Chapter 139: The Truth Sets You Free

Nicole gripped the mouse. 

Twittah continued on without her. Her followers decreased as NDdgaf and sourcandy spoke against her. It wasn't like no one believed her anymore… but sourcandy had the perfect rebuttal for each one. With every support she would get, they would receive five.

It was goddamn annoying.

"Who the hell is this piece of shit anyway?" She complained loudly. The two other girls in her room turned their heads toward her. They found her deep brown eyes glaring at the screen. Strands of blonde hair strayed away from her bun.

Harper merely went back to her PC game. For today, she had dibs on the study table. The browser stayed open behind her desktop app. She had turned on push notifications to remain updated on the situation.

"Are you talking about sourcandy?" She asked, far calmer than Nicole wanted. Her monolid black eyes remained unbothered. "Seems like a person who had been watching this whole time. The user is really good at bringing up your past chirps."

"Definitely seems like someone who has been collecting receipts," Charlee commented. She sat on the floor and typed swiftly on her phone. "It's not like you can't have a different opinion from your idol. So if a parent disapproves of his/her child's spouse—does that make them a bad parent?"

Nicole's scowl slowly disappeared. She had been stuck on what to say for some time. Her friend's words had brought some inspiration. Her fingers flew across the laptop keyboard. "You are so totally right! My intentions had never been bad. I just wanted to expose someone for their actions."

"But you had been claiming that Evangeline Reed had done something bad to Mikael," Harper reminded her. The computer mouse spiralled under her touch. "He had debunked it himself. Then, you changed tactics, making yourself uncredible. The people who turned against you probably thought you had all the answers instead of sharing the same opinion."

A few users had sent Nicole the same message implication. It was as if the prediction came to life as soon as her friend narrated them. A dark cloud hovered above her head. She had already heard it once. Why would she need to hear it from more people? 

Hissing, she grabbed a pillow and threw it.

"Why are you on their side?!"

"Ow! I'm not!" Harper sneered. She fixed her headphones and tapped furiously. "I'm just trying to give you the whole picture. It's not my fault that you had sent the chirp before I could finish."

"It's a good thing I have a strong following then," Nicole huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Ugh, people are now wondering who gave the flowers and the gift. What is even in that box anyway? It's probably something cheap since she didn't post it on her slowgram."

…

…

…

Were the heavens mad at her?

What was this sorcery? 

Evangeline had made her first official post in weeks. The previous ones only had generic photos—mostly the food she ate and/drank at the moment. Her face was nowhere to be seen in any of them.

The same could be said with her latest post… but it did have something different.

Aside from uploading two photos in one that is.

.

``insert username: HaHaHAhA… HAHAHAHA THIS IS F—ING HILARIOUS! TO ANYONE SAYING AMBRYAN AND EVANGELINE AREN'T A REAL COUPLE THEN, GET A LOAD OF THIS! IN YOUR FACES, BISHES!``

``Meiha Natsu: Omo... Is that real gemstones I see?! Why is the world unfair! :crysayori:``

.

Charlee laughed at that moment. "It probably is. Hydrangeas aren't even that expensive either. Whoever it was, they tried to look impressive but failed."

Nicole paled upon hearing her voice. She half-closed her laptop on instinct. The post would upset Charlee and she was sure of it. The aspiring actress only received an anklet from her ex. It didn't even come with a note.

Let alone a handwritten one.

Should she be discreet and say the note had been edited? Ambryan didn't have a social media account, right? He couldn't possibly verify it to be true. It didn't matter if they wouldn't believe her right away.

What was essential was to plant doubts.

Nicole pulled up the lid. The page reloaded and comments emerged at the side. One of them had reached more than a thousand likes. Blood completely stopped circulating in her head. Her plan had failed before she could even start.

.

``AveryH: It's so like my son to be color-coordinated! Thank you for sharing this! Never in my lifetime would I predict that Ambryan would say something so cheesy—and in his own handwriting!``

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Nicole clenched her hand into a fist. Even Ambryan's mother joined in. How could someone get this much support in this short amount of time? They may be small in number but they were powerhouses.

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``LunaAthon: @AveryH, I am so jealous! I have yet to receive a handwritten note from Ambryan! Is it a requirement to date him before getting one? I AM JUST JOKING. DON'T ATTACK ME.``

```Ex No. Unknown: Definitely not! I surely don't remember getting one! Altho, it was a one time date sort of thing so we probably didn't date long enough for me to have such an honor.``

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"Tsk…" Nicole scorned. "What a two-faced biatch."

The young woman had seen a chance to promote herself. Not only did she enhance Evangeline's connection with Ambryan but she also placed herself in a pitiful light—while acting innocent and bubbly. 

It didn't matter anyway. The masses ate it up. Soon, the post flooded Twittah because of numerous shares. Evangeline's account also skyrocketed. Her number of followers increased by the second. The masses finally acknowledged her.

The one time she directly made a move and the tides completely changed.

Days of endless chirping had gone to waste.

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``NDdgaf: @radiantblueeyes, well, you have been quiet. I missed you. Are you going to tell me that both Evangeline Reed and Avery Hathaway lied now? Everyone else is lying but you, huh? Lmao. Write a better story before you attempt this again.``

``sourcandy: For future references, you can be taken to court for spreading false information. Do think twice or someone won't be merciful a second time.``

``insert username: Oh, before I forget. Ya'll who claimed Evangeline had an affair with Mikael owe her an apology. BIG TIME. The gifts was from Ambryan aka her boyfriend aka the person who should have been your first guess. Way to ruin their monthsary. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.``

.

"Hell yes!" Andie exclaimed, rising to her feet and fist pumping the air. The cover for the toilet seat made a cracking noise as it bumped back up. It bounced off the walls and echoed inside the restrooms.

Andie could care less. She bolted out of the cubicle and searched for her best friend. Eve could deny all she wanted but Andie knew better. That timing was too perfect. They had almost completely killed the scandal.

Whatever people had to say, the truth had been revealed.

—in a glorious silent attack at that!

Eve sat on a table with Georgie and the twins. A bookshelf had board games instead of reading materials. They had chosen one with snakes and ladders on the board. Each took their turn and rolled the dice.

Andie tackled her best friend from behind, engulfing her in a hug. "You did so good! I didn't see that coming at all! I bet no one did! You had shoved back their words with two photos!"

Then, she pulled back and hit the back of Eve's head. "If you had those pictures all along, why didn't you post it in the first place?"

Eve rubbed the back of her head. Standing up, she led Andie to the far side of the bakery. The reporters had roused again after she sent out the post. This time, they had keener eyes. They had received an inside look on her relationship with Ambryan.

Now, they wanted more.

"I never planned to post the first one," she admitted with a sigh. "But… I didn't want to give them another excuse to claim I was a liar. The best way for me to do that was show them evidence that it clearly came from Ambryan."

No doubt she'd hear a remark from him soon. After insisting to do things on her own, she had resorted to sharing a private moment between them. That photo with the note was only meant for them to see.

Andie shook her head, still digesting what had happened. "Your timing was impeccable too."

Eve chuckled. "I just opened it at the right time. I actually owe you and sourcandy. If you haven't discredited that person's chirps, it most likely wouldn't work the way it did. Is that Jarrett's account by the way?"

"What? No." Andie snorted. "That account only existed as of today. I have no idea who owns it. Which reminds me… I should ask the user to officially join the fan club. We could use someone like her. Or him. Or they."

She took out her phone and slid into sourcandy's DMs. 

Eve stepped forward, peeking from over her best friend's shoulder. "You should probably ask what the person thinks of Evangeline. Don't force it if it's a neutral party."

"I know, I know."

Andie grinned at her own message. 

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``NDdgaf: Hey! I know we only met today but… what do you think of Evangeline Reed? I saw that your account is new and I became curious if you joined Twittah to defend her?``