Laura's POV
I sat in my chair in front of my dressing mirror, trying my best to apply my makeup, but it wasn't working. My hands were shaking. Today I would be having an interview with Robes, and whatever I said would be concrete evidence against Eric, who had done me no harm. I just had to keep up with the lie for my mother's sake.
Suddenly, my phone rang, and I looked at the caller ID. It was Rena, my best friend. I didn't want to take the call at first, but I answered. "Laura, have you seen the news online about Eric Sloan? They said your blog was the one that posted it, but I corrected them. It can never be you. Maybe your blog was hacked," she said rapidly. I couldn't help but heave a heavy sigh.
Thank goodness Rena had defended me. Anyone who knew me would know that I would never do such a thing.
"It was me, Rena. I was the one who posted it," I admitted, breaking her heart. My voice was low and heavy with guilt.
Rena was silent for a while. "Why... You what?" she asked after recovering from the shock.
"I did it."
Rena heaved a sigh on the other end of the line. "But... but how? I mean, how did you get to know Eric Sloan?" she asked. I was silent for a while before she continued. "Have you seen him? Where did you take that photo? That photo was taken in a bar, and you and I both know you're an introvert."
I couldn't help but break into tears. "They have my mother."
"What?!"
"They have my mom. The people who sent me those photos have my mom. They said if I don't do it, they'll kill her. I had no choice," I replied in a hoarse voice.
"Laura, I don't get it. You mean your mother has been kidnapped, and you didn't tell me?" she asked, her voice hinting that she was angry.
"You had an exam. I didn't want to stress you. That's not the problem now."
"What could be bigger than your mother's kidnapping, huh, Laura?"
I picked up a comb to style my hair before putting it in a bun. "An interview with Robes," I replied. Rena screamed from the other side. I was sure she was jumping on her bed by now.
"An interview with Robes! Oh my gosh! Laura, like Robes—the Robes we know?" she asked, her pitch higher than usual with excitement.
"Yes," I responded.
She screamed again. "Laura, I'm so happy for you! Oh my gosh, you're about to become a celebrity!"
"It's about Eric Sloan," I replied, and the screams and excitement died at once.
"They want to interview you about your blog post? That's bad. The Sloans are powerful. They have some African country's GDP as part of their network."
"I know. I'm in a big—" A loud bang from the other side cut me short.
"Who's that..."
"Oh, it's Benjamin. His university told their class to go home. They're investigating them. Someone reported that they had drugs with them," she explained.
My heart sank into the depths of my stomach. Benjamin and my brother attended the same university. I hoped Larry wouldn't be affected.
"How the hell would Harvard students be taking drugs? I mean, what's the point of going there if you want to do drugs? Laura? Laura? Laura, are you there?" Rena asked.
I jolted out of my thoughts, ended the call immediately without saying goodbye, and left.
Thank God the cab I ordered was here.
***
I made my way toward the podium, clutching tightly to my bag as I tried to hide my nervousness.
The interview started, and they began asking me question after question: what I was doing at the bar when he came in, if I supported the LGBTQ community, whether I was in contact with Miss Bella Warner.
I answered all the questions strategically. I had prepared myself for these questions. The night before, I had anticipated all the questions I could think of.
"Do you think you owe Mr. Sloan and Mr. Avery an apology?" the interviewer asked.
I cleared my throat and sat upright. "No. I think they should be thanking me."
"Why is that so? Who are you for them to appreciate?" the interviewer asked with a sharp edge.
I felt completely uncomfortable. I could feel the interviewer's burning hatred. Her sharp glare and tone made it clear that she despised me. "Well, having such strong feelings in secret is the worst thing that can ever happen to someone..."
"And you don't think that revealing someone's secret is worse?" she asked, cutting off my statement.
The last question immediately made me tense up. What I had expected was just normal questions and answers, not the interviewer directing furious questions at me.
To salvage the moment, I squared my shoulders to remain confident, even though my heart was beating faster than normal and I was sweating under the air conditioner.
"No. And I think you should stop making it seem as if I did something bad!" I glared back, not knowing where the confidence came from.
"Well, you did. You released someone's secret to the public," she fired back.
"You seem to be so concerned about Mr. Sloan and Mr. Avery. What about Miss Bella, who was tied up in a relationship for a year?" I asked, not ready to back down.
"Did she come forward to talk about that? So what made you think you could expose both of them?" Robes fired back with numerous questions.
"Well, I'm a blogger. It's my job."
She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh, I'm an interviewer. It's my job to know about your thoughts and opinions, right?"
"Yeah."
"So it's okay if I get someone to read your mind and expose all your sexual fantasies and dark secrets, right?"
I furrowed my brows and sucked in a deep breath at her last statement. What was she driving at? She was gradually making enemies for me.
"That's not what this is about," I replied calmly, trying to ease the tension.
"Oh yes, this is exactly what it's about. You become a blogger and decide to expose people's secrets even though you're not sure."
"That's not it. I was just helping Miss Bella."
"And did she ask you to help her?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, but..." I stuttered.
"I think you have great hatred for gay people because if you don't, you would talk about other things and not someone's private life," she concluded.
She turned toward the camera to face the audience, cutting off the interview. She smiled at the camera.
"Anyway, that'll be all for today. Don't get confused—gay people will continue to exist, but I just decided to interview her since it's a very delicate matter."
She stood up and shook hands with me.
"This has been a lovely interview with me, your host, Agatha Sloan, and blogger Laura Karma. Until we meet again. Bye."
Immediately the camera went off, Agatha walked up to me, her eyes narrowed to slits. She glared at me, giving me morbid chills. She leaned forward and whispered, "I will make you pay for everything you did to my brother." With those words, she left.
Fear crept through my skin. No wonder she had been so harsh to me. She was Eric's sister. I took my bag and walked outside. Immediately I stepped out, journalists rushed toward me, asking numerous questions.
I stood frozen on the spot, staring at the hundreds of reporters. I tried to open my mouth, but no words came out.
Slowly the noise died as they made way for a man in a blue suede suit. My heart skipped a beat as I could recognize this man anywhere with all the drama going on between us. It was Eric Sloan, the same man I was forced to label as gay.
He walked toward me until we were two steps away from each other. He stared at me for a while, hiding his expression behind his dark sunglasses. He removed them after a moment and I watched as his blue eyes stared at me. "Miss Laura Karma. May I have a word with you?" he asked as he stretched forth his hand, inviting me to take it.