Chapter 298 - No One On Her Side

Avaleigh was the leader of Macaron and the most famous member in the group. An imbalance in popularity was common in idol groups, and the bigger the group, the harder it was to stand out. But, Avaleigh had stood out from the beginning because of her angelic voice and friendly personality. She had even released a couple of solo singles. So, the concert producers decided to give her a solo performance during their Hong Kong tour.

As Avaleigh stepped on stage and Mimi, Ara, and Chu stepped off, she waved at the crowd weakly and they all cheered. Normally, she was more enthusiastic than this. Even in her rehearsals, she was jumping around and interacting with the imaginary audience a lot more than she was now. This was because she still hadn't recovered from her stomach ache earlier and did not have the energy, so she greeted the audience briefly and started her performance.

Backstage, Mimi glanced at the live broadcast and smirked. At this rate, no one was going to remember Avaleigh's performance and that was what she wanted.

The other girls around her looked up at the screen with confusion. "Ava was jumping around and full of energy during the rehearsals, why does she look so stiff and unenthusiastic on the stage now?" Chu frowned.

"You didn't see it earlier, but Ava collapsed on the floor when we finished our introduction. She looked unwell," Olivia explained.

At that moment, Sue approached and heard the girls talking about Avaleigh, "Is Ava unwell? Why hasn't anyone told me? What's wrong with her?"

Trying to hide her smile, Mimi said, "She must have eaten something wrong earlier and got a stomach ache. Perhaps, she snuck in some food during our break."

Sue furrowed her brows and glared up at the live broadcast. Was that true? Was that what happened?

Meanwhile, not too far away, Emerson heard the conversation between the girls and their manager. He had quickly gone to buy some water for Avaleigh and was just returning when he saw them watching her performance and talking about her.

But, Mimi's words made him a little suspicious. Mimi was on stage when Avaleigh was sick in the backstage, how did she know she had a stomach ache? In fact, he carried her to the bathroom before anyone even found out what was wrong with her.

"How did you know she had a stomach ache?" Nana asked with confusion. "I simply thought she collapsed from exhaustion. President Wu even carried her into the change room to get some rest."

Mimi frowned and cleared her throat, "I saw her gripping her stomach so I assumed it was a stomach ache."

She then pointed to the live broadcast and exclaimed, "Look! She's holding her stomach again!"

Everyone looked at the screen with concern and saw Avaleigh gripping her stomach and looking a little pale. Mimi was right, it looked like her stomach was unwell. But, this wasn't enough to dismiss Emerson's suspicions. Something didn't seem right. 

His gut told him Mimi did something. She was just like a young version of Marissa and he had experienced enough of Marissa's tricks over the years to understand what this woman was thinking.

So, while everyone was focused on the screen, he snuck back into the change room and had a quick look around. Sure enough, as he looked around Mimi's dressing table, he spotted an empty bottle in her bin. It was hidden under some other trash, but he spotted the label and recognized it straight away. A few years back, Marissa had used this same medicine on a woman that was attending a weekend business seminar with him. At that time, he caught Marissa red-handed and she confessed she was jealous and promised she would never use it again.

This particular medicine was a liquid laxative!

Why was there an empty bottle in Mimi's bin. She couldn't have taken it before a concert herself. That would be self-detrimental.

The answer was pretty obvious.

Mimi must have used it on Avaleigh; it explained why her stomach was unwell.

At that moment, Avaleigh finished her performance and returned to the change room with Sue, Mimi, Ara, and Chu. The other girls were on stage performing. "Did you sneakily eat something during your break? Why is your stomach suddenly unwell? Haven't I always warned you about watching what you eat before a performance? This is exactly why I'm so strict with your diet!" Sue said angrily.

Avaleigh was resting on Chu and Ara's shoulders as she shook her head, "I only ate what you gave me. I have no idea why my stomach is suddenly so sore."

"Liar!" Mimi yelled. "We all ate the same thing. Why aren't we ill?"

Sue looked at Avaleigh and waited for an answer. She wanted to believe her, but Mimi made a valid point. If everyone ate the same thing, why was she the only one that was unwell?

Avaleigh didn't know what to say. She was telling the truth but she couldn't explain why she was the only one that was feeling ill either.

Seeing that the situation seemed to be going her way, Mimi tried to hold back a smile, "You're the leader, you should know better..."

Sue looked at Avaleigh with disappointment. "I think I'll have to reconsider your position as leader after this. I can't believe how irresponsible you were."

Avaleigh looked at Sue with slightly teary eyes. She was wronged and feeling unwell, yet no one was on her side.

At that moment, Emerson cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention to his presence. The girls quickly looked his way and saw him standing in front of Mimi's dressing table. They had been so focused on Avaleigh, they didn't even notice him there.

Mimi's eyes immediately lit up when she saw the man standing at her table. Was Emerson waiting for her? 

Avaleigh's eyes also lit up. Didn't this man leave? Why was he here?

The next second, the man suddenly lifted a bottle in his hand and asked, "Miss Mimi, may I ask why you have a bottle of laxatives in your bin?"