Chapter Twenty: Clapback Queen
Celia stared at the trending board with murder in her eyes.
#BeverlyExposed was still sitting at number one. Vanessa's little tape bomb had everyone dissecting Beverly's life like vultures.
Enough was enough.
If Vanessa wanted a show, Celia would give her the circus of the century.
She marched into the living room, plopped onto the couch, and whipped out her phone. "Lila, connect me to the livestream platform. It's time."
Lila squeaked on the other end. "Darling, are you sure? You're about to poke the hornet's nest wearing lip gloss."
"Exactly," Celia said, swiping on cherry red gloss. "Hornets hate pretty people."
Prince appeared from the hallway, already suspicious. "What are you planning?"
Celia grinned, evil and glittery. "Just watch, your highness."
⸻
Within seconds, thousands of viewers flooded the livestream.
Celia waved at the camera with exaggerated cheer. "Hi, babes! Welcome back to Self-Care with Beverly!"
The comments blew up instantly:
User1: SHE'S ACTUALLY LIVE???
TeaSpiller89: Not her acting like nothing happened 💀
PrinceDefenseSquad: QUEEN ENERGY LET'S GO
Celia clasped her hands like an innocent schoolgirl. "So! Today's topic is how to deal with snakes in your life. Step one: Don't give them free rent in your head. Step two: Remind them they're irrelevant. Step three—" she leaned close to the camera, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper— "make sure your snakes are uglier than you. That way, you already won."
The chat exploded.
Vanessa4Life: SHE DID NOT—
GossipGuru: Crying at 'uglier than you' LMFAO
RandomFan: Is she trolling?? This is iconic
Celia leaned back, satisfied. "And if anyone tries to drop unedited tapes about your daddy issues, remember—therapy is cheaper than slander."
The audience lost its collective mind. Memes were born in real time. Celia smirked. Vanessa had dropped a bomb; Celia had turned it into confetti.
⸻
The livestream ended with Celia blowing kisses at the camera. She set her phone down and spun toward Prince, triumphant. "See? Crisis management, Celia-style."
He just stared at her, unreadable.
"What?" she asked, hands on her hips. "I was brilliant."
"You were reckless," he said flatly. "Every word you said will be dissected, twisted, and used against you."
She shrugged. "So? At least I got the first laugh."
Prince pinched the bridge of his nose like she was a migraine. "You think this is a game."
"No," she said softly, surprising even herself. "I think it's survival. If I don't laugh at them, they'll eat me alive."
That silenced him.
⸻
Later, she found him on the balcony, city lights glittering behind him. He wasn't brooding this time. Just… quiet.
"You're not even gonna congratulate me?" she teased. "The internet crowned me Clapback Queen."
He didn't look at her. "You remind me of my mother."
Celia froze. "That's… not where I thought this was going."
"She laughed, too," he said, voice low. "Even when things were bad. Especially then. She thought if she made a joke, it wouldn't hurt as much."
Celia's chest tightened. She stepped closer, unsure if she was allowed to. "And did it work?"
Prince's jaw clenched. "She's dead."
The words hung heavy in the night air.
Celia swallowed hard. "I'm… I'm sorry."
For once, he didn't shut her out. Didn't snap back. Just kept staring at the city like it was safer than her eyes.
"Laughter doesn't save anyone," he said finally. "But maybe it keeps the walls from caving in."
Her throat ached. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that laughter had saved her more times than she could count. But instead, she said the only thing she could:
"Then I'll keep laughing until the walls are gone."
That made him turn. Really look at her. And for the first time, his guard cracked — not gone, but bent enough for her to glimpse the boy under the billionaire.
It was dangerous. And magnetic. And terrifying.
Celia did what she always did when things got too serious. She grinned. "Besides, you'd miss me if I stopped being funny."
Prince's lips twitched — the ghost of a smile, there and gone. "Unfortunately."
⸻
But inside, Celia's heart was hammering. Not just because of him, but because her livestream was still climbing the charts. She had flipped Vanessa's attack into a viral win.
And she knew what that meant.
Vanessa wouldn't just strike back. She'd come for blood.