He Said ‘Of Course’ to Every Insult About Me, I Said ‘Of Course’ to Walking Away Chapter 05

He Said ‘Of Course’ to Every Insult About Me, I Said ‘Of Course’ to Walking Away Chapter 05

My project details scrolled across the screen, every timeline crystal clear.

That was the backup I’d kept on my phone.

Back in college, I was scatterbrained and always forgot where I’d saved files on my laptop.

It was Ethan who told me to always save a copy on my phone.

Though he’d probably long forgotten that by now.

A commotion erupted. Ethan’s face went pale.

He hissed at the staff. “Enough! Shut it off!”

As camera shutters clicked wildly, the screen finally went dark.

But did I really think I’d let him off that easy?

My contact connected via Bluetooth and played the rest of the audio.

Ethan and Naomi’s insults from the night before echoed through the venue, word for word.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

“Oh my God, not only did they not do their own project work, they used AI to spread slander?!”

“Exactly, this is terrifying! With zero data security, who’d trust their products?!”

“I was actually curious about the project after the promo. Now I’m just completely floored…”

Right on cue, the screen displayed evidence of them spreading the video and screenshots of the

abuse my family and I received.

The room erupted again. Reporters turned on their live streams.

On stage, Naomi’s face drained of color. She didn’t even get a word out before she stumbled and collapsed.

By the time she staggered off stage, Ethan was already screaming for security to clear the room.

Jack lunged at the cameras like a madman. That moment was captured and spread everywhere.

The scandal exploded. By late morning, it was the top trending headline.

“Honestly, they deserve it! Hope that rotten company goes bankrupt!”

The girl who helped me told me all this just as I landed.

Ethan had called me countless times. I didn’t pick up once.

I blocked him in silence.

Liam took my luggage and smiled at me.

I followed him to the car, my steps lighter than they’d been in ages.

I opened the car door. When I saw my parents in the backseat, my eyes instantly welled up.

I threw myself into my mom’s arms and sobbed.

Like I could cry out every ounce of hurt from these past days.

Before seeing my family, I thought I was strong enough.

I’d handled so much on my own and made sure they got what they deserved.

But meeting my mom’s heartbroken eyes shattered me.

Dad reached over to rub my back, letting me cry it all out.

When we got ready to get out, my face felt hot.

I cleared my throat and took the suitcase Liam handed me. “Thanks, Liam… you must think I’m a

mess again.”

He chuckled softly and ruffled my hair. “Go on inside.”

Back home, I saw a message from Ethan on my old alt account.

[…Natalie, are you really this heartless?]

[You had to burn it all down? You happy now, seeing the company like this?!]

Ugh. Should’ve blocked him everywhere.

I typed back: [You destroyed everything yourself. And you showed me exactly what kind of

hypocrite you really are.]

[This mess? Your toxic little clique brought it on yourselves!]

[Oh, and I dumped all my shares two days ago. So don’t contact me again, Ethan.]

After hitting send, I blocked and deleted that account too. Seeing me so clear-headed, my parents finally relaxed.

Dad waved the fish he’d just bought in front of my face.

“Hey, I’m making your favorite tonight-my famous meatloaf.”

“And you get the first slice-congratulations on finally seeing things clearly, sweetheart!”

Feeling the rare warmth of home, I finally laughed out loud.