When Anna arrived on set, she met both Stephen and director Tim with bleak faces.
“Is there a problem?” She asked. It seemed they had been waiting for her to arrive, which was kind of odd, especially with the way they were looking behind her.
Stephen signaled that someone was behind her, and she turned around only to find a blonde in a crisp green suit with his hand in his pocket. He had a smug look on his face.
She immediately recognized him, the annoying face that had been agitating her since their breakup, blemishing her name because she threatened to reveal his secret.
“What are you doing here?”
He took a step closer haughtily with a smirk on his face. “Don’t you know I’m a major investor in this production?”
Anna’s heart sank when she heard him. She could guess what he was up to… ‘if he is an investor then…..’
“Why won’t you leave me alone? You’ve turned my management agency against me, aren’t you satisfied?”
“I won’t be satisfied until you regret how you insulted me at our engagement,” he spat.
Anna was so tempted to slap him across the face. ‘Our engagement…’ those words irked her to her core.
“You and I know that was the day you showed your true colors.”
He frowned displeased, he knew what she was implying, and that was the main reason he was doing all of this to silence her. “I want my money back.”
The Blacks bestowed her family with two million for their marriage agreement, so Anna guessed that was the money he was referring to…
“I owe you nothing.”
“Is that so?” He responded abruptly. “Okay then, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“I’ll expose you,” she snapped, but her fears wouldn’t let her expose him. He had the power to totally blacklist her from the industry. Her chest heaved in anger. He always had his way while she, on the other hand, was the one to suffer.
He chuckled and shifted his gaze to Stephen. “Make sure she is replaced.” After giving his order, he walked away.
Anna knew he was deliberately pushing her to her limit. Her career holds much value and he knew this. This was the very reason he was blocking her advancement all the way around. Not only was he ruining her reputation, he was using his influence to frustrate her. She helplessly ran after him. “Jake, wait, let’s talk it out. JAKE!”
She followed him outside, unaware of what was waiting ahead.
When she saw the crowd of investigators outside warming up to dig into her scandal, she realized she had naively fallen into a trap. “You are so cruel,” she gave him a dead stare while he, in turn, grinned in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Ivy’s car halted in front of the building where the commotion was happening.
“Here is what I found yesterday, I hope it’s good enough.” From the front seat, Edmond handed Ivy some pictures.
Susan, on seeing the pictures, looked at both of them with a blank face. “Would you mind telling me what you’re about to do?”
“Just watch,” she said and got out of the car.
The front of the studio was crowded with not just average reporters, major broadcast stations all gathered around the main source of the news.
‘The Ex couples,’ the most recent scandal that got the netizens talking. Jake Black’s last statement to the media stirred up the media, leading them to the present interview. Though an anonymous individual leaked the location of the set, that person was none other than Jake Black himself. The current commotion was just part of his plan to humiliate her.
“Jake Black, why are you here?” A reporter asked, pushing through the crowd. “Are you two back together? Did you forgive her for cheating?”
Jake’s grin never wavered. He stared down at the small reporter and then peered in Anna’s direction.
All the media reps caught sight of his ambiguous motion, and they swung to the other party to get her interview.
Anna was a minute too late to see through his intentions. All the reporters quickly crowded her, disregarding Jake. After all, she hadn’t given her statement. They were all eager to hear from her to spice up the story.
“Anna Stewart, is it true you cheated on your ex?” That was an old question, but the reporter just needed to confirm.
Anna’s eyes were pinned on the sadistic blonde; the smirk on his face made her shudder in grimace. This was the very man she once loved, the one currently manipulating the media and netizens to disapproval. So many questions kept coming, but one clear question tugged at her heart. “What were your reasons for cheating on him?”
She masked her face with a brave smile and steadied her gaze on the reporters, with Ivy’s words ringing in her head. ‘Wipe those tears away; they will only make you look weak’. She refused to look weak in front of the artful guy.
She exhaled, showing no fear for the words she was going to say.
“I didn’t cheat on him, he cheated on me.”
The reporters’ eyes widened at the new discovery. “Can you please explain?”
“I broke up with him when I found out he was gay,” she confessed, without breaking eye contact with the shimmering eyes all over.
Ivy’s lips curled as she heard Anna’s moment of truth. She was right behind her, inwardly cheering her on. With her saying that to the media, Jake was very well capable of manipulating them again, but despite that, she told them the truth. He could bring on his counterattack; she didn’t care. She just said those words without fear of the consequences.
Jake’s face distorted, flashing in anger. “That’s a fat lie!” He hollered, walking over to the stunned reporters.
“He is gay?” They asked among themselves before turning the questions directly to him.
“Mr. Jake Black, is what she said true?”
“Are you gay? Is that really the reason she broke the relationship?”
“Answer, Mr. Black, are you gay?”
“ARE YOU GAY?.” They were losing their patience; he was just standing there glaring at Anna. But in the next second, his facial expression changed. It shifted from displeasure to discomfort when he saw a recognizable feminine figure, whom he dubbed a slut, walking towards his direction. She was swaying some pieces of paper, a gloating look on her face, accentuating the dimples on her cheek.
“You… what are you doing here?”