Revenge Begins: Reincarnated as a Hated Idol!-Chapter 70: The Weight of Resolve
With a serious gaze, he warned, "If you yield, then you will be responsible for any innocent girl whose life is ruined by Lucian in the future."
Lisa’s eyes widened.
The room was silent for a while; however, soon, Lisa’s eyes reflected clarity and resolution.
She nodded with a determined gaze. "You are right, Aren. I was being selfish, only thinking about myself. I admit I was having doubts, and I even wanted to persuade you to change your decision. But I would’ve never betrayed you; that’s something I can guarantee. I trust you more than myself."
She smiled. "Thank you for jolting me awake. After hearing your words, I understand that surrendering to Titan Crest Entertainment is not an option."
Aren let out a sigh of relief.
He nodded at Lisa in satisfaction with a smile on his face. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
His gaze then turned serious as he reminded, "Titan Crest Entertainment might target your family next once they realize you didn’t break after all of this."
"The easiest option for them would be to either plot a car accident or kidnap one of your family members while they are walking on a desolate street. Tell your family to hide in their house and not go out. Also, instruct them to not let anyone inside for a few days. Even Titan Crest Entertainment can’t brazenly harm people in a neighborhood bustling with people."
Lisa remembered Iris’ threat and realized that what Aren said could very well happen.
She nodded before calling her family.
It took some time to convince them, but after Lisa sent them a generous amount of money, they agreed happily.
Aren didn’t care to warn his new family. Judging from how his toxic father was, Aren couldn’t care less if he died.
Moreover, after going through his bank statements, Aren realized that the original owner had been leeched off dry by his family.
He had earned hundreds of millions, and all those enormous amounts went either into buying houses and lands under his father’s name or they went to charity foundations for kids.
The original owner was a kind-hearted soul in that regard.
...
The next morning, Aren and Lisa reached the set, inviting different kinds of gazes compared to yesterday.
To be specific, it was Lisa who invited those gazes, filled with pity and sympathy. Some even stole glances at her awkwardly, not knowing how to act around her.
Lisa, however, didn’t pay any attention to them, walking beside Aren confidently.
As soon as the director noticed them, he took them to a corner.
He remained silent for a while, his gaze hesitant and solemn.
Aren already knew his decision by that reaction, not even needing to hear him out.
After a while, the director sighed, knowing he couldn’t stall forever.
"You two," he said, his gaze turning somber, "are replaced."
This time, even Lisa didn’t show any surprise.
After knowing that Titan Crest Entertainment was behind it all, it was expected that the director would choose to replace them.
"At first, I was determined to leave the platform and choose you two instead." The director explained in a helpless tone, "However, I was powerless. The crew has already received advance payment, and Phoenix has already spent an enormous amount. To leave the platform, I’ll need to return everything; however, I cannot afford to do that. Moreover, the actors I approached to play the villain and supporting roles also declined, saying that they wouldn’t accept the drama until you two were replaced."
His expression turned apologetic. "I’m helpless, I really am. Please forgive me."
The director lowered his head in shame.
"It’s alright," Aren said, patting the director’s shoulder. "Just take care of our compensation."
Fin Jacobs raised his head to look at Aren, who had a comforting smile on his face.
It was as if the one getting fired was the director instead of Aren.
The director gave a resolute nod, "Don’t worry. Phoenix will send the money to your respective bank accounts."
Aren nodded in understanding.
"So?" Aren raised his brows and curiously asked, "Who’s replacing us?"
Since Phoenix had agreed to replace Aren and Lisa despite the high compensation penalty they would need to pay, Titan Crest Entertainment must have offered some kind of lucrative deal to them.
"It’s Ryan Black and Luna Veil." The director informed.
Aren smiled, understanding everything in an instant. ’So it’s them.’
Ryan Black and Luna Veil were both signed with Titan Crest Entertainment.
Iris must have offered them to Phoenix at a very low price, making up for their loss in paying the compensation penalty to Aren and Lisa.
As for Ryan and Luna getting a low salary, it could be attributed to their previous average shows like The Insiders.
The Insiders performed below expectations, allowing Iris to treat them in this poor fashion.
Meanwhile, Ryan and Luna both got to play the lead in a good drama on one of the big platforms. The script of Symphony of Shadows was already top-tier, so they didn’t have anything to complain about other than their low salaries.
Iris might have even promised to pay them more if the show turned out to be a success, a common tactic to manipulate actors.
...
Aren and Lisa returned to their hotel after a short trip to Lisa’s previous room. They brought Lisa’s clothes with them.
Even Aren didn’t feel it safe to let Lisa live alone. After all, what was the guarantee that Iris wouldn’t get frustrated enough to kidnap Lisa and then demand the evidence from Aren as the condition for releasing Lisa?
Aren thought it would be wise to let her stay in his room for the time being. He had even grown accustomed to her, not feeling that it was wrong to stay in the same room.
After Aren sat on his bed, he took out his phone to check social media.
After yesterday’s event, he had turned his phone’s notifications off.
It was already afternoon, and when Aren opened PulseX, he saw a new topic in the trending list, although at the bottom.
Lisa’s hashtags still held the first and second spots thanks to Titan Crest’s PR team. They had clearly bought those hashtags to not let the buzz die down. They wanted to build pressure on Lisa after all.
If the topics faded into oblivion, it won’t do them any good.
As for the new hashtag that had made it into the rankings, it was thanks to a lot of articles released by marketing accounts and media houses.
#ArenLisaReplaced#
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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)
