Sagan #2
“I bet most are already turning on him,” Joris said firmly, shrugging when I glanced at him.
“Thovudin loves to judge their fallen popular people. They might be sexist, but—they love when people fall.” He glanced at Maple.
“Who was that actor couple and they all blamed her for the divorce until she showed receipts he was the problem?”
“Oh, I remember that. You think it will get that dirty for him?” she practically purred.
Joris nodded. “The harder people go in for that side, the faster and deeper they backtrack.”
He was right. He was completely fucking right.
Everyone was backtracking.
“I hate that I agree with the media that this show is squawking dumb hens,” Maple mumbled as she flipped to Our Prospectives. “Of course, it had to hit before they went live.”
I snorted. “They’re not normally live. They scrapped whatever show to get on their slot live and get their say. Look in the corner.”
“Gross,” Joris grumbled as he read the note saying the previously recorded episode would be aired later and the show was going live. So there was no studio audience and that normal segment would be skipped. “Oh good, no audience interaction so they have more time to shit on you.”
Except they didn’t. They completely retold history and how they’d always been on my side and thought Kole was too good to be true.
“They know their shows are recorded and people can like see the forty times they blamed you and said Kole was perfect, right?” Myriam asked as she came in with more food.
“And Raquel hovers. She’s afraid her not taking better care of you from the start is part of this ‘time-out,’ which we know she means mini breakdown. ”
“We’re going to make changes and do better going forward,” Maple said for me. “What did you bring?”
All of my favorites from the night market basically. Myriam must have had someone go out with lists and make it work.
“Thanks,” I told her as I reached for some skewers.
“Oh, those are cute. I have a set just like them,” she said as she glanced at the tablet still in my hand. She huffed when we all looked at her. “Yes, fine, I’m a mobster’s daughter and a scary ass tiger or whatever, but I’m still a girl and I like cute. Bite me.”
Maple and Treena gestured to her as if to say, “This is what we were saying.”
“Fair enough,” I finally accepted, adding the dumpling set into my cart as well. They were so cute. Just random smiling dumplings all over.
I added a few more sets as we watched those women talk all over each other and make it clear they wanted the “juicy texts.”
“I bet they’ll be leaked before dinner,” I drawled. I flipped the channel and froze, live coverage of Kole being released from the police station. “I knew it. I knew Vex didn’t… Like Sunborough my ass.”
“He fucking posted bail for him?” Joris seethed. “That’s the only way it got done that fast, even if Kole posted it himself.”
“I’m sorry,” Onyx whispered and kissed my hair. “I thought maybe my brother finally—I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t his fault, but I appreciated his worry.
The last thing people probably expected was for me to burst out laughing at what was shown next. I couldn’t even get the air in my lungs to explain at first, so I was glad when Myriam caught on.
“Oh shit, the slut is going to be pissed,” she hissed, smirking when I nodded but then elaborating since they were still confused.
“Elira wanted to steal Sagan’s man, but make no mistake, she wanted to be Alpha Mate.
When she realized Sagan wasn’t going to allow her ‘adopted princess’ bullshit, she leeched onto the next best option. She just lost it.”
I tapped my nose a few times that Myriam got that right but then turned sober. “She’s not going to let that go. She’s just as bad as he is—always doubling down.” I winced and slowly looked at Onyx.
He snorted. “Even if I didn’t want you—which I do, and not because you’re queen—I smelled the bullshit on that woman from miles away.”
I was glad to hear that because she’d fooled enough people, but… I was tense laying back against him for a bit. It was nice the way he rubbed my back and clearly understood where my head was. It took me a while to relax, and mostly it was the cute loungewear that I wanted and snuck into my cart.
It definitely wasn’t the media coverage of it all. That was depressing and disgusting. The amount of people who treated my citizens like morons and they wouldn’t remember what they’d said before was… Yeah, disgusting.
I snorted when one of the reporters stated that of course I would drop my lawsuit now that Kole was facing criminal charges. That I’d done it to draw attention to the situation and blah, blah, blah.
“Message Toni to address that,” I told Treena since she was in charge of my phone for the day.
“You are dropping it?” she hedged.
I snorted and glanced at her. “No, but I’m willing to settle if they want.
” I sat up and shook my head when people couldn’t hide their shock.
“He’s going to get off with a slap on the wrist, and I don’t even know I believe Vex that he won’t try to make Kole Alpha still since he went and bailed him out.
No, I warned them over and over and over again. We keep to the plan.”
“And the plan was?” Joris asked quietly after a few moments of their shocked silence. “I don’t think I knew there was more to this than just to get them to cave.”
I snorted again. “They’re one of the wealthiest Alpha families. Both Kole and Vex brag about it constantly—right up there with Jade Creek, and Applerest isn’t Jade Creek.” I nodded to Treena when she cleared her throat.
“Sagan is donating all of the damages to two different charities that help women who are victims of domestic abuse. She wanted people to say she was petty and it was about money because she asked for a lot in damages, but now…”
“I wonder how much they will backpedal on that now?” I drawled. “Too bad for them that my memory is long and I won’t forget.”
“Glad I’m on your side because you are someone I don’t ever want for an enemy,” Joris said with equal parts awe and shock.
Damn right I wasn’t.