CHAPTER 60: KICK HER OUT?

She took a deep breath, keeping everyone on edge.

"No, they are not. Everything was orchestrated by Alisha De Rossi," she replied.

Mumbling echoed as people glared at Katherine.

Her claim would have been true, but the video of her pushing Alisha was still circulating online, so there was a high chance that her claim was baseless.

Alisha’s current condition also looked like she’d tried to get her revenge on the poor woman.

The reporter scribbled something in his book and looked back up at Katherine.

"Experts have analyzed the video in case it was ai generated, but the results show it was genuine."

Goosebumps appeared on Katherine’s skin. That was her only alibi to escape and now it was confirmed it was actually genuine. If only she’d been careful enough during the Nix photoshoot, then she wouldn’t be here answering questions as if she were in some kind of interrogation.

Now, she was here because of her carelessness.

"They’re wrong," Katherine replied.

Alisha had her gentle smile on her face as the camera captured her face.

"Then are you by any chance behind the condition Alisha is in now?" The bald reporter asked.

Katherine cocked her eyebrow at him. She didn’t expect him to be so direct.

"I’m not," she denied and immediately, murmurs came flooding into the conference room.

Megan was watching from the sidelines, her expression stoic but filled with silent rage. If Katherine dared to say the wrong thing, Veila would have to suffer along with her. She didn’t want that at all.

"In that case, netizens are asking you to apologize to Alisha for everything that you’ve done to her even if you deny that the videos were photoshopped. Will you do that?" The reporter asked and silence reigned.

Katherine was silent for the longest time, keeping everyone in suspense, curious to hear what she was going to say.

"I will apologize," Katherine said, her voice cracking the silence.

Alisha’s grin widened but she still kept her silence.

"All of this is orchestrated by someone, and I’ll find out who. But for now, I’ll apologize. Alisha is still my junior and I wouldn’t intentionally harm her," she said.

Then she stood up and walked in front of Alisha, her face so stiff yet glaring as she gave the reporters her back so that they wouldn’t see her facial expression.

"I’m sorry, Alisha," she said, her head bent low. "This was all a huge misunderstanding and I’ll make sure to get to the bottom of this."

The crowd gasped since no one could believe Katherine would apologize.

Alisha was unfazed still.

Katherine despised apologizing to Alisha, but her career was at risk at the moment. If she dared to deny apologizing, she could be cancelled. She wasn’t going to lose everything she’d worked hard for just because she couldn’t apologize to a newbie.

Once again, murmurs roared in the conference room since no one could believe Katherine would do it.

Katherine had always presented herself as an understanding and kind woman. So, when video clips of her being mean to Alisha were released, everyone thought that they’d seen her true colors.

Katherine went back to take her seat, a gentle smile on her face as camera shutters captured her face. Internally, she was gritting her teeth, patiently waiting for when the press conference would be over and she could head home and vent her rage.

"Alisha, since Katherine denied being the cause of your condition, do you have any idea who did this to you?" The bald reporter asked.

Alisha’s smile stretched for a second, while Katherine stiffened in her seat.

She silently prayed that Alisha wouldn’t tell the truth. If she did...

Alisha glanced at Katherine and they both made eye contact before Alisha faced the camera.

"I was attacked by a man who knocked me out unconscious and took me to a warehouse. He was unfamiliar as I’ve never met him before. So I presume he’s working for someone," she replied. "But it’s alright, my husband is already searching for this man."

Katherine paled as she tried to gulp down her saliva but the task seemed almost impossible.

She should have known that Alisha wasn’t going to take it easy on her. She may not have mentioned her name, but the suspicion thrown at Katherine wasn’t going to dissipate due to what she’d just said.

Katherine maintained a gentle smile so her expression wouldn’t crack.

Alisha may have said that Dante was going to find the culprit, but for all she knew, Alisha might have already told Dante about everything.

She’d just hurt the wife of a business tycoon, and now, her entire career was in danger.

The reporter asked Alisha a few more questions regarding how she’d managed to escape from the hands of her kidnapper.

After giving a simple answer, the press conference ended.

Katherine didn’t waste any time and left the scene while Dante escorted Alisha out.

Katherine arrived home that night with a phone call from Stella, her manager.

"Katherine, we have a problem," she said, her voice filled with urgency. Katherine felt irritated at the moment. From one problem to another, she took a deep breath and waited for Stella to speak. "Brands want to terminate their contract with you."

Katherine was expecting Stella to talk about the hateful comments after the conference ended since she hadn’t looked at her phone yet. Anything at all, but not to what some brands are requesting to terminate their contract with her.

"What?!!" She yelled, veins popping on her head now.

"Vivid Vogue and Aura want to schedule a meeting with you as soon as possible and terminate the contract," Stella said. This had never happened before.

For one good year, Katherine’s popularity stretched beyond Lexora, further into other cities and no brand dared to terminate a contract because they all wanted her.

"Not only that, other brands called to reconsider if they wanted you as their brand ambassador after the chaos on the internet," Stella included, unintentionally adding to Katherine’s rage.

**

If Katherine was boiling in rage before, now, she was close to exploding.

Her breathing was hoarse, her chest rising and falling. All because of one scandal, all because of one woman. She was about to lose everything in one day.

It was ridiculous.

"Tell them that the scandal has already been cleared. I apologized to Alisha as the netizens wanted. In one week or less, this scandal will be old news," Katherine said, running her hand through her hair in frustration.

"I’ve already told them that, but they’re really adamant about terminating the contract. Also, they don’t mind paying the fine for terminating a contract on such short notice. It goes to show that nothing I say would change their mind," Stella explained.

She was also exhausted due to the situation on the ground. It almost seemed that someone was intentionally adding fuel to the fire, making everything worse than it should be.

Meanwhile, Katherine was so close to exploding once again. She looked like a mad woman.

"Don’t worry, I’ll recommend you to other brands and get you to sign a contract with them." Stella was lying. She wasn’t sure if other brands would want to sign Katherine especially now that she is so close to getting cancelled.

Nathan arrived in the living room, giving Katherine a look before he ignored her and went to get ready for tonight. He was still furious with her, but his sleep was much more important than getting into another argument with her.

Megan was in her office, reading the comments on the shared clips from the press conference a few hours ago.

"Katherine really thinks we believe this. I know she’s not an actress, but can she at least try to sound sorry?"

"She turned her back to the reporters, knowing fully well that her face couldn’t be captured. I wonder what she said to Alisha."

"That disgusting woman really thinks she can get away with an apology? Veila should just terminate her contract with Katherine Cross already. Seeing her bully her junior just makes me wonder how many other junior models she’s done this to."

That comment received several likes and replies from people agreeing with her.

She pinched her temple in frustration as she tried to ease the stress off her body. She closed her eyes, massaging her eyebrows after laying her glasses on the table.

Allison walked in, her expression stoic like a stone.

"I have bad news," Allison said. Megan grunted in response. "Five brands are threatening to terminate their contract with us if we don’t terminate our contract with Katherine and kick her out of Veila."

Megan stared at Allison, waiting for her to laugh it off as a joke, but she knew Allison as someone who never joked, especially in a situation like this.

"So what are we going to do now? Should we kick Katherine out of Veila or risk offending five brands?" Allison asked, her expression serious.