Chapter 21
Jade’s POV
This is what I’ve been avoiding. I never knew Damian would come to her office. Why are my plans always failing?
“Damian, let me explain please. I came to see Valerie. I…” I ran short of words as my throat suddenly became dry. I hate to see when Damian is upset.
“I warned you to stay away from her by all means. Did I not say so?” He asked me as he clenched his fist.
I was struggling to maintain my composure so I just stood there. Damian walked up to me, grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside.
Valerie came after us and I heard her pleading with Damian.
“We will settle this, Babe. You don’t need to get involved.” I heard her saying.
“Go back inside, Valerie. I know how to handle Jade.” Damian responded.
When we were in the corridor, Damian let go of my hands forcefully. I felt so much pain that Damian was treating me with such cruelty.
“Why do you keep doing this, Jade? Why can you not rest? I don’t love you, Jade. I’m in love with another person.”
I cannot stop even if I want to! My career is at risk if I don’t do what Claire said. I can’t fail her. Who will I explain my predicament to? No one will understand!
All these thoughts drew me close to tears as I began to sob. My shoulders shuddered as I shed hot tears.
Damian stood still for a while. The look on his face softened as he walked closer and stared deeply into my ears as if he could see the reason for my actions.
I looked away in shame.
“What wrong, Jade? What are you not telling me?” I was about to turn away when he asked me.
“You won’t understand, Damian. No one will understand. I’m sorry for what happened today. Incase anything happens, just bear it in mind that I never meant for all these things to happen.”
I walked away with a heavy heart knowing the consequences of the decision I was about to take.
When I got inside my car, I called Claire.
“Claire, I’m sorry but I can’t continue like this. I can’t continue to cause problems between people and get hurt at the end. I will not be manipulated by you anymore. You can go ahead and carry out your threats.”
“You know the consequences of what you are saying. Your career is on the line. You know that, right?”
“If ruining my career will make you happy, then by all means, go ahead. Have a nice time ahead.” I said and ended the call.
I proceeded to block her line so that she would not reach me again. Everything I have toiled for, is about to go down the drain. I sobbed for some minutes until I consoled myself with the fact that whatever is destined to be, will be. If this is the end, then so be it.
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Valerie’s POV
Damian came back to the office some minutes later. He closed the door behind him and hugged me tightly.
“What happened when she came in? What did she say to you?” He queried.
“Nothing much. She just came in before you.”
“Were you able to speak to her? She looked scared earlier.”
“Yeah, I noticed it. She was even sobbing and I feel that she was hiding something from me. She said she never meant for any of these things to happen.” Damian said.
He held my face in his two hands and looked deeply into my eyes.
“Val. Whatever Jade says to you, don’t pay attention to her. I don’t want to lose you because you mean a lot to me. These few weeks I spent with you has been awesome and fulfilling.”
“Okay, Babe. Jade is never going to come between us. No one will.” I affirmed.
The kiss that followed was a deep one. He encircled my lips with his lips and introduced his tongue.
After the kiss, he hugged me and kissed my forehead.
“Babe, I’ll be away for a few days. It’s urgent. I’ll be travelling this night to New Orleans for a business meeting. I’ll be back in three days. I didn’t plan to have such trip but it just came up. That’s why I decided to come over and inform you”
“Okay, Sweetheart. Promise me that you’ll be safe. I’ll miss you. But don’t worry, I won’t miss you too much. It’s just three days.”
“I have to go now so that I don’t miss my flight. Take good care of yourself. If you need anything, just call me. Keep me updated on anything that is happening. I love you.”
“Sure, I will. I love you too.”
We hugged and kissed again for the last time before he left. From my window, I watched his car zoom off into the street.
*********
Claire’s POV
The time is 7:45 pm. After Jade called me in the evening, I have been thinking of the perfect way to punish her. A part of me wanted to give her another chance to redeem herself but I insisted.
I have clearly made up my mind on how to deal with Jade. She had the guts to disobey me. But it’s happening too quickly. I knew Jade will not allow herself to be manipulated by me for so long but I didn’t expect it to be sudden.
Maybe, she still has feelings for Damian and she can’t stand it when she sees Valerie around him.
Well, it doesn’t matter now because she has failed to keep to her own part of the deal. Every action has consequences, Jade of all people should know that.
My next move is going to be a dangerous one that will cause stirs on the internet so I have to be careful so that it will not be traced back to me. I don’t want to ruin my friendship with Valerie, at least not yet.
I called the only person I entrust to carry out this job neatly; Jeremy. Jeremy is a blogger with a large social media audience but he prefers to remain anonymous.
Nobody knows his true identity except for me and his few friends. He has never posted his pictures as the face behind his page.
His blog posts always get millions of engagements on Instagram and Facebook.
Perfect.
Aside being a blogger, Jeremy is my friend. We met in highschool and we have been friends ever since.
I dialed his contact and luckily for me, he picked immediately.
“Hello, who is on the line?” Jeremy asked.
“It’s Claire.”
“Hey buddy, longest time! How have you been?” Jeremy exclaimed from the other end.
“I’m good. I have been busy with life and work. I decided to reach out to a long time friend.” I replied.
“I’m excited to hear from you after quite a long time. So what’s popping?”
“I need your help. Don’t ask too many questions please. Just do as I say and money will not be a problem. All you have to do is to name your price.”
“You’re sounding so serious. So, what is the deal? What do you need my services for? Bring on the good and bad deals” he ended with a chuckle.
I proceeded to explain the work I needed him to do which is to make a blog about Jade Pierce, exposing her leaked nude videos and making degrading posts about her.
“Woah, that is quite massive. You know that Jade is a popular celebrity. Any post I make about her is going to drive a lot of traffic to my page. Most especially if I’m making a negative post.” Jeremy sounded excited.
“Exactly. More traffic means more money. That is exactly why I contacted you for the job. I know you are more than capable of doing a neat job. I don’t want it to be traced back to me.”
“That won’t be a problem, Honey. You’ve come to the right place. Send the videos across and every other thing you’d like me to post. When should I release the videos?”
“Release it this night. I want the whole world to talk about it by tomorrow morning. I’ll send the full payment now after this call.” I finalized.
“Consider it done, Claire.”
“I’ve always known that I can count on you. Thank you very much. Good bye.”
I let out a sigh of relief as I imagined how the news of the popular model for various brands will shake the internet.
“This is just the beginning. Jade will pay for trying to disrupt my plans of separating Damian and Valerie. Whoever tries to stand in my way, will also be dealt with.”