Filed To Story: The Scarlet Vengeance: Justice of a Framed Beauty Novel (Grace & Jason)
If the person who exposed this was in front of Camille Strickland right now, she would have smashed their head.
While swearing, Camille Strickland pulled out her phone to check the latest online gossip posts about her best friend.
However, a cry of surprise soon escaped her lips.
“What happened?” Valda Theller asked.
“The… The viral post about you…” stammered Camille Strickland.
“What about the viral post about me?” Valda Theller asked. If it either rose or dropped a few spots in the ranking, it did not matter to her.
“The viral post about you is gone,” said Camille Strickland.
Valda Theller was surprised. She hurriedly got closer and saw that the viral post about her was indeed gone as her best friend said.
“What happened?” Valda Theller took out her phone and searched again. All negative gossip news about her was gone.
Only some positive ones were left. There was nothing negative about her in the comments too. It was obvious that someone was controlling the news.
Valda Theller was a little overwhelmed. “What on earth is going on?”
Camille Strickland also looked confused. “Someone must’ve suppressed the viral post,” she said after thinking about it.
“Who is it? Boss?” The boss Valda Theller mentioned was the boss of the magazine. “No, how could I not know if that was the case? I don’t think it’s the film producer either. They would’ve let me know if it was them.” Camille Strickland analyzed.
Brian’s face flashed across Valda Theller’s head. ‘Could… Brian have helped me?’
“Anyway, the viral post is gone. This matter will die down sooner. You can get back to your old life in a few days.” Camille Strickland let out a sigh of relief and said, “I gotta go. I’ll bring you your dinner later.”
Valda Theller said, “No thanks. The viral post is gone now. Besides, I’m not a celebrity who everyone recognizes. I’ll just go out and buy myself dinner or order takeout. You don’t have to travel so far to bring me food.”
It was an hour and a half drive to her best friend’s house and back.
“Alright then. Be careful. Call me if anything happens. Go to the film set in a few days. I’ll inform the director,” said Camille Strickland.
“Okay,” replied Valda Theller.
After her best friend left, Valda Theller was left alone in the small apartment of about 430 square feet.
Loneliness instantly enveloped her.
She took out her phone and found the name ‘Brian’ in her contact list. After some hesitation, she made the call.
“It’s Brian.” Brian’s cold voice came from the phone. Valda Theller’s grip on the phone tightened. “It’s Valda Theller… Today… I’m not sure if you’re aware that something from my past went viral today.”
“Yeah, I know.” No emotion could be heard from his indifferent tone.
“I’m sorry this happened. If you think it’s inappropriate for me to continue to pretend to be your girlfriend, we can stop right now, or you can tell your friend I lied to you. I’ll do anything you want me to do,” she quickly said.
She just wanted to make it up to him and not be in his way.
“Then all you have to do is pretend to be my girlfriend and make people think you love me very much. You don’t need to do anything else. Don’t overthink about the rest. Everything will go back to normal,” said Brian.
She froze. Though his tone was still indifferent and calm, it gave her a warmth that made her feel secure.
“Did you suppress the viral post?” Valda Theller could not help asking. “Yeah.” His tone was still as indifferent as usual. It was as if he was only answering a question about whether he had eaten. However, what he did meant so much to her.
“Thank you,” she said while feeling the urge to cry.
Brian said, “You’re my girlfriend. They’re slandering me by slandering you. Where are you? Home?”
“No, Camille found a serviced apartment and asked me to stay here for a few days. I’ll move back home once this dies down.”
“What’s the address?” he asked.
She then sent Brian the address.
“I’ll come by and take you to dinner later,” he said.
“Why don’t… we eat here? There’s a kitchen where I can cook. There’s a mini supermarket nearby, so I can get some groceries. The place I’m currently staying is a little remote. There aren’t many restaurants around.” In the end, she hesitated and said, “If… you don’t mind my cooking…”
“Okay, I’ll come by later,” said Brian. Valda Theller breathed a sigh of relief. After the call, she put on a mask and cap. Grabbing her phone and wallet, she went to the supermarket to get some groceries.
She had previously told Camille that she was not a celebrity and was unlikely to be recognized in such a remote place even if a post about her had gone viral.
However, she could not help worrying when Brian asked her to dine with him. She was worried that someone would recognize her when she dined with him. He would suffer if it caused a ruckus.
Valda Theller bought some vegetables, seasonings, and rice in the supermarket. She would be spending the next few days in the apartment anyway. She could have enough to last her a few days if she bought more.
After getting back to the apartment, she washed the rice and cooked it with a rice cooker. Then, she washed and cut the vegetables and meat she bought and began to cook.
Valda Theller was still cooking when Brian arrived.
“Give me a second. I have one more soup to prepare. Dinner will be ready once it’s done,” said Valda Theller as she asked Brian to sit down first.
One could see the entire 400-square-feet apartment unit in one glance. Brian sat at the dining table and watched Valda Theller cook in the kitchen.
She skillfully put the ingredients and seasoning into the pot. One could tell that she usually cooked.
There were already four dishes on the table right now. They were only regular home-cooked dishes, but they looked good.
Once the soup was ready, Valda Theller served the soup at the dining table. “How much rice do you want? I’ll go get it for you,”
said Valda Theller.
“Just one regular bowl,” said Brian.
He did not need to come. They did not plan to go out on a date today. However, when they talked on the phone, he was worried she would overthink if she was left alone. Therefore, he decided to take her to dinner. He even agreed to come here for dinner in the end.
‘Even if she does overthink, it shouldn’t concern me.
‘Or is it because we’re dating? She’s my girlfriend right now. Even if I don’t love her, I should do what a normal boyfriend would do at the very least, right?’
Valda Theller soon served the hot rice to Brian.
“Go ahead. I wonder if these dishes are to your taste,” Valda Theller said sheepishly.
Brian picked a dish and took two bites. It did not taste very good to him. After all, he frequented fancy restaurants, and the Hart family had superb chefs. Valda Theller’s cooking was no match for them, of course.
However, looking at the sparkle in her round eyes, he said, “Pretty good.”
She instantly smiled, and the sparkle in her eyes became brighter. It was as if his simple remark had given her great satisfaction.
‘How… easily satisfied!’
Brian sighed to himself. ‘Would my life be easier if I were as easily satisfied as she is?’
Valda Theller also du into the food she prepared. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and asked, “By the way, did I do anything I shouldn’t have done after falling asleep when you sent me home that day?”
“You should be asking if I did something that I shouldn’t have to you,” he said.
She blinked and looked blankly at him. “Even if you did do something to me, you got the short end of the stick.” She only realized what she had said after speaking. She then blushed immediately.
‘Gosh, what did I just say?’
“Well… That’s not what I meant… Oh, no. That’s exactly what I meant. No, what I meant is that you would’ve gotten the short end of the stick even if anything happened. But you wouldn’t do anything to me…” she stammered as she explained, her face blushing even more.
“Haha!”
He could not help bursting out into a chuckle. The woman’s red cheeks, round eyes, and hands that were flopping around somehow reminded him of a squirrel.
She was adorable and funny.