The Ex Who Became His Obsession - Chapter 40: Chapter 40
You are reading The Ex Who Became His Obsession, Chapter 40: Chapter 40. Read more chapters of The Ex Who Became His Obsession.
Leonard clenched his fists. "Shut the hell up."
'Charlie is such a two-faced bastard. Just seeing his fake smile makes my fists itch,' Leonard wondered. 'He always puts on that damn doing this for Alyssia's own good, but when it really counts, he just leaves her high and dry every single time.'
Charlie didn't take Leonard's bait. He simply turned sideways, positioning himself as a barrier between Alyssia and Leonard.
Seizing the moment, Alyssia swiped her access card and slipped inside the complex.
Their perfectly synchronized teamwork only made Leonard's face darken with barely contained rage.
But Alyssia had already slipped away into the shadows of the complex. The faster she moved, the less likely any confrontation would be.
'Charlie was right,' Alyssia thought. 'They should just stay out of my life.'
Leaving Rosewood Manor, Alyssia thought the air already smelled sweeter, the sky bluer. In the past, whenever Alyssia saw Milena's act, it would make her grit her teeth in anger. But now, in her eyes, Milena had become nothing more than a ridiculous clown.
Charlie worried that Alyssia might look back, but his worries were unnecessary.
Alyssia woke up the next day well past noon.
She leisurely freshened up, then sat on the sofa, sipping milk and scrolling through her phone.
A whole day had passed, yet, surprisingly, Archer's trending topic was still clinging to the top three. It just wouldn't budge.
It was no surprise. Even if Archer tried to buy his way out of this mess now, it wouldn't work.
Many rivals he'd suppressed and competitors whose slice of the pie he'd snatched must be now having a field day, gleefully kicking him while he was down, eager to erase him from existence.
Archer's fans had completely lost their minds. Apart from a tiny fraction of fans who had the sense to jump ship, most were caught up in an overreactive, almost irrational self-defense frenzy.
Archer's fans were going on a rampage online, calling his first crush who dropped the receipts a slut, labeling the whistleblower a hater, and cursing out anyone trying to capitalize on the scandal, wishing them a career-ending flop.
They even bombarded Bright Orange Media's magazines with such vicious attacks that the comment sections had to be shut down. They called them spineless opportunists and kicked them while they were down, cursing them to never sell another issue again.
They even bombarded Bright Orange Media's official website and flooded their complaint hotlines with wild accusations—tax evasion, questionable political stances, and rumors about the CEO's messy private life.
At this point, Alyssia strongly suspected that Vanguard Media had planted people disguised as fans to deliberately harass Bright Orange Media.
Bright Orange Media was forced to scramble its PR team into action, issuing a statement to clarify that they were also victims in this mess.
All in all, Archer's scandals were shocking enough, but his fans, determined not to be outdone, pulled such ridiculous antics that even bystanders were left utterly dumbfounded.
It was only normal. After all, no one wanted to admit they were dumb enough to fall for a scumbag.
Even if their hearts were shattered into dust, they'd still stubbornly declare to always stand by Archer.
But after the storm passed, they would quietly drift away, only to shamelessly jump ship and openly stan someone new.
Alyssia thought, 'What a bunch of fickle fans.'
Alyssia didn't even need to check Archer's career updates. Her colleagues were already flooding the company group chat with real-time updates.
[Confirmed, Archer just got axed as the luxury brand's ambassador, completely snubbed from their fall launch guest list.]
'Damn, that bad?' Alyssia thought. She sat up straight.
Normally, it was quite rare for celebrities to immediately lose their high-end luxury brand ambassador titles over a scandal like this.
After all, luxury brands tended to stick with their ambassadors for the long haul. There was always a web of capital interests and behind-the-scenes maneuvering involved.
[The investors have cut him loose. I've got solid intel. Archer signed a performance-based contract with Summer Haze Media. Ingrey Group was considering whether to bail him out. Now, looks like his rivals are gunning for him. They are prepared to give up on him.]
[Several brands that were about to announce Archer as their ambassador sensed the shifting winds and immediately pulled out.]
[Insider info says tonight's variety show episode featuring Archer was supposed to air, but now they're bumping up the next episode without him instead. No one knows if they'll shelve his episode indefinitely, reshoot it, or just Photoshop him out.]
'No wonder, once the big players step in, Archer's key sponsorships are toast,' Alyssia wondered. She scrolled up through the group chat.
[The skincare brand hasn't officially dropped Archer yet, but they've already pulled his in-store ads. I even went undercover as a fan to press their customer service. They still insist he's their ambassador.]
[He is still the pasta brand ambassador, at least for now, but they've quietly hidden a few of their posts featuring him. I even posed as a fan and confronted them. They just blamed it on a platform glitch, saying it wasn't their doing.]
'No wonder,' Alyssia thought. 'They're still milking the fans for all they're worth. They paid a fortune for his endorsement. How could they just drop him before getting their money's worth?'
Right after that, Alyssia saw a mass boycott of every product endorsed by Archer trending on Instagram.
Many netizens began calling out the endorsing brands, accusing them of shielding disgraced celebrities and vowing to boycott their products from now on.
Archer's downward spiral intensified. From golden boy to disgraced scumbag, it was in just twenty-four hours.
Her phone rang. Alyssia glanced at the caller ID, hesitated briefly, then answered the call.
"Hey, Miss, watch out. I heard Archer's men are coming after you." The caller was none other than Archer's first crush, Vivian.
Alyssia was the first to reach Vivian and the first to pry the truth out of her. But in the end, before Alyssia could even act, Vivian surprisingly spilled the tea herself.
"How did you hear about that?" Alyssia asked, intrigued.
"His manager reached out and threatened me, saying anyone who messes with him won't get away with it, including you," Vivian anxiously explained. "I swear, I didn't betray you, but for some reason, they all think you're behind this."
"Then who on earth did it?" Alyssia pressed. "Still not going to tell me? Besides me, did anyone else contact you and push you to leak the information yourself?"
"I'm sorry, Miss. I promised that I wouldn't say anything. I'm just calling to warn you. Archer is extremely vindictive. It took him forever to make it big, and now that he's taken this fall, there's no way he'll just let it go," Vivian murmured.
Without another word, Vivian hastily hung up.
Alyssia got up, ready to glam up for her night out.
Tonight was the department outing. Of course, it was also a chance to quietly celebrate Bright Orange Media's public humiliation.
After slipping into a beautiful dress and applying the season's hottest rose-mauve lipstick, Alyssia was just opening the door when she instinctively moved to slam the door shut. But it was already too late.
With a bang, Leonard, who'd been standing outside all along, braced the door.
He stared at Alyssia, dark circles under his eyes. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.
Dressed in a flowing orange polka-dot skirt, her hair loosely braided and draped over one shoulder with a matching ribbon, Alyssia looked just like a woodland sprite freshly emerged from a flower bud.
Alyssia had no choice but to release the door. When it came to brute strength, she was no match for Leonard.
She instinctively stepped back. Because Leonard had already brazenly stepped inside, pushing his luck even further.
He swept over her apartment with intrusive scrutiny. It was a cozy little one-bedroom, definitely an upgrade from her last dingy apartment.
The modest furnishings created a cozy atmosphere, with abstract landscape paintings adorning the walls and adorable figurines displayed on the shelves.
But the sofa was strewn with several dresses in various colors, showing that Alyssia had clearly put a lot of effort into getting ready to go out.
What really grated on Leonard was the glaring absence of a single white dress. His gaze dropped lower, only to find that even Alyssia's shoes were denim-colored.
Both the place and Alyssia herself were decked out in such a gaudy explosion of colors.
"Mr. Rivera, what do you want?" Alyssia asked, her eyes wary.
The moment Leonard stormed in, it was as if Satan had burst into Eden, a demon invading the world. Instantly, every trace of warmth and comfort in the room evaporated.
'Charlie is such a two-faced bastard. Just seeing his fake smile makes my fists itch,' Leonard wondered. 'He always puts on that damn doing this for Alyssia's own good, but when it really counts, he just leaves her high and dry every single time.'
Charlie didn't take Leonard's bait. He simply turned sideways, positioning himself as a barrier between Alyssia and Leonard.
Seizing the moment, Alyssia swiped her access card and slipped inside the complex.
Their perfectly synchronized teamwork only made Leonard's face darken with barely contained rage.
But Alyssia had already slipped away into the shadows of the complex. The faster she moved, the less likely any confrontation would be.
'Charlie was right,' Alyssia thought. 'They should just stay out of my life.'
Leaving Rosewood Manor, Alyssia thought the air already smelled sweeter, the sky bluer. In the past, whenever Alyssia saw Milena's act, it would make her grit her teeth in anger. But now, in her eyes, Milena had become nothing more than a ridiculous clown.
Charlie worried that Alyssia might look back, but his worries were unnecessary.
Alyssia woke up the next day well past noon.
She leisurely freshened up, then sat on the sofa, sipping milk and scrolling through her phone.
A whole day had passed, yet, surprisingly, Archer's trending topic was still clinging to the top three. It just wouldn't budge.
It was no surprise. Even if Archer tried to buy his way out of this mess now, it wouldn't work.
Many rivals he'd suppressed and competitors whose slice of the pie he'd snatched must be now having a field day, gleefully kicking him while he was down, eager to erase him from existence.
Archer's fans had completely lost their minds. Apart from a tiny fraction of fans who had the sense to jump ship, most were caught up in an overreactive, almost irrational self-defense frenzy.
Archer's fans were going on a rampage online, calling his first crush who dropped the receipts a slut, labeling the whistleblower a hater, and cursing out anyone trying to capitalize on the scandal, wishing them a career-ending flop.
They even bombarded Bright Orange Media's magazines with such vicious attacks that the comment sections had to be shut down. They called them spineless opportunists and kicked them while they were down, cursing them to never sell another issue again.
They even bombarded Bright Orange Media's official website and flooded their complaint hotlines with wild accusations—tax evasion, questionable political stances, and rumors about the CEO's messy private life.
At this point, Alyssia strongly suspected that Vanguard Media had planted people disguised as fans to deliberately harass Bright Orange Media.
Bright Orange Media was forced to scramble its PR team into action, issuing a statement to clarify that they were also victims in this mess.
All in all, Archer's scandals were shocking enough, but his fans, determined not to be outdone, pulled such ridiculous antics that even bystanders were left utterly dumbfounded.
It was only normal. After all, no one wanted to admit they were dumb enough to fall for a scumbag.
Even if their hearts were shattered into dust, they'd still stubbornly declare to always stand by Archer.
But after the storm passed, they would quietly drift away, only to shamelessly jump ship and openly stan someone new.
Alyssia thought, 'What a bunch of fickle fans.'
Alyssia didn't even need to check Archer's career updates. Her colleagues were already flooding the company group chat with real-time updates.
[Confirmed, Archer just got axed as the luxury brand's ambassador, completely snubbed from their fall launch guest list.]
'Damn, that bad?' Alyssia thought. She sat up straight.
Normally, it was quite rare for celebrities to immediately lose their high-end luxury brand ambassador titles over a scandal like this.
After all, luxury brands tended to stick with their ambassadors for the long haul. There was always a web of capital interests and behind-the-scenes maneuvering involved.
[The investors have cut him loose. I've got solid intel. Archer signed a performance-based contract with Summer Haze Media. Ingrey Group was considering whether to bail him out. Now, looks like his rivals are gunning for him. They are prepared to give up on him.]
[Several brands that were about to announce Archer as their ambassador sensed the shifting winds and immediately pulled out.]
[Insider info says tonight's variety show episode featuring Archer was supposed to air, but now they're bumping up the next episode without him instead. No one knows if they'll shelve his episode indefinitely, reshoot it, or just Photoshop him out.]
'No wonder, once the big players step in, Archer's key sponsorships are toast,' Alyssia wondered. She scrolled up through the group chat.
[The skincare brand hasn't officially dropped Archer yet, but they've already pulled his in-store ads. I even went undercover as a fan to press their customer service. They still insist he's their ambassador.]
[He is still the pasta brand ambassador, at least for now, but they've quietly hidden a few of their posts featuring him. I even posed as a fan and confronted them. They just blamed it on a platform glitch, saying it wasn't their doing.]
'No wonder,' Alyssia thought. 'They're still milking the fans for all they're worth. They paid a fortune for his endorsement. How could they just drop him before getting their money's worth?'
Right after that, Alyssia saw a mass boycott of every product endorsed by Archer trending on Instagram.
Many netizens began calling out the endorsing brands, accusing them of shielding disgraced celebrities and vowing to boycott their products from now on.
Archer's downward spiral intensified. From golden boy to disgraced scumbag, it was in just twenty-four hours.
Her phone rang. Alyssia glanced at the caller ID, hesitated briefly, then answered the call.
"Hey, Miss, watch out. I heard Archer's men are coming after you." The caller was none other than Archer's first crush, Vivian.
Alyssia was the first to reach Vivian and the first to pry the truth out of her. But in the end, before Alyssia could even act, Vivian surprisingly spilled the tea herself.
"How did you hear about that?" Alyssia asked, intrigued.
"His manager reached out and threatened me, saying anyone who messes with him won't get away with it, including you," Vivian anxiously explained. "I swear, I didn't betray you, but for some reason, they all think you're behind this."
"Then who on earth did it?" Alyssia pressed. "Still not going to tell me? Besides me, did anyone else contact you and push you to leak the information yourself?"
"I'm sorry, Miss. I promised that I wouldn't say anything. I'm just calling to warn you. Archer is extremely vindictive. It took him forever to make it big, and now that he's taken this fall, there's no way he'll just let it go," Vivian murmured.
Without another word, Vivian hastily hung up.
Alyssia got up, ready to glam up for her night out.
Tonight was the department outing. Of course, it was also a chance to quietly celebrate Bright Orange Media's public humiliation.
After slipping into a beautiful dress and applying the season's hottest rose-mauve lipstick, Alyssia was just opening the door when she instinctively moved to slam the door shut. But it was already too late.
With a bang, Leonard, who'd been standing outside all along, braced the door.
He stared at Alyssia, dark circles under his eyes. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.
Dressed in a flowing orange polka-dot skirt, her hair loosely braided and draped over one shoulder with a matching ribbon, Alyssia looked just like a woodland sprite freshly emerged from a flower bud.
Alyssia had no choice but to release the door. When it came to brute strength, she was no match for Leonard.
She instinctively stepped back. Because Leonard had already brazenly stepped inside, pushing his luck even further.
He swept over her apartment with intrusive scrutiny. It was a cozy little one-bedroom, definitely an upgrade from her last dingy apartment.
The modest furnishings created a cozy atmosphere, with abstract landscape paintings adorning the walls and adorable figurines displayed on the shelves.
But the sofa was strewn with several dresses in various colors, showing that Alyssia had clearly put a lot of effort into getting ready to go out.
What really grated on Leonard was the glaring absence of a single white dress. His gaze dropped lower, only to find that even Alyssia's shoes were denim-colored.
Both the place and Alyssia herself were decked out in such a gaudy explosion of colors.
"Mr. Rivera, what do you want?" Alyssia asked, her eyes wary.
The moment Leonard stormed in, it was as if Satan had burst into Eden, a demon invading the world. Instantly, every trace of warmth and comfort in the room evaporated.
End of The Ex Who Became His Obsession Chapter 40. Continue reading Chapter 41 or return to The Ex Who Became His Obsession book page.