Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 414

The online opinion seemed to be turned against Kristin, with that "recording" causing a dent in her reputation. Although her fans were defending her, it had made some bystanders think they had a point. Firstly, the one abusing the cat wasn't Kristin, and there was no mention of Kristin telling Ariana to abuse the cat in that recording. Instead, it depicted her being threatened by Ariana for 10 million bucks. Kristin's PR team was pretty good at doing damage control for her. As long as her fans were around, her reputation ain't going down.

Calling Kristin's fans "fanatics" might be more spot-on.

People who were once cyber-attacked by Kristin's team began to retaliate.

[I've seen shameless people, but never as shameless as Kristin. She let Ariana take Izabella's cat and still had the audacity to act innocent?]

[Fans, like their idols, are all irrational.]

[If Kristin's reputation isn't damaged, I'll do a circus act on a live stream.]

[Kristin had plastic surgery before, yet dared to praise her own looks. Can she even compare to Izabella? If she were the lead in Blood Ties, I wouldn't watch. I'm boycotting!]

[Don't worry, Kristin's reputation won't be damaged as long as you bunch of haters aren't around.]

[Would Brad dare to change the lead actress? Kristin didn't breach the contract they signed. If Brad dares to change, who's going to cough up the hefty penalty?]

Just as these words were spoken, Kristin's fans were slapped in the face. At 10 a.m. that day, the official Twitter of Blood Ties announced the termination of their contract with Kristin. Following that, Brad retweeted it, confirming the news.

This was the crew's unilateral decision to terminate the contract with Kristin. If Kristin didn't agree, she'll be facing a lawsuit.

If Kristin deliberately delayed, then Blood Ties can't start filming. She had all the time in the world to deal with the lawsuit and can even take up other work in the meantime. But Blood Ties can't just replace her and start filming.

Clearly, the crew couldn't hold out first. That's why Kristin had been so cocky in the crew. She was convinced Brad wouldn't dare replace her, or else the drama wouldn't be filmed at all.

But surprisingly, Brad actually publicly announced his intention to terminate her contract.

This pissed off Kristin, and she continued to pour in a lot of money to manipulate public opinion.

For instance, Brad treated Izabella very well in the crew, and everyone else had been criticized by him during filming, except for Izabella. He always showed favoritism towards her and Kristin. This implied that their relationship was "ambiguous."

Brad's liking for Izabella wasn't a secret. Any crew member can confirm this.

Indeed, Brad was good to Izabella, which again brought up the issue of casting. He even replaced the originally chosen Ariana for her, offending the producer.

Speaking of Ariana, Kristin's fans were banding together to defend Kristin.

[Izabella stole Ariana's role. No wonder Ariana hated her and wanted to take revenge on her cat.]

[Izabella is planning to use the same strategy again, bullying everyone in the crew through her relationship with the director. First, she forced Ariana out, and now she wanted to force out the lead actress, Kristin. If Blood Ties gets involved in a legal dispute, the filming will be delayed, wasting the entire crew's time, and might even fail before it's finished.]

[Brad's first major mistake in his life is actually because of Izabella.]

[All this fuss over a cat, netizens sure are bored.]

[Why not just change the drama to: How Izabella Became Successful.]

[Strange, with such a big issue online, why hasn't Izabella come out to say something?]

[What else can she do? Just admit she has a relationship with the director, and because she's too timid, she dare not voice out. It's well known that Izabella isn't popular in X Entertainment. Kristin is treated like a princess. Blood Ties still wants to change the lead, and they really can't tell what's what.]

[Remember, Kristin has way more awards than Izabella. Why would Brad offend her? Plus, Kristin's acting skills aren't bad. Among all the newcomers in the entertainment industry, her acting is the best.] When Kristin's fans were shouting their heads off, Brad started tweeting.

The first one was about why he insisted on Izabella playing the role of Megan.

He released a video of Izabella and Kristin rehearsing on set.

He didn't release this video initially because he was worried it would have a negative impact on Kristin. But now that she's terminating the contract, why should he care about her dignity? Brad not only uploaded the video but also included a link to the script, clearly showing who's the better actor.

As expected, Izabella was so good in the variety show "Here Come the Superstars" that Harper couldn't keep up with her, let alone Kristin. Izabella even deliberately underperformed, making Kristin's performance look really bad.

Izabella's performance led people down the wrong path without them realizing it. The character Kristin performed was completely different from the character in the script.

This time, fans who praised Kristin's acting skills felt super awkward and were left speechless.

The neutral audience mostly cared about character and quality of work. It's hard to see the real character in the entertainment industry, but the quality of work was clear as day.

From the show "Here Comes the Superstars," it's obvious Izabella's acting was top-notch, but what they didn't expect was how powerful her performance would be when she acted alongside Kristin. Many people had become her fans.

This video had sparked a ton of heated discussion, and within less than twenty minutes, it was trending, and the numbers kept climbing.

Not even Kristin can buy her way out of this, and it's not over yet.

While everyone was still focused on the video, Brad started pushing the second hot topic.

He detailed Kristin's irresponsible behavior on set, like overusing stand-ins, even for scenes where only her feet were showing, and having to shoot scenes multiple times before they were acceptable.

All of this was backed up by evidence. There was never a shortage of cameras on set, and Brad didn't even have to edit anything. He just had the crew send it to him.

Brad then posted another video of Izabella on set wearing a red outfit, riding a horse, holding a long spear, no makeup, her face smeared with blood and dust, totally unlike the usual Izabella, very brave. Even her fans needed a moment to process it.

The cameraman Blood Ties and other crew members also started showing their support for Brad and Izabella online.

Izabella's dedication and professionalism were well known on set. The person the cameraman most liked to shoot was her. Not only was she highly skilled but also very attractive. She looked good from any angle, and any random shot could be used as wallpaper.

Izabella's appearance was extremely appealing, especially in recent months. She's been looking better and better, like a totally different person.

Not only was Izabella good looking, but she's also very kind, often inviting the crew to eat and drink together, buying snacks to share with everyone. She might seem cold, but she's actually very warm-hearted.

The fans who were originally just watching the situation unfold started a heated discussion in the comments, trying to get the top comment.

[Is this my beloved Izabella? She's so cool, Casey. Sorry, I think I have a crush on your partner.]

[Izabella is still so attractive. No, today she's more like a brave hero. I would have your baby.]

[Izabella, we can discuss this. I don't necessarily need a male partner. What do you think about a female partner?]

[Izabella, I'm ready. You can tell me straight. I can handle it.]

[I love you, Izabella!]

[From today on, Izabella is my partner, and I love you, and I'm waiting for you to marry me.]

[This is the first time I've seen fans wanting to steal their idol's partner, Casey. Bet you didn't expect that. You got so many rivals overnight, all women.]

[This comparison, Kristin's good acting and dedication on set? I was shocked.]

[This video comparison, Mr. York, your talent has been fully displayed.]

[The innocent will be innocent, the guilty will be guilty, we can see the truth. Hope Kristin doesn't hire any more fans in the future.]

[I noticed a problem. Why does Kristin always use a stand-in for her feet? Is it because her feet are ugly or, does she have foot odor? I've never seen her show her feet, even on the red carpet in summer. She wears long skirts. Her shoes are always covered.]

[I smelled it upstairs, too.]

[Mr. York, your Twitter is really touching. Hope your DMs don't get leaked.]

[Now I understand why the production company wanted to terminate the contract with Kristin, not only is she acting bad, but her character is too. She acts like a princess on set.]

Izabella knew what was coming so, she didn't spend too much time or energy online.

Because Casey was following the fan topic, Twitter recommended all sorts of videos of him and Izabella, as well as fan posts and trending comments.

A few days ago, fans were calling Izabella their partner. Now they were all calling her their idol and hoped Izabella will leave him.

Casey was grinding his teeth. He suppressed his anger and popped a mint into his mouth.

Izabella was working in front of the computer, and she was wearing computer glasses to protect her eyes. The lenses had no prescription. They were just for relieving eye strain.

She was typing fast, the only sound in the quiet room was her hitting the keys. The pages on the computer screen were scrolling fast. After a while, she stopped, adjusted her glasses, and started thinking deeply while looking at the computer screen.

Izabella looked more intellectual with glasses, her hair loosely pinned up at the back of her head. She was supporting her chin, and after looking at the computer for a while, she rubbed her eyes. Casey reminded her, "Take a break. You've been working for three hours straight."

Izabella's way of taking a break was to look at the green leaves outside the window. After half an hour, she would get back to work.

This job was easy for her; it's just that she hadn't done this sort of thing in a while, so it felt a bit unfamiliar. She used to be able to handle these things quickly. Thinking back to when she first took over the Salotti family's business, she was busy dealing with both internal and external affairs like a headless fly. But once she got through the hardest part, she can handle anything that came at her afterward with no need for anyone else's help.

Izabella had looked through all the files in the X entertainment company. Mr. Frost left the company and she took over all the stars, including Kristin. Kristin was still showing off online, and she probably can't imagine her boss was Izabella now.

Kristin can act recklessly only because the company made money off her and she had sponsors backing her, and no one dared to touch her. Casey didn't know what Izabella was thinking, but he wouldn't disturb her when she was thinking about work.

He looked at his phone again. Izabella was on Twitter today. Did she notice the trending topic about her and him? There were 1.8 million fans on Twitter waiting for them to get married. Did Izabella notice?

Also, did she catch his confession on Twitter?

He had impulsively posted it and, now looking back, he felt totally embarrassed and didn't want to think about it.

If Izabella had seen all this.

Casey lifted his head, his eyes filled with nothing but Izabella.

What did he mean to her?

Did she know that he liked her?

Would she pretend she didn't see it?

Was this grand emotional journey he thought he was on just a one-sided crush?

The more he thought about it, the more he realized his feelings for Izabella were a mix of tenderness and torment.

He wanted her to know how he felt, yet at the same time, he didn't want her to see.