Love in the Limelight (Astrid and Elio)
Chapter 522

"It must be your jinx! In the entertainment industry, such stuff is nearly commonplace. A little voodoo doll mischief is hardly earth-shattering," snorted Karin, "And the fans all rave about Astar being so cool and gorgeous. Who would have guessed that you're just a green-eyed monster behind it all?"

A green-eyed monster? Her, Astrid?

"Bwahaha!" Astrid couldn't contain her laughter. "Sorry, I didn't expect you to come up with such a far-fetched story, Karin. Aren't you embarrassed?"

"You're wasting your talent in the music industry. You should be writing scripts, seriously."

Karin couldn't fathom why Astrid was still laughing and retorted with a stern face, "You obviously have it out for me. Why else would you give me that wooden sculpture? It's because you've been bitten by a venomous snake, and you're trying to pass the poison on to me!"

The online crowd gasped at Karin's words. [Damn, that kinda makes sense. No one saw Astrid carving that sculpture from start to finish!]

[That carving was too professional-looking. It couldn't have been done with just a switchblade. I raised a question about it before and got hounded by her fans!]

[Jeez, I'm getting chills! Astrid smeared her blood, laced with poison, onto the sculpture, and now Karin's been poisoned by a splinter! What a diabolical plan!]

[Let's not jump to conclusions and spread rumors, folks!]

[So Karin's poisoned now?]

[We stand with Astar. We've been watching her streams forever, and she never starts anything with anyone. If she's targeting someone, it must be because they provoked her first!]

[There's always a reason to dislike someone. I've been saying from the start that something's off with Karin. Some called me a hater, but I stick to there's definitely something fishy about her!] While the internet was ablaze with speculation, Astrid just smiled.

Karin was clever, alright. She poisoned discretely, leaving no trace, so no one would believe Astrid if she pointed fingers.

So instead, she spun a tale that it was jealousy over Karin's relationship with Elio that drove Astrid to spread the poison. A clever diversion, indeed.

At first, Astrid didn't know how Karin had managed to poison them, but then one little slip-up from Karin gave it all away.

Astrid looked at Karin with a smirk curling her lips, "My sculpture was hand-carved by me, and you're right about one thing. I gave it to you to pass on the poison. But why would I do that? It's because you poisoned me and Elio first. If we wanted the antidote, we'd have to make sure you were in the same boat."

The online spectators were stunned. [Karin poisoned Astar and Elio?]

[Astrid's gotta be talking nonsense. I've been watching the stream non-stop. When did Karin ever poison them?]

[Poison? No way. I was up all night on shift, bored out of my mind, watching the live stream on my phone. I didn't see any poisoning happening!]

[But Karin's excuse is so outlandish it hurts. Even a random onlooker like me replaces this spiel completely ludicrous!]

[This is freaking me out, so when did Karin poison them?]

Confident in her covert methods, Karin challenged Astrid with a prideful sneer, "Stop slinging mud. When did I ever poison you? We've hardly been in close contact from the get-go. If you're going to frame me, at least come up with a believable story, will you?"

Astrid watched Karin's self-assured demeanor and raised an eyebrow slightly, "Someone else might not have caught on to your little poison ploy, but you're dealing with me. Against me, you're just another tragedy in the making."