Liana's eyes widened, and an unexpectedly bright smile appeared on her face. Laura winked at her before gently guiding Ethilia to the chair. All the cameras shifted toward Laura instantly. It was surprising because Laura never invited anyone onstage, let alone gave someone the front row at a fan meeting.
Ethilia's fingers tightened around Laura's hand in nervousness, but Laura gave her a small reassuring squeeze and smiled at the cameras. "Please don't make her uncomfortable. She isn't a big fan of cameras."
Liana cleared her throat and leaned slightly toward the mic. "You guys can focus on me instead," she joked and winked at Laura.
The cameras swung back to her, and Laura tapped Ethilia's shoulder twice before walking to her spot.
Meanwhile, Ashley stood in a corner where she could keep a close eye on a man who had given her a bad feeling since earlier. Just as the music started playing and most fans were busy taking pictures with Liana and Laura, she saw the man pull out a gun.
Her eyes widened, and she pushed forward through the crowd, signaling the other guards at the same time. Up on stage, it was Liana, Laura, and Ethilia. Ethilia sat between them as the photographer took photos.
A fan standing next to the man noticed the weapon and screamed, "He has a gun!" She stumbled back, and panic erupted instantly.
The venue turned chaotic as everyone rushed to escape. A group of guards ran to the stage to pull Liana and Laura away. Liana grabbed Ethilia's cold hand tightly as they were taken away from there. Her own hand was shaking slightly. Both were terrified, but not for themselves... only for each other.
Ashley was seconds away from reaching the man when he fired into the air. The gunshot made the crowd scream louder, bodies pushing in every direction and blocking the guards' path to him.
The man turned toward Ashley with a smirk. She froze for a second as she saw his face. "Alex... That..." She clenched her jaw and whispered.
She pulled out her gun and ran after him, even though she knew she couldn't shoot while the crowd was around.
Security chased Alex out the exit, and Ashley broke off to take another route. When she reached the parking lot, she saw him getting onto a bike. She raised her gun, "Stop before I shoot."
Alex paused, turning his head with that same mocking smile. His grip tightened around his gun as he pointed it at her. "Then do it. I'll shoot you, and you can shoot me."
Ashley clenched her jaw, but her hands didn't shake for a second, her finger resting on the trigger.
"Not so soon, Alex." A calm male voice came from behind him, and Alex felt cold metal touch his temple.
He slowly turned, and his eyes widened seeing Rio standing there with a gun. Ashley used that brief distraction to slip behind the parked cars and reach Alex from behind.
"You made Miss Liana lose trust in all of us…" Rio said as he pressed the gun harder against Alex's temple.
Alex let out a mirthless laugh and rolled his eyes. "You've lost your mind, Rio. She wasn't even worth a second glance." His voice hissed with venom.
Rio leaned closer, his voice turning rough. "Says the one who doesn't even deserve to be called human."
For a few seconds, Alex's face flickered with hurt and disbelief. Then his fingers tightened around his gun.
Just as he lifted his arm, Ashley rushed from behind and knocked the weapon out of his hand. Rio used the moment to grab Alex, twisting his arms behind his back and locking them firmly.
Ashley moved fast and landed a hard kick to Alex's knees, so he couldn't get any chance to run again.
Alex bit down on his lip and glared at her. "I'll see you as soon as I get out of jail."
Ashley smirked, "You think you'll have any chance?" With that, she punched him, "You made my life pure hell for months, you idiot." She hissed, shaking her hand when she felt her knuckles hurting.
Alex coughed out blood, glaring with a rage that made it clear he wasn't done. Not in his mind, at least.
By then, the police arrived, along with Liana, Laura, their guards, and Ethilia.
Liana's arm was wrapped around Ethilia's shoulders, holding her close as she stared at Alex. She didn't even know what she was supposed to feel.
The ache in her chest was still there. Ache of losing a friend, a guide she once trusted with her life. Someone she believed in… only to be betrayed like this.
Ethilia felt Liana's shaky breath and placed her hand on Liana's hand on her shoulder. Liana nodded slowly and released Ethilia before walking to Alex.
Her voice cracked as she whispered, "Why, Alex? I trusted you like family…"
No one said a single word. The officers had Alex handcuffed and forced on his knees already so that he couldn't hurt anyone.
Alex let out a mocking chuckle. "Family? Yeah, sure. The classic dialogue, right?"
Liana swallowed hard; she hadn't expected his words to hit her this deep, but... they did.
And still… despite everything, she couldn't bring herself to fully hate him while he was right in front of her.
All the memories she thought she had buried deep were floating before her eyes. These were the same hands that once held a gun to protect her… and now they were cuffed for trying to harm her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Alex spat on the ground and glared up at her. "You… you used your influence to get selected. I was the one who deserved that spot. But because your dad had connections, you debuted in my place!" He shouted as he tried to stand, but the officers forced him back onto his knees.
A tear slipped down Liana's cheek. She slowly knelt in front of him, lowering herself to his eye level.
"You could have asked me," she whispered. "After all these years… is this all you ever believed about me?"
She pointed at herself, "You think I stole something from you? Alex… I didn't. I didn't even take a single penny from my parents when I came to this city. Everything I have… everything you see… I built by myself."
She was trying hard not to cry, but her tears were like a broken dam that wouldn't stop. She clenched her hands into fists and took a deep breath to steady herself.
For a second, guilt was visible in Alex's eyes, which was soon replaced by anger and bitterness. "Don't you dare try to emotionally manipulate me," he snapped.
As he tried to lunge forward, the officers twisted his arms sharply. He let out a painful scream, which made Liana flinch.
Liana closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, trying to trap the tears rising in her throat. How could she stop them? A bond she had built with so much trust… wasn't even real. It was born from misunderstanding and revenge.
She took in a shaky breath and looked at him again. "Did you ever even think of me as your friend? Even for one day?"
Alex clenched his jaw and growled, "Never." But deep inside, he also knew that he was lying. Revenge had taken over him so badly that even guilt wasn't strong enough to make him accept the fact.
Laura and Ethilia glanced at each other before Laura gave Ethilia a small nod.
Ethilia hesitated for a few seconds, but Laura leaned and whispered, "She needs you the most this time. Trust me, go.."
Ethilia glanced at Liana and stepped forward. She placed a hand on Liana's shoulder and pulled her up slowly, "Liana…" she whispered softly, trying to ease Liana a little, even though she knew it couldn't ease the pain.
Liana stumbled slightly, leaning into Ethilia as she stood up. Her eyes remained fixed on Alex as if trying to understand if this was the same person she knew or... it's someone she had never met before.
The police officer stepped closer. "We should take him now, Miss."
Everyone nodded, but Liana didn't react. Her eyes were getting more teary as memories flashed through her mind. Memories that hurt more than the betrayal itself.
"I know no one can hurt me when I have my safe shield."
"And who's your safe shield, boss?"
"You, Alex. Who else? Of course, you won't let anyone harm me. I know that. And stop calling me boss. We're like best friends, you know?"
Maybe she wouldn't have felt so much pain even after getting stabbed as much as she was feeling to see Alex now. Was it her mistake that he ended up here?
Maybe if she weren't an idol, maybe if she hadn't been selected that day, then Alex wouldn't have been a criminal.
Ethilia wrapped her arms around Liana, pulling her into a tight hug as the police dragged Alex away.
Laura signaled the guards to give them space, and the chaos slowly faded, leaving only the sound of Liana's trembling breaths against Ethilia's shoulder.
Liana wrapped her arms around Ethilia and buried her face into her shoulder. Her body shook with every painful sob. "It hurts Ethilia... Too much..."
Ethilia's own composure cracked for a moment, hearing Liana's broken voice, but she steadied herself. She couldn't fall apart, not when Liana was breaking like this.
Ethilia was aware that even if Liana acts like these things don't hurt her..... like she doesn't care who left her, who stayed, who betrayed, or who hurt her, but deep down, Liana was really soft...
She cares deeply, and it breaks her apart whenever she loses someone close to her.
Laura sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Finally.. problems are over." She whispered, but then her eyes narrowed as she saw a girl standing at a distance.
Her phone was raised, and it was clear that she was taking videos. Her eyes widened, and before she could do anything, the girl noticed her gaze. The girl turned and bolted before Laura could catch or even react.