Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 705: Used and Abused

The title was simple.

Used and Abused

The video opened on a face that nearly every person in the country recognized.

Alexandra.

The girl who had destroyed Maximilian Vice. The fragile blonde who’d wept before a camera and dismantled the most powerful man in the awakened content industry with nothing but the truth and her own broken voice.

Her confession had trended alongside the presidential conference. It had turned public opinion into a weapon that put Vice on death row and made Kaiden Grey’s name recognized all around the globe.

That girl was sitting in a dark room. The lighting was soft, warm, carefully placed to illuminate her face while leaving everything around her in shadow. She looked different from the video that had made her famous.

The devastation was gone. Sadness still lived in her eyes, but it was the kind that had been carried long enough to become familiar, grief that had settled into her bones and found a place to rest instead of tearing her apart.

She looked delicate and fragile, feminine in a way that made you want to protect her.

Maeve’s eyes narrowed. This girl was playing into her vulnerability and she knew exactly what she was doing, the woman’s intuition told her.

”Hello everyone,” Alexandra greeted with a soft voice. ”I’ve not made a comment or update since my video dropped. I’ve been dealing with a lot of things since then, and just taking each day as it comes.”

She paused, and a small smile touched her lips, timid and warm. ”But thank you for worrying about me. And for praying for me. Believe it or not, I’ve read every single comment you left on my video.”

She let that settle.

”And yes, as many of you have speculated, I’m with the Sinners now. They took me in, and they’ve been taking great care of me.”

Her smile brightened with a quiet pride that looked genuine. Alexandra’s hands moved to the hem of her outfit, and she stood just enough to show it off: a frilly demonic maid’s skirt, black and crimson, tailored with playful elegance that made it look like a costume and a uniform at the same time.

”I’ve become their helper,” she said, and the pride in her voice was childlike. ”I cook their meals, I keep the house in order, and I’m blessed to say that I’m their friend.”

She twirled once, letting the skirt fan out, and sat back down with a timid giggle that she caught behind her hand. The sound was small and surprised, like she hadn’t expected it to come out.

”Sorry. I just... I really like it.” She smoothed the fabric across her lap, her fingers tracing the crimson stitching.

”It sounds silly, right? A girl who went through everything I went through, getting excited over a pretty outfit. But the girls helped pick it out for me. Bastet spent two hours adjusting the hem because she said the proportions were wrong, and Calypso told her she was being ridiculous and took over, and then she spent another hour making it worse.”

She smiled at the memory, and it reached her eyes. ”They fight over everything, just like Nyx and Luna do, but in my opinion, they’re best friends ever. I woke up the next morning and the stitching was perfect. Aria had redone the whole thing after they’d gone to bed. She never told them. They still think the ’Monster Girl Skirt’ version held. Until now, that is... Oops.”

She giggled softly for a moment, then, her gaze dropped to her lap.

”I still have terrible days, I won’t lie about that. Some mornings I wake up and my heart is so heavy I can barely sit up, and then I touch my face and my cheeks are wet and I realize I’ve been crying in my sleep without even knowing it.” She looked up. ”And my parents... I still can’t gather the courage to visit them. They’re out there waiting for me and I keep telling myself tomorrow, tomorrow, and then tomorrow comes and I can’t do it.” A small breath came as she kept fiddling with her fingers in her lap, unable to look at the camera.

”But I’m moving forward. That’s the part that really matters, I think. I’m eating meals with people who care whether I eat. I’m sleeping in a room that nobody enters without knocking. I’m surrounded by noise, good noise, people laughing and arguing and being alive in a way that reminds me the world still has warmth in it.” Her face brightened for a moment. ”And I even made a friend outside the Sinners... Though I don’t know if it’s fair to call her an outsider at this point. She’s the most badass little lady I’ve ever met. I adore her so much... I’ve been teaching her how to cook, and I think we’re both having an amazing time...”

A small breath escaped her lips.

”Before the rumors start, no, I’m not forced to be here or be their maid. I’m doing it because I want to pay even a small fraction of their kindness back and this is the only way I know how.” The slyness returned, a tiny mischievous curl at the corner of her mouth. ”And no, I know what you guys will think. I’m not Kaiden’s girlfriend.”

A beat.

”But he’s my cherished friend and my savior. I owe him more than I could ever repay.”

Henrik looked at Maeve. ”This is a PR piece. They’re establishing her as a sympathetic-”

”Be quiet,” Maeve said.

On the screen, the warmth in Alexandra’s face dimmed. The melancholy returned, heavier than before, and her gaze fell for a moment before she met the camera again.

”However, I must also bring some difficult news. Truthfully, I’m not here because I’m ready to step before the public again.” Her voice thinned. ”But after hearing the plight of two women whose circumstances are so similar to mine that it reminded me of ChronosX and the years of misery I and many others suffered there all over again, I couldn’t remain silent.”

The room behind Alexandra lit up.

Two more chairs flanked her. Two more women sat in them.

The blood drained from Maeve Ashbound’s face.