Chapter 188: "Such A Bummer"

Aren’s focus sharpened as she studied the footage on the screen.

Among the male figures appearing in the sex tapes, one man’s face was visible just clearly enough to catch her attention.

She concentrated on him, tracing the familiar features through the grainy, poorly lit footage until something clicked in her memory.

She knew him.

Manuel Cardozo.

Sofia Marchetti’s ex-fiancé — the very man who had cheated on Sofia with Ariana for nearly a year.

Aren’s expression hardened, cold and murderous.

’Manuel must have handed these videos to whoever arranged for them to be played here.’

’I’ll have to pay this Manuel a visit later.’

Before she could think any further, the thunder of approaching footsteps shook her from her thoughts.

Aren turned to find reporters surging onto the stage, desperate to get answers from the woman whose face had just been exposed on the enormous screen.

Security attempted to hold them back, but several reporters broke through and stormed forward, shouting over one another.

"Ariana! How do you feel seeing yourself on that screen right now?!"

"Who are the men in the videos, Ariana?!"

"Did you leak those videos yourself for publicity?!"

"What do you have to say to your fans — especially the young girls looking up to you?!"

The questions struck her one after another, but Aren barely registered them.

Her attention had already shifted to Jordan.

He had been helping the staff wrestle with cables and control panels in a desperate attempt to shut down the screen, but the instant he noticed the reporters charging toward Aren, he abandoned everything and sprinted toward her.

Before Aren could react, Jordan threw himself between her and the approaching crowd, planting his body directly in their path.

"What the fuck do you ridiculous people think you’re doing?!" he shouted, fury cutting through every word. "Back off the stage, now! Don’t fucking touch her!"

The reporters couldn’t have cared less.

They surged forward like a lawless swarm, pushing past Jordan in their desperation to reach Aren.

One of them even shoved hard enough to jolt Jordan’s injured shoulder.

"Urgh—"

Jordan recoiled, pain flashing across his face.

Aren’s anger flared even hotter.

Murderous fury burned in her eyes as she seized Jordan and pulled him backward with all the strength she could muster.

"Stay away from him!"

She stepped directly in front of Jordan, placing herself between him and the reporters.

Her fist drew back, ready to strike the reporter who had just shoved him, when a deafening metallic crack rang across the stage.

CREAK—!

Every person nearby froze.

Their attention snapped toward the sound, and almost instantly, every one of them was struck dumb when their eyes landed on Jeremiah Castellano.

The host of the show stood several steps away, calmly gripping the brass microphone stand with both hands.

There was a jagged hole in the wooden stage floor — where the stand had been moments earlier.

Apparently, Jeremiah had simply ripped it out.

For several seconds, nobody seemed capable of processing what they were seeing.

Jeremiah, meanwhile, appeared perfectly calm.

Before anyone could figure out what he intended to do — or why the hell he had suddenly torn a microphone stand out of the floor — he turned toward the LED screen.

Then, with the casual ease of someone warming up before a morning workout, he rolled his shoulders twice and cracked his neck from side to side.

Next, he shifted his grip on the brass stand, lowered his center of gravity, and raised it over one shoulder.

The entire movement was so fluid that it looked as though he’d rehearsed it hundreds of times.

Then—

Jeremiah ran.

Three powerful strides carried him across the stage.

At the peak of his momentum, he twisted his entire body and hurled the brass stand straight toward the center of the LED display.

Whoosh!

WHAM!

The solid brass base smashed through the screen with a deafening crash.

Glass and LED modules exploded outward, and the video vanished instantly.

As glowing fragments and severed wires rained down across the stage, the staff members and reporters who had stormed forward scattered for their lives.

They ducked and fled as the enormous screen flickered before dying completely, a thin cloud of smoke drifting from the shattered display.

The auditorium fell silent once more.

Slowly, almost unconsciously, every eye in the room shifted from the smoking screen to the blond man standing amid the wreckage.

Jeremiah surveyed the destruction with open admiration.

He even let out a whistle, as though he’d just witnessed a particularly satisfying piece of stagecraft.

"Woooh! Right through the middle of the damn thing! God, I really shouldn’t have stopped lifting weights at the gym. If I’d kept at it, I could’ve probably made that stand pierce the whole screen."

Satisfied, he turned toward the stunned crowd.

Somehow, despite the destruction surrounding him, he still managed to smile with the serene elegance of an angel who had just descended from heaven.

"Wasn’t a bad throw, was it?" he asked brightly. "Sorry about the sudden interruption. I’d love to let everyone keep watching, but I wasn’t sure whether some of those scenes were suitable for any children who might be watching the broadcast at home."

Not a single person moved.

Nobody dared laugh at his nonchalant comment.

Everyone simply stared at him —for many of them, this was the first time they’d ever witnessed this side of Jeremiah Castellano in public.

Jeremiah couldn’t help but sigh.

Judging by the disappointed expression that crossed his face, the crowd’s reaction had fallen considerably short of the excitement he’d expected.

Then, apparently bored already, he stepped toward the reporters, his smile somehow becoming even more radiant.

"Well, that was such a bummer, wasn’t it? Would you mind if I asked everyone to return to their seats and wait for the staff to clean up the stage a little?"

He gestured elegantly toward the auditorium doors.

"Don’t worry about the break. There are gold-leaf macarons served outside next to the bar, along with more champagne while you wait. The show will continue shortly, right after the break."