The internet was blowing up with the news and clips of Regina’s public apology and Rina was loving every moment of it. She spent most of her day going through the uploads and comments on Instagram, especially the ones on Regina’s Instagram page. She knew rightfully not to mess with Rina and had obeyed her instructions to a T. Rina’s phone was also blowing up with calls from podcast and TV stations, as well as her DM getting flooded with messages. While some of them accused her of threatening “their Regina” to get an apology from her and make the country overlook her misdeeds, others sent in their apologies as well.
But Rina wasn’t moved by any of that. It was only a means to an end, and she wasn’t at her destination yet.
In a few minutes, Scottsdale put up a memo on their pages after certain people accused them of being a scam for blacklisting Rina. In the memo, they assured the public that they would get to the bottom of Regina’s public apology, but in the meantime, people should disregard it. It was a desperate and stupid attempt at saving their faces, but they had no other choice as Rina had made sure of that. She left no comments or posts on anything on the internet, not even on her own page, because she knew how ruthless social media could be.
George called at noon to inform Rina of how he had to turn off his phone that morning because of the number of calls that had come in. He had no idea how they got Isaiah’s contact because when they couldn’t reach him, they went that route too.
“I’m sorry about the inconvenience,” Rina said, struggling to hide the excitement in her tone.
“Sorry? Isaiah totally loves it. He has been going on and on about how he wants to make a video too in response to Regina’s apology to confirm the fact that everything that had been previously said about you isn’t true. But I told him not to, because he still needs his little gigs at sets, and there’s no telling the extent of Scottsdale’s powers.
“You’re right,” Rina murmured, nodding. “He should stay as far away as possible from this. I don’t want him getting dragged into any mess just yet.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Excited, euphoric, but at the same time, I know it’s only going to last a while. Scottsdale is looking for a way to turn this against me, but I’m sure they wouldn’t find anything. Regina might be dumb, but she knows I have her whole career in my palms. She knows better than to cross me.”
“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” George said, laughing. “Who would have thought our sweet, vulnerable Rina could be this way?”
“She caused it, George. She pushed me to the end and I had no choice but to push back. If I had done nothing, she would have continued spreading her outlandish rumors against me, and God knows that I don’t want that, especially now that I just got a job with Pages of Claire. And also, thank you for your help with this. It wouldn’t have been possible if you hadn’t gone to the sports complex that day.”
“Anything for you, Rina.” It was impossible to tell who was more excited about the public apology between George and Rina. “I have to go now, but I will keep you updated. I am still expecting a follow-up mail from Pages of Claire, so once I get it, I’ll send it across to you.”
The line clicked dead and simultaneously, a rumble sounded in Rina’s stomach. She had been so engrossed with the apology that she had totally skipped breakfast and was now on the verge of doing the same with lunch. Pulling herself out of bed, she had a quick shower before walking into the living room. Susan was already setting the table, the scent of mashed potatoes and the sauce simmering in the air.
Rina’s stomach grumbled again, causing Susan to laugh. “I was wondering when you were going to come down for food. Here. Sit.”
Moving over to the table, Rina plopped onto the seat and delved into her meal at once, sliding her phone on the table. “What about Zayn?”
“He went to the office,” Susan replied, earning a nod from Rina. She had grown used to having him around so much that she tended to forget he had a whole conglomerate to attend to. Her phone buzzed on the table, and at first, Rina was going to ignore it, thinking it was one of the TV stations. But she did a double-take when she saw that it was Joel. They hadn’t spoken since she left the fashion house, and Rina didn’t know how to feel about that. Their friendship had drastically vanished into thin air since that moment, even though she thought about it sometimes.
Swallowing, she picked up the phone, swiped the button, and placed the phone against her ears. “Hey.” The warmth of his voice got to Rina, and she realized how much she had missed hearing him speak.
“Hey.” An awkward silence hung in the air as neither of them knew what to say to the other. He broke the silence after a while with a shaky breath.
“When are you going to stop?” he breathed, and Rina’s head jerked back in surprise.
“What are you talking about?”
“We both know that Regina didn’t wake up early one morning and decided to go on national TV to send an apology to you. That was your doing, Rina. I don’t know what your goal is but you have to stop.”
Rina’s blood roared loudly against her ears, and she angled her head, wondering what this was about. “Joel…”
“And before you go on defending yourself, remember that it was I who took you in when no one wanted to help you. Yet, you threw all that away for some fame that doesn’t even want you.”
Her brows furrowed in deep confusion. She wondered where this was coming from. “Joel, this isn’t about fame. Regina wronged me. If you bothered to remain friends with me, to understand how much I have been stepped on, you wouldn’t be saying this.”
“No one stepped on you, Rina,” he said with all sincerity. “You do the stepping on people, just like you did to me.”