The Ex Who Became His Obsession - Chapter 38: Chapter 38
You are reading The Ex Who Became His Obsession, Chapter 38: Chapter 38. Read more chapters of The Ex Who Became His Obsession.
[Holy shit. She's still talking big at this point? Got to hand it to her.]
[If this were my first day meeting Alyssia, I'd probably buy it. Why is she so confident?]
Sure enough, the private group chat exploded with activity.
[The best atonement she could make is to pack her bags and get the hell out. For god's sake, she should know when to quit.]
[No way, she's got me hooked now. I'm staying right here today to see how on earth she's going to turn this around.]
[More like faceplanting than turning this around.]
[If Alyssia can turn this around, I'll livestream myself eating my keyboard in the office.]
[Eating a keyboard? That's nothing. I could devour my mouse, my computer tower, and even the whole damn server rack.]
[Pussy. If Alyssia can pull off a comeback, I'll livestream myself washing my feet while doing a handstand.]
Suddenly, a competitive frenzy erupted in the group. The group chat erupted into a frenzy of wild bets and outrageous pledges.
[I'll even livestream myself doing the splits in a handstand while eating.]
[I'd even eat a live eel.]
[Eel? Pfft. I'll livestream myself eating surströmming while doing a handstand.]
Suddenly, someone roared in the group chat: [Anyone got the gusts to lick dirty toilets?]
The group chat went dead silent for a split second.
[Bring it on. I will.]
That was just how reporters were, fearless warriors who would stop at nothing for a scoop. And entertainment reporters were easily the most shameless of this bunch.
[Count me in, too.]
[Licking dirty toilets? That's nothing. I could fucking lick five toilets.]
[Enough talk, folks. I'm calling dibs on all Vanguard Media toilets this month.]
[Listen up. I'm claiming every damn public toilet within a ten-mile radius. Don't even think about challenging me.]
Just as the betting frenzy reached its peak, Diana stormed out of her office, roaring across the workspace, "Are you all blind? Can't you see the messages in the work chat?"
The entire office froze for a moment. Every single person in the office heard Diana's booming voice cut through the silence. "Archer's first crush just exposed him.
"He cheated, slept with fans, and even forced someone to get an abortion. What the hell? Is anyone listening to me? Are you all deaf or what?"
The feverish excitement that had coursed through everyone's veins slowly began to subside. An inexplicable wave of dread crept over everyone.
A sharp crack echoed as Alyssia slammed her keyboard down, making everyone jump.
Archer got exposed and instantly topped the trending topics. But it happened half a day earlier than Alyssia had anticipated.
Alyssia's face darkened as she stood up abruptly. Clutching her phone tightly, she strode out of the office area without a word. She left behind a group of people looking at each other in bewilderment.
"So, is this the scoop Alyssia's been sitting on all along?"
"If she had a bombshell scoop like that, why wait until now to drop it?"
"How the hell did she get that scoop?"
"But why doesn't she look happy?"
A good ten minutes passed before Alyssia returned to her desk. Her expression had improved considerably compared to earlier, but she was still far from happy.
Lauren's laughter boomed through the office. "Alyssia, was that your doing? Did you really wait until Bright Orange Media just finished binding their magazines? I heard all their pre-orders just got canceled. Holy shit. The person in charge must be fuming right now."
Alyssia's expression was unreadable as she remained silent.
At the last minute, this issue of Bright Orange Media added Archer to the cover and a special feature after landing an exclusive interview with him.
Archer's die-hard fans really came through. Pre-orders alone had already topped 100,000 copies.
Bright Orange Media pulled an all-nighter at the printing plant, racing to get the magazines bound by this afternoon.
The head of Bright Orange Media even bragged on social media, calling this Bright Orange Media efficiency.
At the same time, he couldn't resist taking a dig at Vanguard Media, hinting that some old-school media companies were just too slow and out of touch, and should step aside for new blood.
However, Archer's first crush suddenly popped up and dropped a bombshell, catapulting him straight to the top of the trending topics.
The head of Bright Orange Media, in a panic, urgently pulled their soon-to-be-released magazines.
The entire Vanguard Media team was pulling all-nighters, everyone scrambling, all because of the sudden flood of scandals about Archer.
Strangely enough, no matter how hard anyone had tried to dig up dirt on Archer, they always came up empty-handed. Even all his neighbors would sing his praises.
But now, it was as if the dam had broken. All the long-buried scandals came pouring out at once, each scrambling for exposure.
Even his kindergarten teacher jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that Archer was quite a playboy at age three, already stealing kisses from girls in his pre-K class.
By 4 a.m., when everyone finally called it a night, a fourth girl had come forward, saying she'd scrimped and saved every penny, spending all her living expenses just to buy clothes for Archer back when he was still a nobody.
Shutting down her computer, Alyssia stepped out of the office area.
Suddenly, someone abruptly broke the tense silence. "Alright, which one just said he would livestream lick dirty toilets?"
After a beat, one of the guys couldn't hold it in and puked right there.
As Lauren walked downstairs with Alyssia, she commented directly, this time with a note of admiration, "Alyssia, you really do have that lone wolf mentality. But why didn't you give me a heads-up about such a big scoop?"
Alyssia did indeed have all the dirt on Archer. And it was even more detailed than the bombshell Archer's first crush had dropped.
After the incident broke out today, Alyssia shared all the dirt she had. Vanguard Media immediately jumped on the story, scored an exclusive scoop, and turned the tables, embarrassing Bright Orange Media badly.
Alyssia lowered her eyes. "It feels like nobody trusts me, and they all blame me. I'm just afraid I'll mess things up again."
A wave of guilt washed over Lauren. She explained, "It's not that we don't trust you. It's just that when it comes to Bright Orange Media, people get a bit worked up.
"You wouldn't know this, but a few years back, when Clairivera Group was targeting Vanguard Media, Bright Orange Media took every chance to kick us while we were down. They even tried to outright acquire us."
Upon hearing that, Alyssia's eyelashes fluttered slightly, her thoughts drifting back to a few years ago.
She thought, 'Was it that night I stood outside Rosewood Manor all night, soaked to the bone in the pouring rain, begging Leonard to believe in me?'
As soon as Alyssia walked out of the building, she spotted Charlie's car parked right outside.
Whenever Alyssia worked late, Charlie would unfailingly show up to drive her home.
Whenever Alyssia tried to refuse him, Charlie would say, "It's too late, and I'm worried. Your parents entrusted you to my care, so I must take responsibility for your safety."
Charlie's words left Alyssia completely at a loss. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I don't remember anything before I turned ten," she murmured.
Alyssia knew Charlie wouldn't lie to her, but she truly couldn't remember a single thing.
Alyssia had witnessed as her mother leaped from InveSight Capital's rooftop, the trauma leaving her with selective mutism. Once she recovered, everything before her ten was a complete blank.
A new chapter in Alyssia's life truly began the moment her mother stood on InveSight Capital's rooftop.
The Rivera family had always told Alyssia that her parents sacrificed themselves to save the Rivera family and to save Leonard.
Every time Alyssia heard such words, it felt as if a heavy stone weighed on her heart. Tears pooled behind her eyes, trapped like a flood with nowhere to go.
Alyssia couldn't remember any of it. But this grief consumed her, driving her insane. It felt like her heart was being torn open, wound after wound.
Alyssia memorized the location of the incident, InveSight Capital. She painstakingly tracked down every report she could find about her parents.
[InveSight Capital Investigations: The Definitive Annual Corporate Winners & Losers List.]
[Industry Bellwether, InveSight Capital's Latest Quarterly Investigation Report Hot Off the Press.]
[Which Companies Has the Legendary InveSight Capital Shorted?]
[Has the Dragon Slayer Become the Dragon? InveSight Capital Implicated in Tausar Capital Investment Fraud Scandal.]
Leonard could never understand Alyssia's profound attachment to that butterfly brooch.
"Aly, where's my butterfly brooch?" Lillian asked.
Little Alyssia clutched at her chest, her face draining of color. "I'm sorry, Mommy," she whispered, "I lost it."
That was the only memory Alyssia held onto from the first ten blank years of her life.
[If this were my first day meeting Alyssia, I'd probably buy it. Why is she so confident?]
Sure enough, the private group chat exploded with activity.
[The best atonement she could make is to pack her bags and get the hell out. For god's sake, she should know when to quit.]
[No way, she's got me hooked now. I'm staying right here today to see how on earth she's going to turn this around.]
[More like faceplanting than turning this around.]
[If Alyssia can turn this around, I'll livestream myself eating my keyboard in the office.]
[Eating a keyboard? That's nothing. I could devour my mouse, my computer tower, and even the whole damn server rack.]
[Pussy. If Alyssia can pull off a comeback, I'll livestream myself washing my feet while doing a handstand.]
Suddenly, a competitive frenzy erupted in the group. The group chat erupted into a frenzy of wild bets and outrageous pledges.
[I'll even livestream myself doing the splits in a handstand while eating.]
[I'd even eat a live eel.]
[Eel? Pfft. I'll livestream myself eating surströmming while doing a handstand.]
Suddenly, someone roared in the group chat: [Anyone got the gusts to lick dirty toilets?]
The group chat went dead silent for a split second.
[Bring it on. I will.]
That was just how reporters were, fearless warriors who would stop at nothing for a scoop. And entertainment reporters were easily the most shameless of this bunch.
[Count me in, too.]
[Licking dirty toilets? That's nothing. I could fucking lick five toilets.]
[Enough talk, folks. I'm calling dibs on all Vanguard Media toilets this month.]
[Listen up. I'm claiming every damn public toilet within a ten-mile radius. Don't even think about challenging me.]
Just as the betting frenzy reached its peak, Diana stormed out of her office, roaring across the workspace, "Are you all blind? Can't you see the messages in the work chat?"
The entire office froze for a moment. Every single person in the office heard Diana's booming voice cut through the silence. "Archer's first crush just exposed him.
"He cheated, slept with fans, and even forced someone to get an abortion. What the hell? Is anyone listening to me? Are you all deaf or what?"
The feverish excitement that had coursed through everyone's veins slowly began to subside. An inexplicable wave of dread crept over everyone.
A sharp crack echoed as Alyssia slammed her keyboard down, making everyone jump.
Archer got exposed and instantly topped the trending topics. But it happened half a day earlier than Alyssia had anticipated.
Alyssia's face darkened as she stood up abruptly. Clutching her phone tightly, she strode out of the office area without a word. She left behind a group of people looking at each other in bewilderment.
"So, is this the scoop Alyssia's been sitting on all along?"
"If she had a bombshell scoop like that, why wait until now to drop it?"
"How the hell did she get that scoop?"
"But why doesn't she look happy?"
A good ten minutes passed before Alyssia returned to her desk. Her expression had improved considerably compared to earlier, but she was still far from happy.
Lauren's laughter boomed through the office. "Alyssia, was that your doing? Did you really wait until Bright Orange Media just finished binding their magazines? I heard all their pre-orders just got canceled. Holy shit. The person in charge must be fuming right now."
Alyssia's expression was unreadable as she remained silent.
At the last minute, this issue of Bright Orange Media added Archer to the cover and a special feature after landing an exclusive interview with him.
Archer's die-hard fans really came through. Pre-orders alone had already topped 100,000 copies.
Bright Orange Media pulled an all-nighter at the printing plant, racing to get the magazines bound by this afternoon.
The head of Bright Orange Media even bragged on social media, calling this Bright Orange Media efficiency.
At the same time, he couldn't resist taking a dig at Vanguard Media, hinting that some old-school media companies were just too slow and out of touch, and should step aside for new blood.
However, Archer's first crush suddenly popped up and dropped a bombshell, catapulting him straight to the top of the trending topics.
The head of Bright Orange Media, in a panic, urgently pulled their soon-to-be-released magazines.
The entire Vanguard Media team was pulling all-nighters, everyone scrambling, all because of the sudden flood of scandals about Archer.
Strangely enough, no matter how hard anyone had tried to dig up dirt on Archer, they always came up empty-handed. Even all his neighbors would sing his praises.
But now, it was as if the dam had broken. All the long-buried scandals came pouring out at once, each scrambling for exposure.
Even his kindergarten teacher jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that Archer was quite a playboy at age three, already stealing kisses from girls in his pre-K class.
By 4 a.m., when everyone finally called it a night, a fourth girl had come forward, saying she'd scrimped and saved every penny, spending all her living expenses just to buy clothes for Archer back when he was still a nobody.
Shutting down her computer, Alyssia stepped out of the office area.
Suddenly, someone abruptly broke the tense silence. "Alright, which one just said he would livestream lick dirty toilets?"
After a beat, one of the guys couldn't hold it in and puked right there.
As Lauren walked downstairs with Alyssia, she commented directly, this time with a note of admiration, "Alyssia, you really do have that lone wolf mentality. But why didn't you give me a heads-up about such a big scoop?"
Alyssia did indeed have all the dirt on Archer. And it was even more detailed than the bombshell Archer's first crush had dropped.
After the incident broke out today, Alyssia shared all the dirt she had. Vanguard Media immediately jumped on the story, scored an exclusive scoop, and turned the tables, embarrassing Bright Orange Media badly.
Alyssia lowered her eyes. "It feels like nobody trusts me, and they all blame me. I'm just afraid I'll mess things up again."
A wave of guilt washed over Lauren. She explained, "It's not that we don't trust you. It's just that when it comes to Bright Orange Media, people get a bit worked up.
"You wouldn't know this, but a few years back, when Clairivera Group was targeting Vanguard Media, Bright Orange Media took every chance to kick us while we were down. They even tried to outright acquire us."
Upon hearing that, Alyssia's eyelashes fluttered slightly, her thoughts drifting back to a few years ago.
She thought, 'Was it that night I stood outside Rosewood Manor all night, soaked to the bone in the pouring rain, begging Leonard to believe in me?'
As soon as Alyssia walked out of the building, she spotted Charlie's car parked right outside.
Whenever Alyssia worked late, Charlie would unfailingly show up to drive her home.
Whenever Alyssia tried to refuse him, Charlie would say, "It's too late, and I'm worried. Your parents entrusted you to my care, so I must take responsibility for your safety."
Charlie's words left Alyssia completely at a loss. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I don't remember anything before I turned ten," she murmured.
Alyssia knew Charlie wouldn't lie to her, but she truly couldn't remember a single thing.
Alyssia had witnessed as her mother leaped from InveSight Capital's rooftop, the trauma leaving her with selective mutism. Once she recovered, everything before her ten was a complete blank.
A new chapter in Alyssia's life truly began the moment her mother stood on InveSight Capital's rooftop.
The Rivera family had always told Alyssia that her parents sacrificed themselves to save the Rivera family and to save Leonard.
Every time Alyssia heard such words, it felt as if a heavy stone weighed on her heart. Tears pooled behind her eyes, trapped like a flood with nowhere to go.
Alyssia couldn't remember any of it. But this grief consumed her, driving her insane. It felt like her heart was being torn open, wound after wound.
Alyssia memorized the location of the incident, InveSight Capital. She painstakingly tracked down every report she could find about her parents.
[InveSight Capital Investigations: The Definitive Annual Corporate Winners & Losers List.]
[Industry Bellwether, InveSight Capital's Latest Quarterly Investigation Report Hot Off the Press.]
[Which Companies Has the Legendary InveSight Capital Shorted?]
[Has the Dragon Slayer Become the Dragon? InveSight Capital Implicated in Tausar Capital Investment Fraud Scandal.]
Leonard could never understand Alyssia's profound attachment to that butterfly brooch.
"Aly, where's my butterfly brooch?" Lillian asked.
Little Alyssia clutched at her chest, her face draining of color. "I'm sorry, Mommy," she whispered, "I lost it."
That was the only memory Alyssia held onto from the first ten blank years of her life.
End of The Ex Who Became His Obsession Chapter 38. Continue reading Chapter 39 or return to The Ex Who Became His Obsession book page.