Toby’s face darkened when he heard this and he walked up to Sonia, ready to watch the broadcast from over her shoulder.
She turned her head slightly to glance at him. As she was unaffected by the close proximity between them, she did not try to make him leave. Then, she clicked into the link which had been shared through Tina’s social media platform before being instantly redirected to Tina’s livestream.
At that moment, Sonia was shocked to see that over ten million people were watching the livestream as well and their messages were piling onto the bullet screen. The real-time comments popped up one after another in such rapid succession that the words began to blur before her eyes. I bet there are popular livestreamers who could only dream of such social media coverage.
In the livestream, Tina was sitting upright on the hospital bed, looking pale and weak in her patient’s scrubs as she cast her bloodshot eyes at the camera. As she addressed her audience, she spoke feebly, “Thank you, everyone, for watching my live stream today. I’m sure all of you are aware of what has happened to me. As a woman, to have something as tragic as this happen is a devastating and traumatizing experience. I know I ought to be recuperating now instead of publicly speaking out and making a fool out of myself, but…”
She broke off and tipped her head back; she sniffed as she suppressed her tears like she was putting on a tough act. Then, she continued, “But I don’t think I can take it anymore. I’m in shreds as I lie here on the hospital bed while the person who has done this to me is still living freely out there! So, after spending a lot of time thinking about this, I believe that I should speak out and ensure the person who has hurt me will pay the price!”
The viewers flooded the bullet screen instantly, voicing out their unconditional support and sympathy for Tina.
‘That’s right! Why should the victim suffer like this while the person who did this to her walks free?’
‘Good for you, Miss Gray. You’re doing the right thing by exposing the person’s wicked crimes. That person deserves retribution!’
As the livestream went on, Sonia’s hands that were on the armrest clenched into fists. Rage thrummed in her veins while she stared at the screen incredulously.
I swear, her shamelessness knows no bounds! There was no disputing that Tina was, indeed, the victim, but Sonia had nothing to do with any of it.
Under normal circumstances, Sonia would have felt sorry for Tina, regardless of the bad blood between them. However, for Tina to pin the blame on Sonia instead of calling out the actual assailant was a low blow. I might even go so far as to say that she deserves the humiliation!
Toby was behind her and he clutched the back of the chair so tightly that his nails dug into the soft leather. He was just as outraged as Sonia was and his face was as dark as a stormy sky. Even the air around him seemed to have dropped to sub-zero temperatures.
She felt the hostility radiating from him and turned to cast him a mildly curious look. Her eyes glimmered, but without uttering a word, she returned to watching Tina’s infuriating livestream.
On the other side of the screen, Tina’s eyes brightened with glee when she saw the comments of those who rallied in support of her. However, she quickly became teary-eyed and made as if she was touched by everyone’s kind words as she responded, “Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for being so encouraging. I—I’m really—” She choked on her words and buried her face into her hands before she began to sob pathetically.
At the sight of this, the audience rushed to comfort her and tried to get her to stop crying.
After having offered their words of solace, the audience were relieved to see that she had seemingly calmed down. She pulled out a couple of tissues and dabbed her tears dry as she managed a tear-stained smile at the camera as she added, “Thank you for showing your concern, everyone. I’m feeling much better now.”
Believing that their efforts had paid off, the audience were elated to hear this and began to send gifts to Tina on the platform.
Tina, on the other hand, was pleased when she saw the amount of money that she was receiving from the audience. Looks like live streaming is working out for me better than I thought. I managed to destroy Sonia’s reputation and rake in a small fortune in the process.
“Miss Gray, you haven’t told us what Sonia did to hurt you,’ one of the more generous viewers prompted; the person’s message was in bright red as it stood out on the bullet screen.
Upon reading this, the rest of the audience was suddenly reminded of the purpose of Tina’s livestream and followed suit in prompting her for details.
Tina’s smile faltered as if she had just read the most depressing news and she made it a point to look terrified as she curled into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees as she recounted shakily, “On the day I was assaulted, Miss Reed contacted me and told me she wanted to speak to me in person. She asked that I head over to Bay Street, but when I arrived, she was nowhere in sight. The only ones there were the six men who worked under her orders.”
She paused at this and buried her face in her knees before she gave a heartbreaking sob once more.
The audience were stunned by the information.
‘What the hell? Six men?!’
‘My goodness! I always thought it was just one guy! I didn’t think there’d be six!’
‘How despicable! Sonia literally went and ruined Miss Gray. This would traumatize any woman, and for Sonia to have arranged half a dozen men to carry out this dirty act? She was trying to completely destroy Miss Gray!’
Sonia was trembling with unadulterated anger as she saw these messages.
Toby clapped a hand on her shoulder and placated, “Hey, calm down. Getting angry is bad for one’s health, you know.”
“How the hell am I supposed to calm down when this woman—”
“I know.” He was impassive as he stared at Tina through the screen, but there was a terrifying storm brewing in his eyes. “She won’t stay happy for long, I swear.”
Sonia questioningly gazed at him. “What are you going to do?”
Toby flashed her a smile, but he did not elaborate any further.
His smile had caught her off guard and for a moment, it was like he had become the man he was six years ago; she remembered how kind and pleasant he looked whenever he smiled back then.
“What’s wrong?” Toby asked, puzzled by the dazed look in Sonia’s eyes as she stared at him.
She blinked out of her reverie and looked away from him, lowering her gaze to hide the nostalgia in her eyes. As she grew defensive, she snapped, “Nothing!” So what if he just smiled the way he did six years ago? It doesn’t change the fact that he’s a different person now.
Although he felt that Sonia was hiding something, Toby made to ask about it, but ultimately did not do so. He knew he would not get an answer out of her even if he were to press her on it. Whatever it was, she had obviously made up her mind not to tell him.
Tina’s livestream was still ongoing and plenty of seasoned viewers were using colored comments to demand for details. One of the questions read, ‘Miss Gray, why did Sonia do such horrible things to you?’
The other members of the audience were on the edge of their seats as well; they were eager to find out the reason.
Tina chewed on her bottom lip and let out a humorless laugh. “Maybe it’s because she hates me. She was married to my ex-fiancé and as all of you may know, I was in a coma for six years before I regained consciousness. When I finally did, my ex-fiancé had filed for divorce from Miss Reed and got together with me, which led her to think that I stole her husband from her. Her hatred for me has only grown since then and she has targeted me countless times before this, attempting to hurt me each time. I’ve managed to overcome all those unwarranted attacks in the past, but this time, I didn’t think she would—”
She halted in her sob story and broke down in tears once more, burying her face in her knees like a wounded child.
Needless to say, the audience already knew how the rest of her story ended. Sonia hated Tina for stealing her husband, which led to Sonia repeatedly hurting her in the hope that the happy couple would separate from each other. However, given how Sonia had failed in her past attempts, she descended into a manic rage and orchestrated this horrific plan to completely ruin Tina. By doing so, Tina would forever be a ruined woman and Toby would inevitably call off their engagement. At the end of the day, Sonia would be reconciled with him once more and have her deranged happily-ever-after.
The audience couldn’t help but shudder at how cold and calculating Sonia was to have thought of such a wicked scheme. However, their shock quickly turned to fury as they came to Tina’s defense.
‘I’ve already lodged a police report on your behalf, Miss Gray. The cops will apprehend that wretched woman soon and we’ll stand in as your witnesses when the time comes. We can’t let someone so cruel get away with this!’
‘That’s right, Miss Gray. We’re all on your side.’
‘No, I don’t think I can hold myself back anymore. I’m going over to Sonia’s platform to start a riot against her. What she has done is worse than all the names I’ve called her, so I’ll take the cursing up a notch. In fact, she won’t even know her own name by the time I’m finished with her!’
‘Hey, I’ll go with you. You know what, I might even storm over to her company and confront her myself!’
When Tina saw the aggression bubbling up on the bullet screen, the corners of her lips curled up into the barest hint of a smile. Nonetheless, she maintained the waterworks as she gratefully thanked, “Thank you, everyone, for being so kind. Thank you so much.”
The viewers more or less echoed the same sentiments as they commented, ‘Don’t worry about it, Miss Gray. It is our duty as citizens to get rid of such scums of the earth!’
Relief and gratitude might be etched on her face, but Tina was secretly laughing at these viewers. What a bunch of idiots!
