Chapter 197 False Romance
Back in the day when information spread like wildfire, the internet was this massive, invisible web, with news traveling faster than people's expectations.
The day after my divorce, I fired up my live stream like usual, but what I saw blew my mind. In no time, the viewer count shot up to over a hundred thousand. I knew they weren't all there for legal advice. Sure enough, the comments and messages made it clear—they were there to offer their two cents about my divorce.
I got into my groove, answering legal questions like always. After helping a young woman with a tricky custody battle, I got a new connection request.
I put on my best smile and said, "Hey there, welcome to my legal live stream. How can I help you?"
But instead of a legal question, I got hit with a snarky comment, "You had just divorced in the morning, but you immediately accepted another man's proposal by evening. Ms. Cooper sure knows how to move on fast."
The voice was icy, no warmth at all. Before I could even react, the person hung up.
The chat room went nuts, with viewers slamming the guy for being a jerk. But I knew that voice—it was Edward.
The drama between Edward and me was too messy to explain on a live stream, so I kept my cool and moved on, helping other viewers with their issues.
By noon, I wrapped up the stream. I was exhausted but felt oddly satisfied. I hadn't checked my private messages during the stream, so I finally took a look. Among the flood of messages, one person had sent me a bunch of texts. Curious, I opened them. One was a link to another live stream, no explanation.
I clicked the link and found myself watching a well-known relationship blogger's stream. Edward and Aria were guests, sitting close on a couch. The blogger asked about their relationship, and Aria started telling their story, getting all teary-eyed while Edward comforted her with a handkerchief. They looked all lovey-dovey, and the host was eating it up.
But the viewers weren't buying it. They were ripping into Aria, calling her a homewrecker since Edward had just divorced me yesterday and was now flaunting his new relationship. I knew Edward was using this to get back at me. He couldn't understand why I wasn't getting the same heat for moving on.
The truth was, many of the viewers bashing him were Eric's fans. Since I hadn't jumped into a new relationship like he had, he was taking all the flak. The chat was on fire, but I didn't care. I watched for a bit, then closed the stream.
That evening, just as I was about to call it a night, there was a sudden, frantic knocking at my door. I peeked through the peephole and saw Edward, looking unsteady. He was clearly drunk, almost leaning on the door, mumbling, "Diana, open up!"
A wave of annoyance hit me. This wasn't the first time Edward had shown up drunk. The man standing outside my door was a far cry from the guy I once loved. I was beyond disappointed.
When I didn't respond, Edward started shouting, "Diana, I know you're in there! Is someone else with you? Are you with David? Let me in and see for myself!" His words were slurred, dripping with drunkenness and provocation, which only made me more irritated.
I grabbed my phone and called David. I figured if he was nearby, he could come and deal with Edward. But David's phone just kept ringing with no answer.
I walked over to the balcony and glanced at the apartment next door. It was completely dark. David probably wasn't home tonight. He had bought this small apartment for me, but he had other places to stay, so he wasn't here all the time.
With a sigh, I called the property management. After explaining the situation, the property manager assured me, "Don't worry, security will be there soon. Just stay safe and don't open the door."
Soon enough, I heard the security guard outside, scolding Edward. The guard couldn't force him to leave, but he did manage to get Edward to stagger towards the elevator, muttering incoherently.
Through the peephole, I watched Edward and the security guard get into the elevator. I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I was glad I hadn't opened the door. If I had, Edward would have barged in and refused to leave.
When we were married, I had no way to deal with him. But now that I was free, I wasn't about to let him back into my life so easily—not now, not ever. I was ready to start fresh, maybe even finding a new relationship.
Despite Edward's public display of affection with Aria earlier, showing he wouldn't come back to bother me, tonight's events showed he wasn't ready to let go. The absurdity of it all felt surreal.
I lay in bed, unable to sleep. I picked up my phone and started scrolling through live streams. Whether it was an automatic recommendation or pure coincidence, I stumbled upon Aria's live stream. She was sitting in front of the camera, beaming with pride, showing off a branded watch to her viewers. I recognized it immediately—it was the gift Edward had given me for my birthday last year.
I never liked flashy things, and this watch was just another item I rarely wore. I didn't expect Aria to treat it like a treasure. She was enthusiastically explaining that this watch was the first gift Edward had given her and that it was her most cherished possession, as if it symbolized their love.
Her words quickly attracted envy from her viewers. Watching Aria surrounded by her adoring fans, I couldn't help but think of the saying "birds of a feather flock together." They were all caught up in the illusion of romance she had created, believing they were witnessing a great love story, oblivious to the fact that it was all a sham. Having been through it myself, I found it all utterly ridiculous.
Aria's acting was so convincing that if I weren't the original owner of the watch, I might have been completely fooled by her.
I stared at Aria's face on the screen calmly. Let her enjoy this fake happiness. The truth would come out eventually.
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