When They Beg, I Rise!

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, she joked, she might wake up with someone else's limbs.

Orion's car idled at a stoplight when he instinctively reached for his phone, his expression darkening as he read her message.

Resting an arm on the open window, he typed back, [Wasn't me.]

Lemira responded with a string of ellipses.

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, still mulling over his response, couldn't help but send a "beating a dead horse" emoji.

She was clear in her accusation, after all.

---

The next day, Lemira was jolted awake by her phone's incessant ringing.

She had planned on sleeping in, given her morning off.

Annoyed, she answered, "What?"

"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. Sitting up, Lemira yawned, "Are you out of your mind? When did I ever expose anything to the media?"

"Just check the news. Who else but you would do this?"

Upon seeing the news, Alaric knew his career was in tatters.

Sponsors were bombarding him with calls, demanding contract terminations.

His team manager mentioned that many players were considering leaving.

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?"

Lemira checked her phone and indeed, there was the news item Alaric mentioned.

**The Langston Group Accused of Corporate Espionage, Gaming Mogul Caught Red-handed.**

The piece detailed how Alaric

allegedly pilfered corporate secrets for Asher's company, without specifying the secrets or mentioning her by name.

Yet with the scandal now public, Asher's company's stock had plummeted.

After reading, Lemira replied coolly, "Believe it or not, I didn't do this." "Then who else would have?"

"If that's what you want to believe, t then fine. But the report's not it's all

lying;

true." et

ᏚᎳ

Lemira didn't care to explain further. Let the misunderstanding stand.

After all, it wasn't the first time the Langstons got her wrong.

"Lemira, after all these years, I owe you nothing. We're square!" Alaric hung up.

Lemira smirked at her phone but was puzzled. Who was behind this?

She forwarded the news to Thaddeus: "Did you orchestrate this?"

Thaddeus was the only person who came to mind.

"How did you know?"noveldrama

Thaddeus sounded slightly embarrassed. Had Lemira caught onto something? "Who else has the guts? But this will surely bring Dorian's wrath down on you." Evelina would definitely seek out Dorian.

"Dorian? Don't sweat it," Thaddeus paused. "You know who I am?"

"Yeah, Orion filled me in."

Thaddeus: "???"

What was this? Orion throwing his friend under the bus for secrecy's sake. Great!

"Lemon, who I am doesn't matter.

We're friends. If Dorian ever gives

you trouble, just let me knowet

Lemira chuckled. Dorian couldn't trouble her even

swnovelet

he tried.

Then, out of the blue, she asked, "So, how did you and Orion meet? What did he use to do?"