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11:05 11:05 Chapter380 Chapter 380 Lemirahadalreadysprawledoutonherdormbed,snappingaselfiewithapatchplasteredonherarmandsendingit withamessage:[Youleftmeallbangedup.Hadtoslaponabunchofthesepatches.] Lemira had already sprawled out on her dorm bed , snapping a selfie with a patch plastered on her arm and sending it with a message : [ You left me all banged up . Had to slap on a bunch of these patches . ] Otherwise,shejoked,shemightwakeupwithsomeoneelse’slimbs. Otherwise , she joked , she might wake up with someone else’s limbs . ༢ ༢ Orion’scaridledatastoplightwhenheinstinctivelyreachedforhisphone,hisexpressiondarkeningasheread Orion’s car idled at a stoplight when he instinctively reached for his phone , his expression darkening as he read hermessage. her message . Restinganarmontheopenwindow,hetypedback,[Wasn’tme.] Resting an arm on the open window , he typed back , [ Wasn’t me . ] Lemirarespondedwithastring ofellipses. Lemira responded with a string of ellipses . / <![CDATA[ / fpm_start( "true" ); / ]]> / Orionglancedatherreply,tossedhisphoneaside,anddrovehomeinabettermood,thebriefexchangealreadyfadingfromhismind. Orion glanced at her reply , tossed his phone aside , and drove home in a better mood , the brief exchange already fading from his mind . Lemira,stillmullingoverhisresponse,couldn’thelpbutsenda“beatingadeadhorse”emoji. Lemira , still mulling over his response , couldn’t help but send a “ beating a dead horse ” emoji . Shewasclearinheraccusation,afterall. She was clear in her accusation , after all . Thenextday,Lemirawasjoltedawake byherphone’sincessantringing. The next day , Lemira was jolted awake by her phone’s incessant ringing . Shehadplannedonsleepingin,givenher morningoff. She had planned on sleeping in , given her morning off . Annoyed,sheanswered,“What?” Annoyed , she answered , “ What ?” “Lemira,Ican’tbelieve you’dgothisfartoseemedead.Itookthe fallforeverything,yetwhy’dyouhaveto dragitallintothespotlight,hellbent onruining mecompletely?”Alaric’svoice wasfilledwithindignationanddespair. “ Lemira , I can’t believe you’d go this far to see me dead . I took the fall for everything , yet why’d you have to drag it all into the spotlight , hellbent on ruining me completely ? ” Alaric’s voice was filled with indignation and despair . Sittingup,Lemirayawned,“Areyou outofyourmind?WhendidIeverexposeanythingtothemedia?” Sitting up , Lemira yawned , “ Are you out of your mind ? When did I ever expose anything to the media ? ” “Justcheckthenews.Whoelsebutyouwoulddothis?” “ Just check the news . Who else but you would do this ? ” Uponseeingthenews,Alaricknewhiscareerwasintatters. Upon seeing the news , Alaric knew his career was in tatters . Sponsorswerebombardinghimwithcalls,demandingcontractterminations. Sponsors were bombarding him with calls , demanding contract terminations . Histeammanagermentionedthat manyplayers wereconsideringleaving. His team manager mentioned that many players were considering leaving . Outraged,Alaricconfrontedher,“Lemira,Iadmit mypastmistakes.I’mevenwillingtofacejailtime,butwhymustyou gototheselengths?” Outraged , Alaric confronted her , “ Lemira , I admit my past mistakes . I’m even willing to face jail time , but why must you go to these lengths ? ”

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googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1740295285127-0'); }); Lemiracheckedherphoneandindeed,therewasthenewsitem Alaricmentioned. Lemira checked her phone and indeed , there was the news item Alaric mentioned . TheLangstonGroupAccusedofCorporateEspionage,GamingMogulCaughtRed–handed. ** The Langston Group Accused of Corporate Espionage , Gaming Mogul Caught Red – handed . ** ThepiecedetailedhowAlaricallegedlypilferedcorporatesecrets forAsher’scompany,withoutspecifyingthesecretsormentioningherbyname. The piece detailed how Alaric allegedly pilfered corporate secrets for Asher’s company , without specifying the secrets or mentioning her by name . Yetwiththescandalnowpublic,Asher’scompany’sstockhadplummeted. Yet with the scandal now public , Asher’s company’s stock had plummeted . Afterreading,Lemirarepliedcoolly,“Believeitornot,Ididn’tdothis.” After reading , Lemira replied coolly , “ Believe it or not , I didn’t do this . ” “Thenwhoelsewouldhave?” “ Then who else would have ? ” “Ifthat’swhatyouwanttobelieve,thenfine.Butthereport’snotlying;it’salltrue.” “ If that’s what you want to believe , then fine . But the report’s not lying ; it’s all true . ” Lemiradidn’tcaretoexplainfurther.Let themisunderstandingstand. Lemira didn’t care to explain further . Let the misunderstanding stand . Afterall,itwasn’tthefirsttimetheLangstonsgotherwrong. After all , it wasn’t the first time the Langstons got her wrong . Lemira,afteralltheseyears,Ioweyounothing.We’resquare!”Alarichungup. Lemira , after all these years , I owe you nothing . We’re square ! ” Alaric hung up . Lemirasmirkedatherphonebutwaspuzzled.Whowasbehindthis? Lemira smirked at her phone but was puzzled . Who was behind this ? 11:05 11:05 Yonapter380 Yonapter 380 SheforwardedthenewstoThaddeus:“Didyouorchestratethis?” She forwarded the news to Thaddeus : “ Did you orchestrate this ? ” Thaddeuswastheonlypersonwhocame tomind. Thaddeus was the only person who came to mind . Howdidyouknow?” How did you know ? ” Thaddeussoundedslightlyembarrassed.HadLemiracaughtontosomething? Thaddeus sounded slightly embarrassed . Had Lemira caught onto something ? “Whoelsehastheguts?ButthiswillsurelybringDorian’swrathdownonyou.” “ Who else has the guts ? But this will surely bring Dorian’s wrath down on you .” EvelinawoulddefinitelyseekoutDorian. Evelina would definitely seek out Dorian . “Dorian?Don’tsweatit,”Thaddeuspaused.“YouknowwhoIam?” “ Dorian ? Don’t sweat it , ” Thaddeus paused . “ You know who I am ? ” “Yeah,Orionfilledmein.” “ Yeah , Orion filled me in . ” Thaddeus:“???” Thaddeus : “ ??? ” Whatwasthis?Orionthrowing hisfriend underthebusforsecrecy’ssake.Great! What was this ? Orion throwing his friend under the bus for secrecy’s sake . Great ! “Lemon,whoIamdoesn’tmatter.We’refriends.IfDorian evergivesyoutrouble,justletmeknow.” “ Lemon , who I am doesn’t matter . We’re friends . If Dorian ever gives you trouble , just let me know . ” Lemirachuckled.Doriancouldn’ttroubleherevenifhetried. Lemira chuckled . Dorian couldn’t trouble her even if he tried . Then,out oftheblue,sheasked,“So,howdidyouandOrion meet?Whatdidheusetodo?” Then , out of the blue , she asked , “ So , how did you and Orion meet ? What did he use to do ? ” alwaysfeltlikeOrionwasshroudedinmystery. always felt like Orion was shrouded in mystery .

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