
There was not a trace of emotion in her eyes, but one could tell from her lack of expression that she was tired of it all. Roland pulled her in closer. "Sleep. You'll feel better after you get some rest."
Isabel nodded without a word.
Sheltered in his warmth, it did not take long at all for her to fall asleep. She must have been more tired than she thought, which was not surprising considering how long she had tussled with Roland in bed just now.
The night was silent.
There was only a dim bedside lamp left on in the bedroom. Roland sat silently against the head of the bed. He only managed to ease up a little after ensuring that Isabel had fallen asleep.
However, his brows shaped into a frown again shortly after. He was thinking about how Isabel told her family that she was at a friend's place.
Was she reluctant to tell her family about their relationship?
At Isabella's place, after coming home from the fashion show, she had been glued to her phone the entire time, unable to take her eyes off the stream of discussion online.
She was dressed in a luxurious nightdress and lay comfortably on a recliner positioned in front of a magnificent French window. She held a glass of red wine in one hand and her phone in the other as more news came streaming in on her phone.
She could see Isabel's team working overtime trying to put out the flames. She had to give credit where it was due because their efforts were paying off even if just slightly.
However, things had got to a stage where no amount of damage control could fix Isabel's reputation.
The incident of Isabel stepping on Isabella's dress was a trending subject everywhere, and a lot of netizens felt very strongly about what was happening. The public outcry was very fervent and they said things like "Isabel does not deserve her popularity!” or “cancel Isabel right now!”.
Even users of other social media platforms were chiming in on the drama. Isabella made sure to pay some media outlets to further incite public sentiment against Isabel and call for her to issue a formal apology, or risk having her career ruined.
Isabel must be running around in circles trying to find some way out of this.
The thought gave Isabella nothing but delight as she took another sip of her red wine.
Ring!
Suddenly, her phone rang.
It was her agent calling.
She promptly answered, "What’s the matter?"
Her manager spoke in a jubilant voice, "Hey, Isabella.
Isabel's manager, Amanda, just approached me. She wants us to let Isabel off the hook and says that we can state whatever conditions we want. What do you think?"
Isabella grinned smugly. "Wonderful."
Her agent asked promptly, "What conditions do you think you want to offer?”
4 want Isabel to formally apologize to me online, and | want her to step away from acting for two years."
She wanted Isabel to apologize, and by doing so, admit that she had stepped on her skirt intentionally out of spite. By getting Isabel to step away from acting for two years, she would ensure that Isabel no longer had any screen time despite being in the prime of her career. The entertainment industry was a very competitive and fast-paced environment. Nobody could preserve their reputation if they went on a hiatus for two years, and everybody would have forgotten about her by the time she returned.
This meant that Isabella could take advantage of these two years of absence to take every major role that had been given to Isabel, and she would essentially have free rein overall.
Her manager answered gladly, "Okay, I'll tell Amanda." “Good.” She hung up.
After drinking another sip of wine, her manager called again. She immediately asked excitedly, "Did Amanda agree?”
Chapter 2069
Isabella's manager informed her readily, "She’s too smart for that. She agreed to post an apology on Isabel's official page, but taking a two-year-long hiatus is a no-go. The most they can do is six months."
Isabella scoffed, "Keep on dreaming."
Her manager suggested, "What do you think about meeting them halfway and settling on one year? | do think that two years is a tall ask."
"No, it's either two years or nothing,” Isabella insisted. "If she doesn't want to, then so be it. Good luck with the public backlash." Her manager asked cautiously, "Isabella, are you sure about this?”
"lam very sure." She was not going to let Isabel off so easily!
"Okay, I'll get back to her now."
Amanda was nervously waiting for Isabella's manager to get back to her. Upon receiving word back, she became so furious that she slammed her phone against the couch." Despicable! How dare they!"
She paced around the living room anxiously.
From a pragmatic standpoint, Isabel was a one-in-a-million talent. It was nigh impossible to find someone with such a combination of good looks, figure, acting skills, charisma, and versatility. Any other manager could only dream of landing such a talent.
From a personal standpoint, she had to admit that Isabel could be too straightforward at times, which tended to get her in trouble more often than not. Despite that, she had taken quite a liking to this personality of hers, and it would be a shame for Isabel's career to meet such an early end.
What could she possibly do to salvage the situation!?
Was there no other choice than to agree to Isabella's terms and go on a two-year hiatus?
While she was pondering fruitlessly over what their next step would be, her phone suddenly rang.
It was from one of her employees.
She answered the phone and spoke rather snappily since she was still in a bad mood, "What do you want at this hour?" Her employee did not seem to mind her tone and expressed joyfully, "Amanda, | have good news!”
Amanda immediately grew anxious. "What good news?
Have you found something to clear Isabel’s name?"
"Not yet, but we just received a video that is very likely to help her prove her innocence!"
Amanda could not be any more grateful to hear this. "Send it to me right now!"
It was midnight.
Just when those netizens who had been slandering Isabel all day were preparing to call it a night, a new video popped up. It was captioned: "Isabel did not step on Isabella's skirt intentionally".
People clicked on the video in a heartbeat.
The video was a compilation of several surveillance footages from different sources. There was an indicator on the top left of the frame that showed the time and date when the footage was taken.
It opened inside a parking lot. The opening footage showed Isabella stepping out of her car with an assistant, and she then noticed two men carrying a large case from a distance. Upon recognizing the famous brand logo printed on the case, she whispered something to her assistant who then proceeded to approach the two men. The assistant spoke to them briefly before returning to Isabella.
The quality of the footage was quite spectacular. One could easily spot how Isabella's expression darkened ominously after her assistant whispered something in her ears.
Then, the footage jumped to the next scene, which was surveillance footage taken from a corridor with closed doors on both sides of the wall. The two men seen previously with the large case showed up and entered one of the rooms, then they re- emerged again within a minute. After that, they shut the door and left.
Shortly after that, Isabella and her assistant showed up on the frame. Isabella stole glances at the room where the two men had just stepped out of, then she promptly entered the opposite room.
Her assistant did not follow her into the room. She remained in the corridor and seemed to be checking for surveillance cameras but somehow missed the camera on the ceiling. Shortly after that, she knocked on the door, and out came Isabella, who immediately went into the room the two men had previously entered.
The assistant stood guard by the door while Isabella entered the room carrying a pair of small scissors with her. It was another roughly five minutes before Isabella came out of the room at last. They then scuttled back into the opposite room. The video jumped to the next part which was roughly ten minutes after the previous segment.
As Isabel and her assistant stepped into the corridor, both of them were merrily talking and laughing about something. They entered the room where the two men had previously dropped off the large case in, which was the same room Isabella was seen sneaking into with a pair of scissors.
When she came out of the room, she was wearing the same dress that later on had a giant tear when she was walking the runway.
Chapter 2070
The video had a very clear resolution, and there appeared to be no signs of having been edited.
Unsurprisingly, it had quite an effect on all of the netizens regardless of which side they were on amidst all of this. Everyone was stunned and silenced by the truth of the events.
Albeit a very brief silence, the video spread very quickly across all platforms, and it had millions of views in no time.
The people who had been slandering Isabel this entire time were humiliated. Some of them stewed in silence while others were quick to apologize to Isabel for ever doubting her.
The people who had been neutral this entire time and were merely amusing themselves with the latest online drama were ecstatic about the unexpected plot twist.
The tides turned in an instant, and everyone began turning on Isabella, even the ones who originally insulted Isabel.
Isabel's fans were the first ones to take action. They swarmed the post that Isabella put up earlier during the day of her crying and bombarded her with comments, vehemently shaming her for her actions.
Some people were furious that they had been played like a fiddle by Isabella, and they demanded an apology.
"No wonder Isabel stepped on Isabella's skirt. She knew that she did something to her dress!"
“How low! How could she do this to Isabel in the first place?”
"It's a good thing this video was leaked. Otherwise, none of them would have been any the wiser."
"Hey, it's only right that she comes out and apologizes as well, isn't it? Otherwise, we're going to have to cancel her!" Isabella's fans were floored.
Save for a few diehard fans who were still adamantly in denial, the rest of them kept their mouths shut.
Meanwhile, Isabella, who was just having a celebratory glass of wine at her place, spiraled into a fit of panic upon seeing the new development. The glass of wine slipped out of her fingers and smashed into pieces against the floor.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she cried out," Impossible! How could there be a surveillance camera? There were no surveillance cameras back in the corridor!"
Ring!
Her phone rang.
It was her manager calling.
Her fingers trembled as she answered the call, "Hey."
Her manager’s voice was wrought with panic. "Isabella, what
is wrong with you?! Didn't you check for surveillance cameras before you went inside to tamper with her dress?" Isabella was equally exasperated. "! did. We didn’t see any surveillance cameras. There was nothing on the wall or ceiling!"
"If there were no surveillance cameras, would you mind explaining where that footage came from? Who was it who took that video?" Her manager had enough of these
pointless arguments and said dejectedly, "No use talking about this now. One way or another, just know that this video is enough to seal your fate."
The color drained out of Isabella’s face, and she lowered her voice and adjusted her tone. "Please help me. | didn’t know there were surveillance cameras. Maybe Isabel faked this video?"
"| don't care how resourceful she is. There's no way to fake a video like that. You're right there inside the video!" The manager expressed angrily, "The best course of action now is to apologize to everyone online. | will talk to Amanda and ask her to say something to Isabel, maybe get her to post something on her page stating that it was an inside joke between you two this entire time. If things work out, I'll start getting some more bot accounts to work people a little, and hopefully this entire thing tides over some time later."
"Okay, I'll write up a draft of my formal apology." "Don't send it just yet. Wait until | have an agreement with Amanda." "Okay."
At Amanda's place, no words could express her relief when she saw the latest development of the drama.