A pleased smile crept up on Neela's lips as she scrolled through her phone. They were back at Nicole's place, the latter was seated on one couch completely lost in thought.
"Nicole, check First News Media page. The comment section below your article is crazy!" She said with a laugh.
Silence. Neela laughed again as she entertained herself. Realizing she got no response, she decided to look up only to realize Nicole had spaced out. Her face pulled into a frown when she saw this. She stood to go and sit next to her. Nicole snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the slight dip of the sofa.
"What's going on?" Neela nodded at her.
Nicole briefly fell quiet before answering with a sigh. "It.... It just feels unreal. I never thought I would ever be in this situation."
"Having regrets?" Neela raised her brows at her.
"No. No", she quickly denied with a wave of her hands. "Look, I know I was hang up on Xavier but this situation has just made me realize that we were never meant to be. Him and I... we value different things."
"Good. I'm glad this has served as an eye-opener for you. But, as much as it's a nasty situation to be caught in, you're actually helping quite a lot of people."
Nicole was surprised and her interest was piqued. "How?"
Neela took her phone to show her. "First News Media published an article based on the interview you had. Many girls who have been wronged by Xavier are leaving comments commending how brave you are for speaking up and not shying away from the rich and mighty."
Nicole took the phone and was rendered speechless as she scrolled through the comments. Many of them were indeed of Xavier's past one nighters. Women who wanted more after sleeping with him and he not giving in to that. Nicole felt bitterness in her heart seeing the many 'victims' of the sex god known as Xavier.
Still, she couldn't believe it. She had gone to Xavier's seeking for answers as to why he would do such a thing but instead, she came face to face with the media. She had her little emotional outburst right there hence the now circulating video. Neela was pleased to see this.
Ding!
ID star*****: Don't waste your energy here. Go to Frost Corp web page. That's where the real sh*t is at.
Neela took the phone and didn't waste a second to go there. Both the girls' jaws dropped open.
ID dog*****: Xavier! Explain yourself!
ID soul*****: Such a person without morals should not be in such a high position! Xavier resign!
ID tan****: Tag the human rights commission! They should serve justice to Nicole.
ID Ella****: Justice for Nicole!!
"Wow", Neela mumbled.
The issue had blown up to this extend. Nicole was just feeling touched when some negative comments crept up onto the section too.
ID sash****: Xavier has never mistreated a woman before. I believe there's a reasonable explanation behind all this ruckus.
ID oni*****: Xavier is usually in the spotlight and you've seen how he treats his mother. So why would he do something that would degrade a woman? You guys haven't heard the other side of the story and are already making noise!
ID bigtit*****: Are you sure it's not Nicole who leaked the picture? And her tits are not that great! Nicole, Xavier ALLOWED you to be with him. Don't be full of yourself and try to drag down a good man like him.
"What are they even saying? They don't know anything!" Nicole shouted in rage as she made to snatch the phone to reply to Xavier's supporters.
"No!" Neela held the phone far from her. "Don't. You'll only make yourself look bad. Remember, you already have supporters, let them do that for you."
They had just finished speaking when Frost Corporation made an announcement on their forum:
"Tomorrow at 9a.m, there will be a press conference held at the corporation's hotel. We invite Miss Nicole Oswell to be present so that she may get all the answers she seeks. Thank you."
Straight to the point. Nicole felt a nervous twist in her stomach when she read this as her heart thudded anxiously. She looked at Neela who gave her a hug.
"It's going to be okay. You have nothing to worry about. I'll be with you, every step of the way", she promised to which Nicole nodded. Neela looked outside and saw the sun setting. "It's getting late, do you want me to stay?"
"No", Nicole answered while breaking the embrace. "I'll be fine. Go on now."
Neela assured her once more that things will be okay before taking her leave. Once she was out of the door, a smug smile stretched on her lips. She looked back at the door and scoffed before taking her leave.
She took a cab right outside Crystal palace and drove home. The announcement F.C made unfazed her. They focused on Nicole alone. And she had taken a gamble to expose herself during Nicole's interview. Seeing as nobody, Xavier to be specific, reached out to her, that means he didn't remember her and no one knew she had a hand in this. A dirty little hand.
When she got home, her messy apartment awaited her. She had not had time to clean it before she got stuck at Nicole's. She sighed when she saw the mess.
"No", she muttered as she decided to ignore the mess, go shower and relax in bed. Little did she know that this mess, served as an advantage to a certain someone.
The next day arrived
Nicole was dressed in a black pant suit matched with a white shirt and black stilettos. Neela was dressed in black dress that fell to her mid- thighs with sandal heels. Both girls wore their hair up with Nicole using that as an advantage to expose her eyes that had grown puffy from crying.
They arrived together at the hotel. Reporters were at the entrance taking pictures of the two girls. They walked hand in hand as they were shown to the conference room chosen.
Other reporters were already inside waiting for the people to arrive. The girls had arrived at nine on the dot and we're shown to a table were they sat together. They acted unfazed as cameras flushed and shattered in their faces.
Frost Corporation had announced the press conference would start at 9, yet they were nowhere in sight. Murmurs began to echo in the room as ten minutes went by. Ten minutes became fifteen, twenty, thirty.
"Where are they? Is it because they have no way to get out of this that they are stalling?"
"Where is Xavier? Someone call the staff to communicate with him!"
"We have better things to do!"
Better things to do? Everyonw knew how false this was. The current story was the better thing to do than what they had. Forty five minutes later, and the doors swung open.
Neela and Nicole held their breaths as they awaited to see the man himself only to see... A middle aged man in a black suit walking in with a team of bodyguards. He was escorted to the front and he quickly went to the podium.
"You've made us wait for forty five minutes! You think we don't have anything better to do?" Some reporter from the front shouted.
The man's brows furrowed in displeasure. He looked to the bodyguards as he pointed at the reporter. "This gentleman has better things to do than the rest of us. Kindly show him out."
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