If you plagiarize, I refund the network - Chapter 3

“Who’s copying Olivia? Spill the tea!”

“Never seen this concept before. Whoever posts it next is obviously the thief.”

“Copycats are the worst!”

Olivia replied to the first comment: “It’s another beauty influencer, someone with a much bigger following than me. I don’t want to name names, but she’s been trying to rebrand lately, so she hasn’t posted in a while. Guess she’s so desperate she’s resorting to stealing from little old me.”

She hadn’t named me, but the clues were there. And the internet detectives quickly put the pieces together. My comments section was flooded.

Hate. Accusations. Threats.

My loyal followers tried to defend me. There was no concrete proof I’d copied her, so the backlash wasn’t as intense…yet. But I was exhausted. I crawled into bed, hoping sleep would offer some escape.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The pounding on my door jolted me awake.

“Jenna! I know you’re in there! Open up!”

“Jenna! Don’t make me break this down!”

I opened the door to find Ethan, suitcase in hand.

“What the hell, Jenna? Dumping me over nothing? Olivia and I just happened to run into each other. You’re being crazy!” He pushed past me, dragging his suitcase inside.

I snapped out of my daze. “We’re broken up, Ethan! Get out!” I shoved at him, trying to push him back out the door.

“Stop it, Jenna. I’m giving you a chance to fix this. Apologize to me. Apologize to Olivia online. We can make this go away.”

“I didn’t copy her! She copied me!”

He scoffed. “Right. The copier posted before the original. Brilliant.”

“Why are you still lying? Everyone knows you’re a fraud!”

“Get out!” I screamed, pointing at the door. “Or I’m calling the cops!”

He finally grabbed his suitcase and retreated, but not before spitting, “You’ll be begging me to take you back soon enough.”

I slammed the door, shaking. I didn’t understand what he meant. Then, I saw it. Ethan had posted a video. He confirmed our relationship, then went on a rant about how disgusted he was by my plagiarism.

Olivia commented: “Thanks for speaking out, Ethan.” Then she posted her own statement: “I believe original content always wins. Please stand with me against plagiarism.”

That was it. I was officially branded a thief. I wanted to scream that I was innocent. But how could I explain it? That Olivia had somehow stolen my ideas before I even shared them? No one would believe me.

Then someone found my burner account, my comment.

“So, she was asking Olivia for ‘more‘ so she could steal her next idea? Wow.”

“The audacity to beg Olivia for content, then turn around and copy her. Gross.”