Chapter 6
After the live stream, I checked my phone. Dozens of texts from Ethan.
They went from angry questions to straight-up insults, but all ending with:
“Why the hell is Adrian with you? Did you betray me?”
“You sold me out to my uncle over some jewelry design?”
I didn’t reply to any of them. But the next day, he and Emma held their own press conference.
Emma was
sobbing hysterically on camera.
“I don’t know how my sketches got stolen, but that’s definitely my work. That lightning bolt doesn’t mean what she said – she made it all up.”
Ethan sat beside her, looking heartbroken as he gently wiped her tears.
“I can vouch for her. I was there while she created this piece. Mia’s just bitter because I rejected her, so she’s trying to destroy Emma.”
“Yes, Mia and I had a relationship. But her family situation was… complicated. After her parents died, she developed serious mental health issues. I took care of her for four years, but it was exhausting.”
“I ended things for both our sake, but I never expected her to lash out like this just because she couldn’t handle the breakup.”
“I apologize for wasting everyone’s time with my personal drama. This is all my fault – Emma did nothing wrong.”
The video ended there. I was so furious I could barely think straight.
He knew exactly where to hit me where it hurt most.
Yeah, he was right. After my parents died, I was a complete wreck.
I wanted to kill myself more times than I could count. He’s the one who stopped me.
So I worked my ass off for him to pay him back. All those contracts, all those designs.
But he never did it to help me.
He destroyed my parents, then played savior so I’d work myself to death for him.
I didn’t tell Adrian and directly went to their press conference alone.
The moment the reporters saw me, every camera swung my way.
I was done playing nice with Ethan. I pulled out my phone.
I always document my work obsessively – every stage, every revision gets posted to my private account with timestamps.
Those dates don’t lie.
In front of everyone, I opened up my account.
But when the page loaded, my blood ran cold.
Every single post from the past few years was gone.
Chapter 6
Completely wiped.
The cameras caught my stunned expression. Ethan walked over looking all exasperated.
“Mia, enough. Stop making a scene.”
He turned to the reporters, suddenly serious:
“Miss Morrison has mental health issues, which explains this bizarre behavior. We shouldn’t be too hard on her. Let’s end this circus
now.”
Emma was sitting in the front row, smirking at me with total contempt.
Then she stood up, putting on this fake understanding act:
“Ethan’s absolutely right. I won’t hold any of this against Mia. She’s clearly unwell and needs help. I can deal with a little drama if it means everyone knows the truth now.”
I kept frantically scrolling through my phone. It was completely empty.
I looked up at Ethan as something clicked.
He had my password.
“You deleted everything beforehand?”
It wasn’t just “Heart of True Love” – every single piece I’d worked on for years was documented there.
And Ethan had wiped it all clean.
But he put on this innocent act, looking at me with pity:
“Mia, you need to take your medication. Let me get you out of here, okay? Your delusions are getting worse.”
I looked around desperately as reporters started attacking me:
“Miss Morrison, are you targeting Miss Whitmore out of jealousy? Did you plan this whole story when you stole her sketches? Your performance yesterday had me totally convinced. Turns out you’re better at making shit up than designing.”
I couldn’t say a word.
I just watched Ethan pull Emma close, whispering:
“It’s nothing, babe. Don’t worry about it.”
At that moment, I was completely alone and falling apart. For a second, I honestly wanted to end it all.
But just as I was about to run away in shame, a familiar black Lincoln pulled up.
Adrian stepped out, followed by a team of guys carrying laptops.
