“She went to Bridgedale.”
“Oh… Is she okay?”
Mike lifted an eyebrow. “It’s bad enough that the others won’t believe her, but you are her Vice -President, do you not know what kind of a person she is?”
“Of course I believe in President Tate!” Shaun declared, “I’m just worried about her seeing all those comments online… The way those people talk is just too nasty!”
“I’m deleting them.” Mike took a sip of his coffee and said, “if there’s nothing else, please get out for now!”
“Oh… I will arrange a meeting with the other managers to remind them that we should all believe in President
Tate…”
“There’s no need. Even if Averie wants to date a different man every single day, that’s her private life. So long as she pays her employees on time, she is a good boss.”
“You are right, Mike!” Shaun suddenly felt a rush of confidence. “It’s not like President Tate is some actress, why should we be so judgemental on her private life? Those people online must have too much time on their hands!”
Once Shaun went out, Mike picked up the phone and called Averie.
Apart from him, no one else would believe that Averie was not the woman in the video. The reason why he chose to believe in her was because not only was she a good friend to him, but also a source of mental support.
Before knowing Averie, Mike’s world had been empty and colorless; she was a ray of light that shone into the darkness of his world and gave him the motivation to live a better life.
The call was almost answered instantly right after he dialed the number.
“Mike, I just got home.”
Averie’s tone was calm, so it was likely that she had yet to find out about what happened.
“Oh.” After a moment of hesitation, Mike faked a casual tone and said, “are you getting messages from a lot of people?”.
“I haven’t checked my messages yet! Layla said she’s hungry, so we are about to head out for some food.” Averie was sensitive enough to notice something was wrong. “What happened?”
“Take Layla to eat first! We can talk after you are done.” Mike didn’t want to ruin her appetite.
Curious, Averie asked, “tell me right now. Did something happen to the company or…?” “It’s you,” Mike interrupted her and said, “something happened to you.”
Averie thought that she was dreaming, as she struggled to understand what Mike has just said,
She was sitting at home so what could possibly happen to her?
Mike did not get any response from her and asked, “Averie, when you went to Caesar Hotel back then, did you meet with a man for ‘that’ kind of thing?”
“What kind of thing?”
“It’s that… kind of thing…” Mike couldn’t bring himself to be too direct, but she soon realized what he was referring to from the way he was stuttering.
“What makes you say that?” She walked towards her room with the phone in her hand. “Mike, what exactly happened?”
“I’ll send you a video. Check and see if that’s you in it.” Worried that she might get upset after watching it, he hastily added, “I know that you are not the woman in the video, but the resemblance is just too uncanny…”
At this point, Averie could roughly guess what had happened. She hung up and opened the video Mike sent her after taking a deep breath.
The voice of the woman in the video was the first thing she heard and the familiar sound made her hair stand,
‘How can this be? What does this woman sound exactly like me?’ She thought.
Suddenly, she was reminded of what Zoe said before she committed suicide. She said that after her eyes were gouged out, she heard Averie’s voice. Perhaps it was not a hallucination, but the truth.
Everyone had thought that Zoe went mad, but she didn’t; the one that was insane was the person who had been plotting in the dark to defeat Averie.
She studied the woman in the video and soon realized that not only did they have similar voices, but faces as well.
She instantly thought of Nora and the possibility of it being her, but when Averie looked down and saw the pregnant belly of the woman in the video, she saw stars.
‘How can this be? Can it be that it’s really me in that video?’ She thought.
However, she had not noticed any sign of being raped that night in Caesar Hotel; apart from feeling dizzy, she did not suffer from any other discomfort.
The woman in the video had her eyes open and was moaning loudly, which proved that the woman was awake at the time.
It couldn’t be Averie, as she was put to sleep and was incapable of doing anything at all.
But if that’s the case, what other explanation could there be for the video of a woman that looked and sounded like her, while being pregnant at the same time as her?
Her phone rang and pulled her back from her thoughts.
She answered the call and heard Mike’s voice, “Averie, have you watched the video? Doesn’t she look like you?”
“That’s not me,” her voice was cold and trembling, “someone is imitating me!”
“I thought so!” Mike said furiously, “that guy in the video is almost as fat as a pig. You couldn’t possibly take an interest in a guy like that!”
“Mike, can you find the person who posted the video?”
“I tried and found that the video first appeared on an oversea pornography website, but the user who uploaded it had already cancelled their account.”
“Is it speculating in Aryadelle already?” Averie lowered her gaze and took a deep breath in despair.
Even Averie herself had thought that she was the woman in the video, so it’s only natural that the others believe the same thing. She didn’t care if she was misunderstood by the others, but what about Elyette?
She couldn’t bring herself to imagine Elyette’s reaction after watching the video. Averie hoped that he would trust her unconditionally, but she also knew that Elyette was a man of reason, Until she could provide actual proof that said she was not the woman in the video, she didn’t dare to anticipate his trust.
“Yeah,” Mike sighed and said, “this sort of scandal travels fast. I’ve already gotten rid of the video and all related discussions, but everyone knows.”
All strength was drained from Averie’s legs and she almost fell to the ground.
“Averie, if that’s not you, then we need to find that woman in the video, otherwise she will keep imposing as you do something else!” Mike gritted out, “don’t read the local news. Those people are too nasty and I don’t want you to get angry.”
“How do we find her?” Averie clenched onto her phone tightly as her head started to pound.” Who is that woman?!”
“I would say that I suspect Nora most,” Mike analyzed, “she went through plastic surgery to look like you to the extent that you two look identical. It’s not difficult to figure out what she is trying to do, so I won’t be surprised if she ends up doing something extreme.”
Averie, too, felt the same, but they had no proof unless Nora tried to imitate her in public.
“Averie, just stay in Bridgedale first. I will check Nora’s schedule for the past week,” Mike said, “before I find something, don’t come back.”
“Why can’t I come back? I’m not the woman in the video. I’m not ashamed and I don’t need to hide!” Averie had finally lost control of her emotions.
Once a woman was pregnant, the hormones within her body would become unstable, making it more difficult for her to control her temper compared to before.
Averie wouldn’t have reacted so dramatically had she not been pregnant.
“That’s not what I mean, Averie. I am just worried that you will be affected by all the talk in Aryadelle if you come back now,” Mike explained, “you need a good rest right now. The baby will be coming in two months’ time. We need to prioritize the baby over everything.”
“I won’t be affected by what they say. I know that it’s a trap, so why should I have to get mad over it?” Averie slowly began to calm down. “Riling myself up will only make the culprit happy.
“I’m glad that you understand.” Mike relaxed and asked, “by the way, has Elyette contacted you?”
“I don’t think so.” Averie didn’t recall seeing any message from Elyette when she checked for Mike’s message.
“Oh… I wonder what he thinks about all these. Take Layla out for food! I will call Chad and ask about it.”
After hanging up, Averie stepped out of her room with a face as pale as a ghost. When she saw Layla, she readjusted herself and her lips curled into a smile. “Darling, let Mommy take you to eat.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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