Maximilian’s smug, confident smile faltered. He turned his gaze away from the Valkyries’ radiant faces and looked at the numbers beneath the stream, blaring in bold red.
Dislikes: 8,294.
The figure jumped again. 8,451.
Then again. 8,683.
It was climbing by the hundreds in real time, a tidal wave of fury spilling into the stream. At the same time, the ’Likes’ exploded at first to 2,000 as the most stalwart supporters joined to show their love, but after the first few seconds of the broadcast, the number barely moved pared to its counterpart.
As for the chat itself, it scrolled almost too fast for the human eye to follow, a storm of venom and accusation.
- IronChad69: FRAUD!
- StockAnalyzerPro: What do you have to say about what CEO Maximilian accused you of?!
- ProfessionalHater101: You brainwashed the Valkyries, filthy monster! Release them!
ValkyrieFeetSniffer: Or at least start shooting content for male viewers too, you greedy pig!
- PureHeart: Manipulating such beautiful girls for your own benefit, how do you sleep at night?!
- KnightofJustice: You hateful bastard, you’ll burn for this!
The air in the lounge grew lighter with every hateful word flashing across the screen. This was crippling, the death knell of any celeb’s career.
Maximilian slowly leaned back on the sofa, exhaling a plume of smoke through his teeth. Around him, the other shareholders traded glances. The twitch of a lip here, the raise of an eyebrow there were the first signs of their relief. And then, slowly, smiles returned to their faces.
The viewers were acting exactly as they’d predicted. Outrage. Hatred. A witch hunt. And the more people raged, the deeper they would sink their teeth into the narrative Maximilian had prepared for them. This was reassuring.
He chuckled, low and rough. "Exactly as expected. Sheep bleating at the slaughterhouse door. We just directed the masses at them, and now we can lean back and watch the show."
Nods circled the room. Confidence crept back in. The streamers’ bizarre levity had shaken them for a moment, but the audience’s outrage? That was a fort. That was familiar ground.
But then... their eyes wandered back to the live feed.
And that’s when their smiles cracked again after they saw the utter lack of response from Kaiden and his girls.
The chat was a storm of rage. Accusations. Insults. Even threats.
And how were they reacting?
As if the chat didn’t exist, as if the stream wasn’t even live, they kept going on with the celebrations.
"Wait, did this Luna girl start the stream without informing the others...?" Elise whispered in disbelief, clinging to the last shred of sense in a situation that defied it.
[Ding!]
Kaiden’s own stream notification appeared in the corner of the feed.
"🔴 Kaiden POV – LIVE"
The moment it popped up, Elise’s theory was annihilated in an instant. Now viewers could freely swap between Luna’s bubbly perspective or Kaiden’s steady one, each showing the same impossible reality: not panic, not nervous breakdown, but celebration.
By the time the revelation hit, the group in the lounge had already begun observing the glasses in their hands. The glass clinking had already occurred as soon as the stream went live; all that was left was to actually taste the champagne.
Luna eyed her glass with wry lips, as though staring at an enemy she couldn’t stab. She gave the bubbly liquid a suspicious sniff.
"This doesn’t make me any more trusting. The wine I tried last time didn’t exactly leave me hopeful..." she muttered under her breath.
Nyx, lounging with the practiced ease of someone born for mischief, had an arm slide around Luna’s shoulders. "Relax, gremlin bestie. Yours is not dry; we made sure to have a bottle of both variants just for you. This will be perfect for an immature woman with the taste buds of a child like you."
The purple-haired Valkyrie scoffed instantly, tearing Nyx’s arm off her shoulder as if it were toxic. "Tch. Bimbo, I’d watch my tongue if I were you, or you might get another surprise from the back in the near future."
Nyx’s expression darkened for a moment, but Luna did not seem to care one bit. Instead, adamant about proving Nyx wrong, she reached for the other bottle, one that carried the dry champagne. Without hesitation, she poured its contents into an empty glass, raised it to her lips, and downed it in one go.
"See? Easy-"
The result was immediate. Luna’s face scrunched up as if she’d bitten into pure lemon peel dipped in vinegar. Her cheeks puffed, eyes watering, lips twitching at war with her pride.
"Pffft! I’m so glad we’re streaming, that expression will be immortalized!"
Nyx nearly fell off the chair. She clutched her sides as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "You’re so easy, girl!" She sipped her own champagne in tiny, dainty gulps, wearing the smuggest grin imaginable. "Mmm... it tastes absolutely divine."
At the same time, Aria and Bastet sat flanking Kaiden. The two of them were watching the Luna–Nyx fiasco unfold in silence. Their gazes shifted from the purple-haired storm girl to the smug pink-haired space manipulator, unimpressed in equal measure.
For a short bit, it had actually seemed like things were improving between the two, especially after what happened in the dungeon with Nyx nearly throwing her life away to save Luna, and Luna feeling guilty and indebted. Bonds had been forged in fire. At least, that’s what it had looked like. But Luna’s antics in the basement today had painted a very different picture. It seemed the grace period was over.
Nyx’s cackling rang in the background as Luna sat scowling beside her.
Aria and Bastet exchanged a look, and the exact same thought flashed in their eyes: so much for progress.
Kaiden sighed weakly, then lifted both his arms, laying his palms warmly over the Valkyrie’s toned shoulder on one side and the Felinid’s tender, tanned one on the other. He gave them both a gentle squeeze, snapping the pair out of it. "Let them figure it out among themselves. I think it’d be best if they reached a natural conclusion without anyone’s interference..." But the girls couldn’t help but notice that even he seemed a bit lacking in confidence, which was rather rare for the man known as Kaiden Grey.
But the girls chose to be obedient, so they lifted their glasses in sync.
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