Episode 5: The Scapegoat

It didn't take Emily as much of a surprise when she woke up the next day with an official release from Starz Entertainment stating she had been at fault for being an attention seeker.

They threw the blame her way saying how they had no idea how Emily had ended up in Stella's place.

They spoke about the press conference that was schedule today and how Emily would publicly own up to her actions.

The signature, J.M., at the bottom of the article that vouched for its reliability had Emily shaking her head in incredulity.

This man just did not know when to stop.

When Emily had arrived at Starz Entertainment's building, she was given stares of disgust, hatred and utter disbelief at the fact that she had the guts to show up here.

Emily held her head high and walked to Jake's office.

"Come in." He directed after she had knocked on the door.

She didn't want to make the mistake of walking in on Stella and him doing it now did she?

Just as she had figured, the dark haired jezebel was sitting within a close proximity of Jake.

When Stella saw Emily, she didn't bother to hide her dislike and stormed out of the office.

Emily stepped aside so that she wouldn't so much as brush her.

She didn't want her stench to rub off on her.

Jake looked down at Emily condescendingly.

He gave off the aura of an almighty God passing a fair judgment.

"You need to take the fall for this and announce that you were seeking attention." He stated not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Is this why you called me here? To take the blame for something I had no control over?"

"Then why the hell did you stand there like a fool, Emily?!" His voice raised.

"How was I supposed to know the lights would go off? All I wanted to do was leave unnoticed but the timing was horrible."

Jake rubbed a frustrated hand over his face.

"You will be my wife soon," he said carefully using his final card, "Do you wish to become a wife who destroys her husband's career? That's why Emily, for the sake of the company, it is necessary for you to step up and shoulder the blame. It is your responsibility to explain to the public that this entire mess was created by your manager for hype and has nothing, at all, to do with Starz Entertainment."

"I can't do that!"

"You will!"

"If I admit that my manager was responsible, that means I'm saying I was responsible too! Weren't you the one that called me and forced me to be a substitute for Stella?" Emily pretended to cry, "Jake, is it because I am marrying you, that I should be turned into a sacrificial lamb?"

"You should've been more careful! How could you be stupid enough to take your mask off in the open like that?!"

Emily pretended to flinch.

As soon as those words left his lips, Jake must have felt he had gone too far.

He quickly calmed down and reached out his arms to give Emily a hug, however, she stepped to the side not wanting the snake to squeeze her to death.

"Help me out, babe. After we're married, I promise to

give you everything your heart desires"

He then shook his head.

"This is why I wanted you to give up acting because we wouldn't be caught up in this whole mess."

Even if I gave up fully on acting we'd still be in this mess because you'd still be using me, Emily recognized.

Allowing her tears to show, the exploited woman nodded, "I'll do it. But only because of you."

He grinned.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"But mark my words Jake Mallion, there will be no more of this!"

"Yes! I promise you, this won't happen again!"

In actuality, Jake knew Emily would fall for it again next time. Especially after they were married, according to how she behaved now, she was going to be easy to subjugate.

Emily just nodded in acceptance.

She tried not to show the revulsion aroused in her by the act of him pulling her to his chest.

"After you're Mrs. Mallion, I will make you the happiest woman in the world.”

Emily rolled her eyes.

After Jake had left the room giving her some time to herself, Emily rang Talia.

"I need you to proceed with Plan B." Emily instructed lowly.

"Fill me in."

"I will be announcing that I created the whole Stella/Emily scandal and apologize in an hour's time.

Right after that, I want need you to leak the photos of Jake and Stella being affectionate in the hospital.

Let's see how they'll try and work their way out of this one."

"With pleasure. I've even thought up of a great headline 'Exposed! Starz Entertainment's boss has an affair: The Biggest Cheating Scum on the Planet!'

Emily couldn't help but respond with a laugh, then she began to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Talia, for getting you involved in all of this."

"Are you kidding me? Gossip is what I live and breathe for! And to pay back a cheating asshole in the midst of it? Count me in."

Emily smiled before hanging up.

If Jake and Stella thought she was going to go down like this they were in for a treat!

Emily appeared at the press conference as promised.

She walked onto the stage as the reporters looked at her eagerly.

Their hands raised as they indicated to be acknowledged.

Emily pointed at the bald guy before her silently giving him permission to go first.

She regretted it at the rubbish he asked her in return.

"Emily, your name is trending worldwide and it continues to stay up there. Did you pay for that position?"

"No, I don't have money to waste on something so superficial. Do you think I'd want my name to keep trending about something like this?" Emily asked without voicing her agaitation.

"Emily, you and Stella are both actresses of Starz Entertainment, but, in recent years, only she has been relevant. Have you been particularly envious of that fact?"

"No." She answered succinctly.

"Emily, is it true that you created this entire situation to gain attention?"

Emily's eyes darkened at the accusation.

"Yes." She agreed regardless of the denial she was struggling with.

The reporters were in complete disorder and confusion at her confession.

Emily bowed her head shamefully. "I would like to apologize to the public for giving the company a bad name. Starz Entertainment had nothing to do with this so it would be fair that everyone would stop questioning the board or Miss Peterson's probity."

"I was trying to seek attention from the media. But!

My manager, Talia Shaw, has nothing to do with it, she simply was following instructions from her superior. I admit to all my faults and sincerely apologize to the public. Thank you."

After her speech, the hall was in an uproar.

The reporters were not pleased.

They had never seen a celebrity admit to her wrongdoings so easily and in such a straightforward manner.

The time they thought they would spend here was shortened tremendously, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The media personnel didn't know if they should praise or ridicule Emily for her brazen attitude towards this scandal.

Jake Mallion made his way onto the stage trying to suppress his victorious smile.

"Starz Entertainment is a very forgiving company, and as Miss Pinault has brought many successes to us in the past, we have decided to not let her go.

However, she will reflect on her actions in private and take responsibility for it all."

In an instant, the internet was flooded with hate for Emily.

Since she had admitted everything outright, the public only saw what was on the surface and were filled with anger.

Coming out of a board meeting, Nicholas overheard his staffs' discussions.

He turned to look at his assistant who quickly revealed what had happened today at the press conference. "Sir, aren't you going to do anything to help Miss Pinault?"

"Not just yet, David. I want to see how she will deal with it herself." Nicholas replied calmly.

He had already mentioned before that he was curious about how Emily would react.

David nodded understandingly.

Just as everyone was insulting Emily, a famous online personality released an album of photos. The album was titled:

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FAKE STELLA SCANDAL: EMILY P. IS NOT AT FAULT BUT JAKE M. AND STELLA P. ARE!

The album was filled with photos of Jake and Stella embracing each other. In the photos, they were both in the hospital. Jake was on top of Stella while she was still wearing her hospital gown.

The public who had seen the images that were being circulated were stunned.

They thought Stella was in the hospital recovering from a serious cold, what was the meaning of this?!

Wow..Stella's really out there doing the worse.

Isn't that Emily's bf and the co-owner of Starz?!

A homewrecker? You are no longer my idol Stella Peterson!

Poor Emily...we should really apologize to her.

The hashtag #WEARESORRYEMILY trended all over social media websites like Twitter and Instagram. Everyone was sincerely apologizing for taking Stella's side and now they understood why she had to attend the fashion show - the cheaters had ganged up on her!

In disbelief, Jake picked up his phone and contacted his PR, ordering them to use more money to take down Emily's news right this moment. He even went as far as using his connections with a few nasty reporters.

No one was aware of the relationship between Emily and Nicholas. If they were, things would be different.

But they didn't. So, compared to Emily, no one was brave enough to offend Jake.

However, they were all in for a surprise order.

Nicholas was on the phone with the main news sources, "If the news of Emily Pinault disappears from search rankings, then be prepared for your companies to close down."

The media couldn't offend Royal Entertainment.

Even though they didnt understand why Nicholas King was backing Emily Pinault, they did as they were told.

As a result, Talia couldn't understand why their plan had ran so effortlessly. She had originally expected it to take a few days to blow up or not at all if Jake got the images down in time.

"Emily is there something you're not telling me? Like you being backed by another company perhaps?"

"What? No." Emily replied but then a specific man came to mind, "However, I think there might be someone nosy enough to assist me."

Just in time to hear the last of her words over the phone, Nicholas had walked into the living room.

Not making any eye contact, he did a full spin around at the unfavourable topic of discussion she was having.

Emily couldn't help but laugh at his surprising knack for antics.

"But I can't tell you who it is as yet!" Emily spoke quickly to Talia again once she had sobered up.

"Okay, okay. I'll trust you on this one. Congrats on your victory over the the cheaters!"

"Temporary victory." Emily reminded her, "The media has a way of lifting someone up and then dropping them back down in the blink of an eye."

"That is scarily accurate." Talia agreed with a purse of her lips.

"Good night, Talia. Thank you for your hardwork." Emily bidded before hanging up.

"Okay, okay. I'll trust you on this one. Congrats on your victory over the the cheaters!"

"Temporary victory." Emily reminded her, "The media has a way of lifting someone up and then dropping them back down in the blink of an eye."

"That is scarily accurate." Talia agreed with a purse of her lips.

"Good night, Talia. Thank you for your hardwork." Emily bidded before hanging up.

She stood up from the living room couch, a heart-shaped one which she had grown fond of since it seemed the least formal in the decor, and made her way down the hall. On the way to her bedroom, her eyes softened as they lingered on Nicholas' bedroom door.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

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