NovelUSAChapter 534 "She's already a little seductress at her age. No wonder her parents are such lowlifes." "I have no clue how someone like her ever got into an Ivy League school, let alone beca CEO." "Absolutely disgusting. If I had a daughter like that, I'd rather strangle her myself." Citrine scrolled through a handful of the comments, expression unchanged. After a moment, she handed the phone back to Mr. Shaw.
"Thank you, Mr. Shaw," she said politely.
"N-no problem." Mr. Shaw had expected her to break down after reading the online vitriol, but Citrine remained as composed as ever, as if none of it even registered.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEven Hawley couldn't help but respect her self-control. Most kids would have fallen apart-facing this at her age and keeping her cool? With that kind of grit, it was no wonder she'd achieved so much already.
Still, Hawley didn't believe the rumors for a second. He hesitated, then spoke up: "President Carmichael, I'm sure what's online isn't true. Maybe you should clear things up for everyone?" Just then, a brash voice cut through the room: "It's true." "I had the video analyzed-no sign of editing." Quentin strode in, still in his tracksuit, radiating self-assured swagger. He marched straight toward Citrine.
"That's Mr. Aldridge." "What's he doing here?" A murmur swept the room as people recognized him.
Quentin pushed past the crowd, stopping right in front of Citrine, jabbing a finger at her face. "Citrine Carmichael, you had it coming after what you did to Kali. Now your dirty laundry's all over social media-how does it feel to be famous for all the wrong reasons?" Wade and Monica exchanged glances, realization dawning. In perfect unison, they blurted, "So it really was Kali behind this." Citrine didn't 't even glance up. Unruffled, she replied in a tone designed to infuriate: "Embarrassing? Please. At least it's not as humiliating as when Mr Aldridge himself went viral in his birthday suit." Quentin's face turned crimson, outrage making his voice tremble. "What the hell did you just say? Shut your damn mouth!" Everybody in Crestwood knew: the one thing Quentin Aldridge couldn't stand was any mention of *that* infamous incident trending online.
He glared at Citrine, seething. This was the second tshe'd thrown his scandal back in his face.
Quentin sneered, "No matter how embarrassing I get, at least I wasn't seducing my own teacher as a teenager. That's a whole new level of trashy, President Carmichael." His words were harsh, but Citrine didn't flinch. Instead, she regarded Quentin with a slow, almost amused once-over.
"What are you staring at?" he barked, suddenly self-conscious.
Citrine pressed her lips together, then smiled faintly. "No wonder Kali sent you.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmOnly someone this dumb could pull off exactly what she wanted." Quentin gaped at her, incredulous. "Did you just insult me?" "So what if I did? Someone's got to."
Her dismissive tone only stoked his anger. "Citrine Carmichael, you're the one who started chasing after, men at your age, and you're callingnames?" Before he could finish, Wade stormed over and punched Quentin hard in the face.
"Who the hell do you think you are, slandering her? I'll shut you up for good." "Oh, you want to fight?" Quentin spat blood, recognized his opponent, and swung right back.
Amid the scuffle, Monica rushed to Citrine's side, tellthe videurgent.Citrine, fake. Please." Everyone turned, eyes fixed on Citrine, waiting for her to respond.
She was silent for a long moment.
When she finally spoke her voide was quiet and even. "It's real."
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
