The Mistress Is Reborn As The Fiancée
Chapter 50: Noelle Will Be A Household Name

Chapter 50: Noelle Will Be A Household Name

We’ll be retaining the stage name ’Noelle,’" Mr Pratt said, his voice flat.

Areum’s eyes widened in disbelief. "What?" she exclaimed, her voice filled with outrage. "That’ is my name! A fan gave me that name, you have no right to keep it!"

"That might be true but we trademarked it," the boss said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It is our intellectual property. If you use the name, we will bury you deep in lawsuits."

After a moment, Mr Pratt stood up and stood behind Areum’s chair, his hands going down to her shoulders. "You know, i could make all these problems go away... if you make me feel good."

Areum’s world spun. She felt betrayed, violated, stripped of her identity. She had given her heart and soul to this label, had poured her passion into her music, and this was how they repaid her.

She stood up abruptly and eyes Mr Pratt who had on a sickly smile that chilled her to the bones.

"I could make you a star, not just here..." he said suggestively, "but all over the world, Noelle will be a household name."

"No!" Areum said sharply and took a step back.

The friendly look on Mr Pratt’s face fell off to reveal an enraged expression. "Then get out!" He roared

"You can’t do this," she said, her voice trembling. "You can’t take my name."

"We already have," the boss said, his voice cold and hard. "Consider it a... severance package."

Areum stared at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of rage and despair. She had lost everything: her career, her reputation, her name. She had been reduced to nothing.

With her head reeling from the devastating meeting, Areum stepped out of the record label’s building, her vision blurred by tears and her heart heavy with despair. She barely registered the presence of the crowd gathered outside, her mind still replaying the boss’s cruel words, the finality of his decision.

As she moved towards the waiting car, the crowd surged forward, a wave of angry faces and outstretched hands. She froze, her senses overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught.

"Liar!" someone screamed, their voice shrill and accusatory.

"Traitor!" another voice echoed, filled with venom.

"You are nothing but a disgrace!" a third voice hissed, the words cutting through the air like a knife.

The crowd pressed closer, their faces contorted with anger, their eyes burning with resentment. Areum, her body trembling with fear and shock at the suddenness of the attack, tried to push her way through, but the crowd was relentless, their anger fueled by some unknown force.

"How could you lie to us?" a young woman shouted, her face flushed with rage. "We trusted you!"

"You are nothing without us!" a man yelled, his voice filled with contempt. "We made you!"

The insults rained down on her, a torrent of hatred and disappointment. Areum, her ears ringing, her eyes filled with tears, tried to block out the noise, but the words pierced her soul, each one a sharp, agonizing blow.

Suddenly, a hand reached out, grabbing her arm, pulling her back. Areum cried out, her body tensing in fear. She tried to pull away, but the grip tightened, the fingers digging into her skin.

Then, a flurry of hands, a chaotic storm of blows. Areum cried out, her body writhing in pain, her mind reeling from the sudden violence. She felt herself being pushed, shoved, kicked, her body battered by the angry mob.

She crumpled to the ground, her body curled into a fetal position, her hands covering her face, trying to protect herself from the onslaught. The kicks and punches continued, a relentless barrage of pain. She cried out, her voice a choked sob, pleading for them to stop, but her cries were lost in the cacophony of the crowd’s rage.

The attack seemed to last an eternity, a nightmarish blur of pain and fear. Areum, her body bruised and broken, her spirit shattered, lay on the ground, her mind drifting in and out of consciousness.

Finally, when someone came through to her side, that was when attack subsided, the crowd dispersing, their anger momentarily satiated. Areum lay there, her body trembling, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened to her.

Someone called an ambulance, the sound of sirens growing louder as they approached. Paramedics arrived, their faces grim, their movements swift and efficient. They lifted Areum onto a stretcher, her body limp and unresponsive.

She was rushed straight to the hospital, her injuries severe, her condition critical. The doctors worked tirelessly, their efforts focused on stabilizing her, on mending her broken body.

When Areum came to, she was laying in the hospital bed, her body bandaged, her mind filled with a dark, bitter rage. She had been betrayed, attacked, stripped of her dignity. She had lost everything and she could not understand why. It felt like a coordinated attack on her.

She thought of the fans, their faces contorted with anger, their voices filled with hatred. It reminded her of when she had been accused of murder, she had been treated this same way. She had given them her heart, her soul, her music, and this was how they repaid her.

She thought of the record label, their cold, calculated decision to discard her, to steal her name, to leave her with nothing. They had used her, exploited her, and then tossed her aside like a broken toy without any more worth.

When she could not understand however was the sudden appearance of the crowd and what they were going on about. She could not put it past the record label, they would probably cite that as one of the ways that showed she would be a problem to them.

A super star’s fans falling out with their idol was a sure sign that the idol was finished, done. As a tear rolled down Areum’s eye, she wondered if this was the end of Noelle.

She had been given a chance to come back and live life but she had ended up more or less in the same place. At least she was not dead, her halmeoni, and she had not yet been stripped of her shares.

She did not feel lucky, not after she had lost her career. It felt like she had lost her identity, the one thing she had nurtured, which had truly belonged to her had been taken away and she wondered why she had been given another chance if this was how everything was going to end.