Chapter 163 - Stalking Scarlet

Scarlet found it odd. No matter where she went, she felt as if she could never find peace. Alex was a lot clingier than she remembered her to be. Claire was always skulking around nearby and within reach whenever she needed something. Orita was also paying more attention to her for some odd reason and Scarlet couldn't help but feel as if they were up to something.

The cruise was huge and they had many recreational activities as well as facilities. So why was it that whenever Scarlet had some alone time, she would bump into someone she knew?

It was alright if the people she bumped into were Alex, Orita or Claire. After all, they were her travel companions. However, for some odd reason, there were other familiar faces on board too. This was too much to be a coincidence.

Within the first three days, Scarlet had met Mr Le Beau at the spa. The stylist was also on a trip for some reason and Scarlet didn't find that suspicious. Maybe it really was a coincidence and she let that pass. After all, it was always a delight to talk to the flamboyant stylist.

On the evening of the fourth day, Scarlet was attending a theatrical musical with Alex who thought that Scarlet should be exposed to the entertainment of the upper-class society when they bumped into the Lopez twins. No, to be more precise, the twins were performing in the musical on stage. Immediately after the show ended, the twins rushed out from behind the stage to catch Alex and Scarlet. Despite the dimmed lights, the twins were still able to spot them on stage. Scarlet found that amazing.

After a week, the young writer was no longer surprised when the famous DJ Fatboi turned out at a pool party when the cruise liner docked at one of their destinations. While Scarlet was happy to see the Kesha fanboy, she was also suspicious. Hence, the girl decided to take the topic to the chat room.

Scarlet: Hi guys! It's been a while. Alex and I have officially announced our hiatus for work so we're currently on a cruise. What's everyone else up to?

Elfie: Cruise?! I'm so jealous I could die! Jasper and I and the boys at Kiwi Cat are dying… please send coffee *inserts coffee emoji*

Ria: I know! I saw you the other day… what a coincidence! Camila was telling me she saw you and Alex but I didn't believe it until we escaped the backstage party after the show.

Si-Han: Oh, that cruise. Yes, Rowan and I have seen you girls on Alex's Instagram posts. Looks like fun.

Scarlet paused. Alex was still updating her social media? Ever since Scarlet announced her hiatus, her social media that was usually managed by Pamela had gone inactive. The singer had forgotten all about it until Si-Han mentioned it.

Curious about what her sister was uploading, Scarlet launched the app to look for updates.

Instantly, she was bombed with notifications. Alex had posted at least hundreds of pictures about the activities and tagged her in most of the photos. Some of them Scarlet knew about but many others, Scarlet wasn't aware of. The candid shot was taken from below when Scarlet attempted to climb the advanced rock wall was one that Scarlet didn't know about. Alex actually did have amazing photography skills even if she used the app's filters to edit the photos. Scarlet had to admit that when it came to networking, Alex was a goddess.

On the bright side, Alex was helping her keep her fans satisfied. The photos were amazing and the tags were attention-grabbing. Even if they were on a hiatus, they wouldn't be forgotten soon with her sister's efforts. However, Scarlet now understood how everyone knew where they were and what they were doing. Alex didn't understand the meaning of privacy and uploaded just about everything from eating to shopping and spa. She even tagged the location and the name of the cruise. The last post was tagged with the island they docked at.

Seeing this, Scarlet decided that she needed to have a heart to heart talk with her sister and teach her how to respect somebody else's privacy. Scarlet didn't want to become a camera girl who lived like a doll for others to watch at every moment. She wanted her own life and privacy too especially when she was secretly working.

There was an odd trait about Scarlet that she realised about four years back. While she was alright with standing under the spotlight and smiling for the cameras in heels, make-up and shiny gowns, the singer wasn't alright with having her pictures taken in a recording studio with her brows furrowed and her hair in a bun with sweat on her forehead.

Some of the pictures Alex took of her made Scarlet feel uncomfortable. The ones that made her look unguarded were the worst. Scarlet always looked sharp in the eyes of others. For her, it was always as if she was fighting giants. Hence, as a precaution, Scarlet never let her guard down in front of others. She wore a smile and a mask whenever she had to deal with colleagues or the media. Those relaxed and childish expressions were only reserved for her true friends and family. To publish this to the world… Scarlet didn't know how to feel.

Tom: I saw the new tag that Alex made and it's gone viral ever since. Hey Scarlet! Why didn't you tell us that you were secretly a miracle medicine! I would have approached you to cure my heartache and depression years ago.

After Tom talked about the thing that Scarlet dreaded most, the entire chat was full of her friends joining in to tease the mortified singer. Yes, if there was something worse than the pictures that Alex posted, it was the hashtags that she created, starting a viral trend.

There were several hashtags that topped the trending news in the entertainment world but the two most famous ones were #1scarlet1day and #adorptablescarlet. The first was referring to the proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" and the second hashtag was to throw shade at Scarlet's anti-fans for pointing out that she was adopted. The word was a combination of "adopted" and "adorable" plus the captions to the uploaded photographs on Alex's account made Scarlet want to bury her head in a hole somewhere.

After scrolling down, Scarlet's embarrassment deepened. Wilmer, Orita, Jenna, Claire, Pamela and all of Scarlet's friends didn't show mercy and hopped onto the train to comment, share or repost Alex's photos. The world had once again gone wild over the Wilde's and this time, it wasn't over any breaking news.

Scarlet didn't know how she was going to survive when she got back to New York. All the other kids at the university would no doubt poke fun at her or swarm over her now that this had gone trending and viral. Memes were created and the damage was done. Scarlet spent the rest of the day ignoring the chat room after the incident and hid in the cinema where it was dark. At least this way, nobody would recognise her.

No wonder she felt as if people were always staring at her on the cruise! Initially, Scarlet thought it might be a stalker and ignored it. Then she thought it might be the paparazzi but no suspicious person showed up. Even if they were true, Scarlet had faith in their head maid. The smile she received from strangers when she passed by them seemed a little strange but Scarlet brushed that away and returned a polite smile as a greeting of her own. She thought that it was because the people on the cruise were friendly but now she knew better.

They weren't smiling out of courtesy as a greeting. They were smiling and laughing at her because of the trending viral posts going on social media. Scarlet groaned. She wanted to die. Why didn't she realise this sooner? The singer had also unknowingly posed for a few photos for these enthusiastic cruise merrymakers when they asked. She thought that they recognised her as fans but who knew that it was to contribute to the hashtags?

Now, the whole cruise was looking out for the mascot of the journey and Scarlet didn't know if she should try to swim back home or wait it out till they returned home. After all, there was still one more week to go but already, Scarlet was exhausted. Nobody could be trusted at this time and Scarlet groaned. Now that she thought about I, wasn't this worse than the stalking incident?

With a heavy sigh, Scarlet munched on yet another handful of caramel popcorn. It was a good thing the cinemas operated for long hours so she could go on a movie marathon with minimal interaction with others. Might as well enjoy the moment. Scarlet decided to erase all the bad memories by indulging in junk food and watching the movies that she didn't have time to watch over the last few years.

Now, it was finally time to find out what's the craze over the yellow clones called Minions that people were talking about two years ago.