HOW DARE YOU!

The shock she felt at that moment was enough to knock her off her feet and fall to the couch behind her without any form of resistance.

What the heck was this? In the interview currently ongoing on the screen, Amelia, the rude green-eyed woman who had spilled water all over her yesterday was crying her eyes out as she spoke.

It turned out Amelia was a well-known actress and she was currently using the media to taint Laleen's name.

"I swear she showed up out of nowhere and spilled water all over me! All because I went on a date with Mr. Degavon." She complained amidst her tears, twisting the story to its complete opposite.

She looked like a crying mess as she sat there looking every bit the victim while Laleen could only stare wide-eyed as she painted her as the villain to the rest of the world.

Suddenly, pictures of yesterday appeared on the screen clearly capturing her face. Particularly the one where she "sat" on Mr. Degavon's lap and him draped his coat over her shoulders. 

Laleen scoffed in disbelief. "How... where did these pictures come from?" she whispered, a dark cloud of devastation settling above her.

"And when I tried to fight back, she slapped me right in the face". This time she pointed at her swollen red left cheek which made Laleen furrow her brows.

Last she recalled, Mr. Degavon didn't even as much as touch her. So how did she get this red imprint marking her cheek? 

"And why is she telling lies?" Laleen sounded frustrated as she glared at the woman from the screen who currently looked like a white lotus flower that had been unfairly trampled on by the villain.

Her fingers gripping the remote where now trembling as her mind slowly processed the consequences of the situation in front of her.

Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, each loud thump intensifying her anxiety and rising anger.

"That...That...bitch!" She finally let the words roll out of her tongue after much difficulty. She wasn't one to use such words on others.

With a swift move, she rose from the couch and grabbed her phone lying aimlessly at the table.

Was she shaking from her anger or the sense of doom clawing at her? She had no idea.

Unlocking her phone, Laleen should not have been so surprised at what she saw. There were countless messages, most from her coworkers. But what scared her most was when she opened social media.

The internet was on fire with people hurling various derogatory comments at her. The things they said were so vile Laleen couldn't help but freeze in shock. Never in her life had she been called such things! And all this because of a petty jealous liar!

Many of Amelia's diehard fans had taken the matter to another level with people making defamatory edits of her picture and even slut shaming her. 

Various hashtags like "Justice for Queen Amelia!" were trending all over the internet.

One of the comments she read told her to straight up die! 

A shiver ran down her spine as she quickly dropped her phone, her body trembling even worse than before.

She didn't know the internet was such a scary place.

The room grew quieter but to Laleen, it was as loud as ever. She could hear their angry voices in her ears and even Amelia's continuous crying in the background as she struggled to calm down. She imagined her angry internet fans taking form right there in her living room and ending her life.

At the thought, she gasped loudly but was interrupted by a knock before she could have a panick attack.

Her heart jumped as she stared at the door. Various emotions swirled inside of her, dismay overruling the many others.

She took slow steps forward as she asked cautiously, "Who's there?" 

The voice she heard made her sigh in relief and she rushed to open the door.

On opening the door was Elizabeth who she hadn't seen in nearly a month.

She had a concerned frown resting on her shapely brows as she asked worriedly, "Are you ok..."

Before she could finish speaking, Laleen had enveloped her in a tight embrace. 

"Beth..." She whispered like a child would whisper to their mother. Elizabeth smiled sadly as she patted her back with her free hand, the other being squeezed by her friend's tightening embrace. 

"You're shaking. Calm down. I'm with you" Laleen heard her friend murmur softly while patting her back.

She felt like she would cry. Here's another gift this new life had given her. A friend who actually cared. Her greatest confidant.

Laleen moaned sadly into her friend's shoulder as a tear slipped past her eye. "I swear none of this is true. It's all lies!"

"I believe you" Elizabeth responded in a heartbeat. Laleen blinked as she pulled back from her friend's shoulder.

"You do?" She asked, a bit surprised. It wasn't like she thought her friend would doubt her but she expected her to at least ask for an explanation.

But logic did not seem to work where Elizabeth was concerned. Not when her friend was in the picture.

Grabbing her arm, she pulled her towards the couch. Somehow, her being around calmed Laleen tremendously and she could feel the pace of her racing heartbeat subsiding.

"Now tell me all that happened, alright? How did you end up in so much trouble?" She asked softly when they both sat down.

Laleen nodded as she began to explain all that happened not leaving anything untold.

The more she spoke, the angrier Elizabeth got. "Who knew Amelia was such a bitch?!" Unlike her friend, the vulgar word fell out of her lips with a graceful ease as her anger seethed through her veins. 

Laleen nodded fervently. "She's an..." Her words drawled out and Elizabeth sighed.

"Say it" she encouraged.

"An asshole!" Laleen finally voiced out her words. Elizabeth smiled as if in praise before her expression turned serious once more.

"But from what you've told me, the only person who knows the truth now is the mysterious Mr. Degavon"

Laleen's heart sunk at the thought. He was the only one who could prove her innocence.

Her palms turned sweaty and she rubbed them in her clothes continuously.

"I'll have to find him" Laleen muttered, her voice sounding more determined than she actually felt.

Elizabeth slowly shook her head.

"That man is hard to come by. It's a miracle that you saw him as much as you did. And in such a small establishment as yours. What was he doing there?" Elizabeth's face turned thoughtful before she shook it off.

That wasn't her concern. In fact, that man should be punished for putting her dear friend in such trouble. If only they did not meet.

Realizing the truth in her friend's words, Laleen whispered worriedly, her voice trembling, "What do I do?"

"We'll have to find him. That's all we can do" Elizabeth muttered as she commenced concocting a feasible plan to ensure they figured out a solution.

Laleen drew back into her seat as she closed her eyes, visibly exhausted. She hadn't experienced anything like this.

This was nothing like the rumors of her being a cursed princess that she heard back in her previous life.

Those were done in whispers and never intentionally to her hearing to avoid the wrath of the king on his "prized daughter" but this was different.

People just said whatever they wanted.

Her calming thoughts were interrupted by another knock but unlike the initial two, this one was demanding, almost as if the person behind the door wanted to break the door open.

Laleen immediately rose to her feet followed shortly by Elizabeth whose protective instincts kicked in on behalf of her friend.

"Open the stupid door!" She heard her mother's voice booming from the other end.

With quick yet fearful steps, she made towards the door, her hands trembling.

This unforeseen yet unfortunate event has definitely put her pending wedding plans in jeopardy. Her mother will definitely not believe whatever she said.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she grabbed hold of the doorknob. She could sense Elizabeth moving closer to stand by her side. God bless her soul; she believed her.

Someone believed her. That's all that mattered.

With a swift pull, the door flung open. As if on cue and before the two young women could think, her mother had swung her hand to her daughter's cheek resulting in a resounding slap as she let out a booming scream.

"How dare you!"