You Were Never That Important Chapter 07
Raiden just stood there, the smirk dropping right off his face.
“What do you mean, refusing to work with me? That’s impossible.”
His voice cracked a little, pitching up and drawing the eyes of even more reporters.
I kept my smile small and paced my words. “During the live promo stream, you walked out in front of millions of viewers just to keep your girlfriend happy. You left dead air and a blank screen for forty minutes while inappropriate audio played. Everyone in the production world is talking about it.”
I waited a beat, watching the color drain from his face. “You were just an actor who got a little traction off a single web series, but you completely lacked basic professional ethics. You blew off a promo event that took two weeks to plan and trashed the whole team’s hard work. Why would any director or platform risk hiring you now?”
Raiden’s face crumbled.
“Shut up!”
He lunged forward a half-step, but Cierra grabbed his arm to yank him back.
Sensing a story, the surrounding reporters immediately swarmed.
“What did she mean about you walking out? Raiden, can you explain?”
“Is Vivien telling the truth?”
“Raiden, did you really ditch the production team?”
Cameras and mics were shoved in his face.
He took an instinctive half-step back, swallowing hard.
“Don’t listen to her lies—”
Before he could get it out, Cierra stepped in.
Shielding him, she shot me a glare. “Are you doing this on purpose, Vivien? You’re just jealous that Raiden is more popular than you, so you dragged the press over here to smear him.”
Her voice was shrill and visibly shaking.
I looked at her and let out a soft laugh.
“You’re right. A month ago, I definitely wasn’t as popular as him.”
I pulled out my phone, tapped the screen a couple of times, and held it up for her to see. “He had half a million followers, and I had three hundred thousand.”
Then, I turned the screen around to face the reporters and the gathered crowd. “But today, I have three million.”
A low murmur of surprise rippled through the onlookers.
I tilted my head, keeping my voice dead steady. “So tell me, who’s actually more popular?”
Cierra stared at my phone, her eyes wide.
She snatched the device right out of my hand and frantically swiped at the screen.
Three million.
The live follower count just kept ticking up.
Three million and ten thousand.
Three million and twenty thousand.
Her hands started to shake.
“This is impossible…” she muttered, looking up at Raiden. “What’s going on? Didn’t you say the male lead was a lock? Didn’t you say we were definitely shooting this show?”
Raiden looked completely crushed.
He opened his mouth, forcing out a harsh, dry sound. “This… this is fake. It has to be fake…”
He jerked his head up, frantically scanning the room. “Where is Mr. Gorney? I need to talk to Mr. Gorney.”
Right on cue, a voice called out from the back of the crowd.
“Who’s looking for me?”
Konner pushed his way through the onlookers, walking toward us at a slow, deliberate pace.
He was in no rush, and his face gave absolutely nothing away.
Raiden practically scrambled toward him, desperate. “Mr. Gorney! It’s me, Raiden! You remember me, right?”
He pointed at himself, then jabbed a finger in my direction. “Tell them! Tell them I’m the male lead of this show, right?”
Konner stopped, giving him a slow once-over.
A faint smirk touched his lips.
“Oh, I remember. I remember perfectly,” he said, nodding like he was recalling an inside joke. “You’re the guy who bailed on the entire film crew a month ago just to keep your girlfriend happy.”
Raiden’s face tightened.
Konner didn’t let up. “So? You got the lawsuit I sent over, right?
“Make sure you show up to court on time in three days.”
Raiden froze.
“What… what lawsuit?”