Chapter 2

Elara's POV

When I returned to the villa I shared with Cole and the others, it was already late at night.

The villa blazed with lights. Serena's and the Hunt brothers' cheers pierced my eardrums.

Streamers hung in the living room. A champagne tower was stacked high. Cole, Ethan, and Nathan surrounded Serena as she cut a cake, celebrating her award.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, everyone looked at me.

Serena fearfully hid behind Cole, calling out softly, "Elara, you're back... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take your award. Cole and the others insisted on giving it to me..."

"Enough, Serena. Why are you apologizing to her?" Ethan impatiently cut her off, then turned to look at me with contempt. "Elara, who are you throwing a tantrum for? It's just an award. Does it really make you this crazy?"

I ignored him and walked straight toward the stairs, ready to pack my belongings.

"Stop." Cole's loud voice halted me. His tall frame blocked the stairway. "Since you're back, there's something I need to tell you. Hand over the password to your account with ten million followers. Give it to Serena."

I suspected I'd heard wrong. "What did you say?"

"Are you deaf?" Nathan mocked. "Serena just won an award. She needs traffic and exposure right now. Your account has a lot of followers. It's perfect for her to use for business deals. You have other accounts anyway."

I was livid with rage.

I'd spent four years building that account. I'd traveled alone to cities all over the country with my camera, spent countless nights editing videos, slowly accumulating those followers!

And now they wanted me to just hand it over to Serena with one sentence?

"Impossible." I looked into Cole's eyes and immediately refused. "That's my personal property. It has nothing to do with you. Want to give my account to Serena? I refuse."

"Elara, you're such a bitch!" Ethan suddenly stood up, pointing at my nose as he cursed. "You usually spend our money, live in our house, and now when we ask you to help Serena with one small favor, you refuse. How can you be so selfish and vicious?"

"I spend your money?" I said mockingly. "I bought this villa. I earned the money for your daily expenses by taking on ads! Who's spending whose money?!"

"Enough!" Cole's expression turned ugly, as if I'd hit a nerve. "Elara, I'm asking you one last time. Are you giving up the account or not?"

"No."

"Good. Very good." Cole laughed mockingly and pulled out his phone to call his assistant. "Freeze all of Elara's social media accounts registered under the company immediately. No one is allowed to unlock them without my permission."

After hanging up, he looked at me with contempt. "Since you're so principled, let me see how you survive on your own without our help. When you come to your senses, kneel down and apologize to Serena. Then I'll consider returning your accounts."

Serena gently tugged on Cole's sleeve from behind, saying softly, "Cole, forget it. Elara just cares too much about that award. I don't need her account anymore..."

"Serena, stay out of this. We need to fix her arrogant attitude today!" Nathan chimed in.

Looking at these three men in front of me, I suddenly felt disgusted.

I didn't want to spend another second in this house reeking of disgust.

I turned and went upstairs. Ten minutes later, I came down dragging a suitcase.

"What are you trying to do now?" Ethan sneered. "Running away from home in the middle of the night? If you've got guts, don't come back once you walk out that door!"

I didn't give them a single glance. I dragged my suitcase straight toward the door.

The moment my hand gripped the doorknob, I paused. Without turning back, I said, "Don't worry. I'll never set foot in here again. I don't want this house anymore."

The door slammed shut with a bang, cutting off the noise inside.

The night wind was very cold. I pulled my coat tighter and took out my phone. Looking at the forced logout notification on the screen, my eyes held no tears, only hatred.

It's fine. If my account is gone, I can rebuild.