As time went on, more people were drawn in by the sensational drama. “What's going on here? Isabel says she’s going to handle herself. Does this mean that it’s true that Isabella stole her roles?” “Wow, don’t mess with her! Isn’t she worried about the netizens riling against her?” “Look at her performance in the past few years since her grand debut. Every show she starred is in at the top of the year-end list, and the variety shows she guest stars in always see record numbers. She’s the type who speaks her mind without fear. Do you remember that old director who was ousted as a sexual predator harassing female students? Isabel was the one who called him out publicly when she went on that variety show. Do you think someone as tenacious as she is is going to be afraid of some measly online gossip?” “Who is the one telling the truth? Isabel or Isabella?” “I don’t know. I guess we will know in time.” Fans of Isabella’s stormed Isabel’s page after that but were eventually
Isabel got out of the car and walked back into her apartment. On her way back, Amanda had called her twice followed by several additional messages. She frantically asked what Isabel was going to do and if she had lost her mind. Several of her friends in the circle had been texting her as well to offer advice and support. It would seem like there were only two options at this point. She had to either concede to Decker or find someone more resourceful than Decker to outwrestle them. Isabel was fully aware of this. She lay on the couch with a tight frown zipped across her face. She stared at her phone and considered whether she should contact Liam or her father for help. She knew that all she needed to do was to ask and they would help her get the roles back for her. The only problem was that she had vowed that she wanted to make a career for herself in the entertainment industry. She did not want to rely on her family connections. It would be very hypocritical of her
Amanda could not make sense of the strange question. “What? Weren’t you the one who told the Carter Corporation president to instruct them to make another official announcement?” Isabel chuckled, amused by the intriguing thought. Roland sure was very thoughtful for someone who always looked so disengaged with things around him. Once the team of the “Legend of the Goddess” and “The Wonder” posted the official announcement, there was no need for her to say anything at all to defend her name. Just like that, the whole internet would know that she had taken back the roles that were rightfully hers. She promptly texted Roland again. She sent him a smiling emoji and thanked him sincerely. “Thanks for pulling through. I promise you I will personally give you a big bonus at the end of the year.” Roland replied curtly, “You're welcome, but no need for the bonus.” Isabel asked brazenly, “Huh? Why?” Who in their right mind would refuse a big bonus? Roland explained tact
Unbeknownst to Isabel, the online debate revolving around her and Isabella continued in full swing after she tucked away her phone. Most of the people paying attention to the ongoing development were reasonable folks, but they could not help but start slandering Isabella. “Look at Isabella. She was being all high and mighty showing off about how she managed to be cast in ‘Legend of the Goddess’ and ‘The Wonder’. Just like that, the official pages came in and rained on her parade by announcing that Isabel was their choice the entire time. I wonder how she feels right now.” “Heh. If you ask me, I’d say it’s pretty embarrassing.” Not content with merely gossiping among themselves about what was happening, some folks decided to fan the flames. They quickly swarmed Isabella’s page, specifically picking her post from the day when she announced her being cast in the two shows. They bombarded her with comments, asking her how it felt to be disgraced. Inside a hotel, Isabella looked
Rumor had it that the Carters were a very close-knit family and that their children were all successful and kept a low profile. There had never been any shape or form of scandal revolving around the family, whether internally or externally. With this information, Decker ruled out the possibility that Isabel was backed by a direct family member. Instead, it must either be a shareholder or a high-ranking member of Carter Corporation. The identity of this person was currently unknown. One way or another, this person was just someone working at Carter Corporation. A mere employee at Carter Corporation could not possibly be a match for him, Decker Rockwell! … Meanwhile, Isabel was busy chatting with several of her friends in the entertainment industry. In addition to congratulating her on reclaiming the roles that were rightfully hers, they were curious about how she managed to pull it off. Isabel was careful to not let outsiders find out about her connection to Carter Corp
Isabel promptly opened the door. Roland was dressed in a suit, standing tall and straight as an arrow. Isabel asked suspiciously, "Why are you here?" “My mother saw the news about you and got worried. She said she’s worried about you not having the appetite to eat, so she made me bring some homemade food for you." He held up a bag filled with food in his hand. Isabel's eyes sparked at the mention of food. She remarked, "Why didn't you just call me and ask me to come over? You didn’t have to trouble yourself with delivering it yourself.” Roland eyed her. “Do you want it or not?” “Of course, I do. Your mother made it for me, and you took the trouble of delivering it to me, so of course, I’ll eat it.” With a smile, she stepped aside to let him into the house. Roland carried the bag to the dining table and set it on top. Then, he carefully opened it and laid out the dishes one after another. Isabel was going to tell him that she could do it himself, but he had a
Isabel seemed embarrassed for having troubled him. “Alright, thanks for the help.” He remarked casually, “No big deal. See you.” There was no reason to keep him around, especially at such a late hour. With that, she bade him farewell, “See you.” She walked him to the door and only closed the door after making sure he had entered the elevator. She stretched lazily like a cat before heading into her room. She was going to take a shower, then settle in for the night. … Meanwhile, Roland returned to his place shortly after. As soon as he stepped into the house, his mother, Martha, came over and asked him worriedly, “Roland, how is Isabel doing? Is she doing fine?” She saw the online debacle of everything that had gone down with Isabel during the day. Although it seemed like things had died down, she was still concerned about Isabel’s mental state. Roland recalled how Isabel looked with her cheeks stuffed with food and remarked, “She’s in a good mood." "Really?
Isabella let them go on for a while before revealing, “I wasn’t the one who bought it. A friend of mine gifted it to me.” “How very generous! Who is this friend?” “That’s more than generous. That’s a whole statement by itself!” “Isabella, are you sure this friend of yours is just a friend?” They all cast playful looks at her while speculating about the identity of this friend. Isabella smiled, satisfied with the attention she was drawing from them. She said nonchalantly, “We’re just regular friends right now. It’s not what you girls are thinking.” Her friends exchanged looks with one another, concealing a deep glow of envy and faint hatred underneath their eyes. What kind of common friend would gift such an expensive gift? They were sure that Isabella had managed to land a wealthy benefactor, and it did seem like she was very fond of this secret benefactor of hers. "Isabella, I’m so jealous.” “Me too, I hope I can find someone as benevolent as this friend