Thea was busy thinking about Tiffany’s issue. She didn’t expect to see herself become the center of a scandal the next morning.
Someone leaked the video where she got slapped by Mia Weston.
Those people tended to make things up after releasing a video. The unfamiliar account on Twitter claimed that Thea was a third wheel. She stole someone’s boyfriend, and that was why she got slapped on her face.
Thea was utterly shocked by how shameless these liars were that she couldn’t even spit out a word after seeing the news.
Some people online claimed that they knew the truth, but it turned out they just wanted to slander Thea, even more, using lies.
“See that? Thea’s fans? Your queen is a fucking third wheel, and she stole some poor girl’s man. That is absolutely disgusting!! I knew she slept all her way through. I wonder how powerful her sugar daddy is that she even dares to offend Miss Weston.”
“To be honest with you, I’ve played that video millions of times. It made me feel good seeing that bitch get slapped, LOL.”
“I thought everyone knew that Thea Todd is just a gold digger. She should piss off already. I really don’t want to see her ugly face on TV anymore.”
“I heard she slept with the director of Smoke as well. No wonder she could win that award. She probably slept with the panel members.”
“That’s right! She also took away Nina’s role. She’s such a disgusting person!”
“I’d like to see how she will prove her innocence this time. I won’t believe her anyway.”
Smoke hadn’t been officially screened in movie theaters. However, many anti-fans had already gone to the website to rate it one star, causing the film score to drop tremendously.
Some people stood up to defend Thea. But it also broke Thea’s heart to see those innocent people get attacked online. She threw the phone away and shut her eyes.
When Mia slapped her, there were only the Weston, the Watson, and the Bradley family. Of course, the doctors and nurses could also be the ones who recorded the video. But would they really do that to their clients?
Thea was too tired to think the whole thing through.
Thea rolled on her bed and covered her body with a blanket. Right now, she only wanted to sink into her bed and never leave.
This world was so fucked up!
“Thea, are you okay?” Daisy asked carefully as she put a hand on Thea’s back.
“I’m okay… Daisy… Just need a minute.” Thea sighed.
As disgusted as she felt, Thea knew she still needed to stand up and fight. She didn’t have another option anyway… But now, she just needed a minute to clear her mind.
However, her phone suddenly started to buzz at the moment. Thea groaned and buried her face deeper into the pillow.
Daisy sighed and went to pick up the phone. She said something to the person on the other side of the line before turning to look at Thea, her hand covering the speaker, “Thea, it’s Cody. He asked if you wanted to talk.”
Thea faltered. And then, she said, “Tell him that I have fallen asleep.”
Daisy blinked. She felt weird, but she still did what Thea told her, “He-Hello, Cody? Yes. I just checked out Thea. She’s sleeping now.”
“Really?” Cody sounded a bit suspicious.
“There… there was a premier ceremony earlier.” Daisy explained to make her lie more plausible, “We came back at 2. Thea’s really tired.”
“Okay…” Cody said, “She didn’t have time to see what was happening on Twitter, right?”
“Yeah…” Daisy said, “She went directly to her room to sleep.”
“Okay.” Cody nodded, “Just don’t let her know anything about it for now. Don’t tell her. Just let her sleep. If she finds anything when she wakes up, just tell her she doesn’t need to worry because I will take care of it, okay?”
Daisy nodded, “Okay.”
****
Daisy went to check out Thea again after she hung up the phone. But Thea didn’t move, pretending that she had fallen asleep. Daisy sighed and flickered the switch of the light off before she left Thea’s bedroom.
Thea opened her eyes in the dark, feeling a bit weird.
She didn’t know how to feel about Cody. He was her boss. He said their relationship was only based on money and benefits. Yet he was treating her so sweetly.
No men had ever treated her that way.
He was stepping across the line. She was also not innocent. But if she really took a step forward and broke the wall, their relationship and all the things they built together would all go off the track.
She didn’t know if she could handle it. It was just so overwhelming, even when she only imagined it.
Besides, Mia was right. She didn’t even belong to their world. She shouldn’t get too close to Cody.
Maybe she should stay away from that man. It was better for both of them. She thought.
Thea was exhausted by all the attacks and rumors on the internet. Her house was constantly harassed by the paparazzi. But she still had to get up and go to work the next day. She got a photo shoot for a famous fashion magazine.
Thea had forced herself to sleep for a couple of hours, but nightmares haunted her. She still looked tired when she sat before the mirror.
The beautician, makeup artist, and magazine stylist exchanged exciting looks as Thea stepped into the studio.
Thea noticed that but could only pretend she didn’t see it. These people must have read about her online. And they must feel so excited to do style for a breathing gold-digger in the wild. Thea could even imagine their conversation by the coffee machine after her style was done.
But she couldn’t care less. Getting gossip was also an actor’s exposure.
“So…” the conversation happened just as Thea expected, “Is it true online? That she’s sleeping with her boss? That Cody Bradley?”
“Gosh… I wish I could sleep with Cody Bradley… That man is a snack.”
“You’re probably not as skilled as her. I heard she basically threw herself on Cody, and that pissed off his girlfriend so much.”
“Mia Weston is the girlfriend’s best friend. No wonder she got slapped.”
“Wait. So it was not Mia Weston who dated Cody Bradley? God, I’ve got it so wrong!”
“So… she’s been chasing after Cody? Gosh… I wish I had skin as thick as hers.”
“It just proved that having thicker skin will get you a perfect sponsor and lover in this circle.”
“Could Cody be that sugar daddy they’ve been talking about?”
And the coffee machine was not even that far from Thea’s vanity.
Thea took in a deep breath and shut her eyes to calm herself down. But the conversation was still going on.
“Daisy!” Thea suddenly shouted, “Coffee, please!”
The girls standing by the coffee machine were all startled and immediately shut up.
Thea was still so mad when a pale, strong hand passed her a cup of steaming black coffee.
Thea looked up and met Cody’s smiling eyes, “You just said coffee, big star?”