After She Betrayed Me, I Watch Her Fall

Chapter 3

After walking a few miles down the mountain, we finally managed to hail a cab back to our hotel.

The moment we entered the room, Mandy, shivering like a drowned rat, dove straight into bed with her shoes still on. Wrapping herself in the duvet with only her eyes visible, she started bossing me around.

"Mia, hand me my phone. I want to see if the video I just posted is going viral yet."

To be fair, her red bikini video was quite the attention-grabber.

In just two hours, it had racked up tens of thousands of likes and thousands of comments.

I opened the comment section and saw the top pinned comment.

A: [Hey, gorgeous, one video isn't enough! When are you going live? I'll be the first to show up and support you.]

Below this horny guy's comment, there were hundreds of replies:

B: [Tag me when the stream starts.]

C: [+1]

D: [+1]

The replies just kept coming.

Some of the other comments were even more repulsive.

E: [Aren't you cold, baby? Let me give you a warm hug.]

I couldn't help but glance at Mandy.

She was grinning at her phone, soaking in the cheap online adoration from these desperate men.

A few Aspen locals had also come across the video and left some genuine warnings.

F: [Wait, that's the mountain right behind my house. Girl, you're taking a massive risk. Even locals don't dare go up in this weather. If the weather got worse, you'd be trapped. I highly advise against anyone copying this.]

G: [I was wearing two heavy coats and still freezing, yet she's in a bikini? Are we even in the same Aspen?]

H: [Recognized the background. It's definitely here. Beautiful, there's a major blizzard coming tomorrow. You really shouldn't go back up the mountain.]

I: [Exactly. You're too young to throw your life away for some quick cash.]

Mandy must've read the locals' warnings too, because she snapped,

"These people are just jealous of my body and how viral my video is going. They're just trying to ruin my mood. It's so annoying."

With that, she deleted those comments and blocked the users who posted them.

She truly was as stupid as she was malicious.

'How had I never seen her true colors before?'

While I was lost in thought, Mandy threw off the duvet and sat up.

"Mia, pass me my makeup bag. I need to record a teaser to announce my stream time. So many fans are waiting for me."

She wasn't even famous yet, and she was already treating me like her assistant. 'Pathetic.'

I reluctantly tossed the makeup bag to her.

Mandy spent half an hour putting on heavy smokey-eye makeup before recording her video. In it, she made sure to emphasize that she'd be live-streaming in her leopard-print bikini at 10:00 tomorrow morning.

She even swore that she always kept her promises. She claimed that she'd be at the peak on time no matter how bad the weather was.

At the end of the video, she put on a coy act, saying she hoped her sweethearts would show up on time. She claimed they didn't need to send expensive gifts because she valued their support more than money.

As I watched her successfully upload the video, a slow smile spread across my face. Her speech was exactly what I needed to hear.

Since she'd publicly promised her followers she'd stream on time, failing to show up would be a massive embarrassment. All the freezing she'd endured today, the poses she'd struck, and the hype she'd just built up would go down the drain.

Besides, the internet never forgot. If her persona crumbled now, she'd never get another shortcut to fame.

Feigning surprise, I asked, "Are you seriously going to the peak to stream if there's a blizzard tomorrow?"

Mandy carelessly tossed her makeup bag back into my arms.

"Of course. And you're coming with me. You can hand me my props while I stream. If your face accidentally gets on camera, you might even get a bit of fame yourself."

I rolled my eyes inwardly. She could keep that "privilege" all to herself.

I lay down on the bed, pretending to feel dizzy.

"Oh, my head hurts so much. The wind up there must've been too strong for me. I think I caught a cold. I don't think I can go with you tomorrow... Ugh, my head is pounding..."

Mandy's face contorted in disbelief. She couldn't believe her loyal, self-sacrificing best friend was actually refusing to help her.

"Mia, are you even my friend? If you are, you have to come. Hey! Answer me! Hey!"

I buried my face in the duvet, ignoring her.

'My dear bestie, this time, you're on your own.'