Filippa sobbed uncontrollably, her mind consumed by bitterness towards Elisa. Her phone lay on the ground, its screen displaying a tweet that she stared at intently.
“Filippa, this so-called pure and innocent flower, has finally been exposed. Compared to Elisa, she’s got no face, no figure, and the only thing worth praising is probably her acting. But when her acting is put to the test, she’s easily overshadowed. Fans, stop hyping her up as straightforward, let’s be blunt, she’s just uncouth and lacks manners.”
Filippa’s eyes burned with fury as she choked out, “Elisa did this on purpose, she absolutely meant to sabotage me! That wench!”
Despite having evidence in hand from the start, she chose not to clarify until the press conference, just when Elisa was at her peak. It was ruthless, plunging her into despair.
Filippa clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms, oblivious to the pain. Her resentment had consumed her senses. Suddenly, her hand felt warm on the back. Trembling, she glanced down to find Sebastian crouching beside her, holding her hand.
“Filippa, we were in the wrong from the start. Others may have added fuel to the fire, but we willingly jumped into the pit. It’s not a big issue. Which artist doesn’t have some dark history or make mistakes? As long as we sincerely apologize to the audience and fans, they will forgive us…”
Before Sebastian could finish, Filippa slapped him across the face.
Completely taken aback, Sebastian stared at her, “Filippa…”
“Don’t call me by my name!” Filippa pushed him away, standing up. “What do you mean I was wrong? Where did I go wrong? It was Elisa who stole my role in the first place! Sebastian, have you also been deceived by Elisa? Do you think she’s better than me in every way? Do you think I’m inferior to her? Fine, go find her, kneel down and apologize to her!”
“It’s not like that…” Sebastian frowned, attempting to explain, but Filippa didn’t give him a chance.
“If it weren’t for you… I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. Can’t you have some backbone like other men? Why are you always so submissive? I just can’t stand your spineless attitude!”
Filippa complained. If only Louis were by her side, she wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths to sabotage Elisa. Everything would have fallen into place effortlessly.
Sebastian gazed at Filippa in a daze. The beautiful images in his mind shattered like fragile bubbles after her malicious words. Despite their close relationship, he felt as though he had never truly known her.
Bitterly, Sebastian said, “So this is how you see me, as a spineless person.”
Filippa, as if struck by lightning, paled, her eyes filled with fear. She hesitated, wanting to say something but didn’t dare to speak. She regretted her earlier words, yet she didn’t believe she was entirely wrong. Sebastian had always been spineless.
But now, only Sebastian could help her. She needed to shift all the blame onto him, ensuring that Elisa wouldn’t ruin her. One person taking the fall was better than both.
She couldn’t afford to give up. She had worked hard to reach this point, and now with a leading role contacting her, success seemed within reach. She couldn’t afford to falter.
On the other hand, Sebastian had gained exposure through this incident. It was only fair for him to bear the consequences.
“Senior brother, I’m sorry.” She lowered her head and apologized. “I spoke in haste, please don’t take my words to heart. You know… I didn’t mean it.”
The room fell into an eerie silence. Filippa was restless, her thoughts in turmoil. She reached for Sebastian’s hand as she usually did, affectionately calling out, “Senior brother, I didn’t mean what I said. Please forgive me.”
Sebastian looked at Filippa’s reddened eyes, and any remaining emotions dissipated. He couldn’t bring himself to face her with a cold demeanor.
Shaking his head, he spoke with a bitter smile. “It’s alright, I didn’t take it to heart. I forgive you.”
Filippa was supposed to release him once he forgave her, but she didn’t. Instead, her arms around his waist tightened, and they drew closer. Sebastian could feel her softness, a proximity he had only experienced during their acting scenes, never in reality. He hesitated for a moment before placing his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
“Alright, I’ll go out and tell everyone that you had nothing to do with this.”
Filippa’sdelight was evident. “Really?”
Sebastian saw her happiness, and his feelings grew even more complicated. It felt as if he had swallowed shards of glass, causing a painful constriction from his throat to his chest.
“He could only clench his fists tightly to transfer that dull pain away.
‘This whole thing has nothing to do with you. We are finished,’ Filippa murmured.
‘Stop calling me senior brother from now on. Those CP fans, all that show of affection, it’s all a joke.’ The dim light in his eyes dimmed at that moment, and he gave Filippa one last look before decisively turning and walking away.
Filippa watched his departing figure, wanting to call out to him but ultimately remained silent.
Since she had decided to let Sebastian take the blame for her, she wouldn’t regret it. It’s fine, she self-soothed. She would make it up to him with good resources in the future. Besides, Sebastian had also gained popularity this time. Black and red is still red. Moreover, the internet updates so quickly; soon everyone will forget this little incident.
Elisa was packing her bags at the hotel, receiving numerous calls from Mr. Usoro, Iris, Asher, and Louis.
Especially when Asher called, he gloated, ‘Filippa must be regretting it now, right? She shouldn’t have provoked you. Hey, how did you manage to have recordings and videos? You kept it so secret, you know these past few days I couldn’t even sleep properly, I’m nearly bald from pulling my hair out.’
‘What’s the use of regret? There’s no regret medicine in this world.’
‘True, Filippa probably wouldn’t dare to cause trouble now,’ Asher asked smugly.
Elisa chuckled softly, ‘That’s not necessarily true.’
‘Wait, this matter isn’t over? There’s more to come?’
‘Mr. Kentala, have you heard of the term “licking dog”? A dog licking until it has nothing left? Sebastian’s affection for Filippa won’t just end like this.’
Asher was a smart person; he instantly understood Elisa’s meaning. ‘Are you saying Sebastian will take the blame?’
‘I didn’t say that.’ But she didn’t deny it either.
‘I was thinking, if you couldn’t come up with a solution, I would release the audition process between you two. Let’s see if those discerning eyes are really blind.’
‘You don’t have to, the scenes I auditioned for are not the same, the audience can’t compare. But…’ Elisa paused and added, ‘If you really want to release it, it’s not impossible, but not at this time.’
Killing a fly with a sledgehammer isn’t very interesting. If all the exciting parts are revealed, what else is there to watch later on?
‘I now understand one thing, and that is you shouldn’t offend anyone.’ With that, the phone also transmitted Asher’s sigh.
Filippa was a good seed among the actors. She was beautiful and spirited in her acting. If she had less jealousy, was less conceited, and didn’t cause trouble, her reputation would have continued to rise.
Asher initially planned on casting Filippa as Zhao Zijin, but it was just a plan. Without a signed contract, everything could change. He then met Elisa, who was more suitable to play Zhao Zijin than her.
Asher had originally intended to recommend Filippa to other directors to make it up to her, but he didn’t expect Filippa to directly oppose the entire cast and crew on Twitter, openly challenging them.
Now he could only say, if you don’t cause trouble, you won’t die.
There was no extra expression on Elisa’s face, just a slight nod as she said, ‘You’re too kind.'”