SHE'S been publicly humiliated - and now she reportedly wants vengeance.
Hong Kong media are speculating that Cecilia Cheung plans to sue her former lover Edison Chen for HK$10 million ($2m), for failing to safeguard her racy nude pictures.
She has reportedly sought legal advice for the amount of compensation she should receive as a victim of his indiscretion.
Cecilia's manager, however, insisted on Wednesday that this is untrue.
But the timing of the speculation - hot on the heels of her tell-all interview last Thursday where she tearfully called Edison a hypocrite - has the Hong Kong media calling this Part Two of her 'multi-prong attack' against him.
The alleged aim: To foil any attempts he might have to return to the entertainment industry.
By coincidence or not, the interview was broadcast last Friday, the same day as Edison's first public re-appearance in Singapore to attend two corporate events.
Cecilia's interview was also allegedly timed before fellow scandal victim Gillian Chung's comeback after a year's absence, ensuring greater media attention.
But Edison is reportedly not taking this lying down.
Hong Kong media reports claim that the Chinese-Canadian actor will go public with the identity of the female star who took her own nude photos, burned 40 of the images on to a DVD, and gave them to him as a present.
It was speculated that Cecilia was the one.
And that's the reason why the actress reportedly asked i-Cable Entertainment News not to air the second part of the interview.
Officially, the Hong Kong cable TV network said it decided not to broadcast the show 'based on respect and to protect Cecilia'.
The first part of the tearful interview had gained widespread sympathy for Cecilia, and further devastated Edison's image.
It was the first time the 28-year-old actress had opened up on her feelings towards the scandal, which broke out in January last year, when racy photos of herself and various female celebrities, including Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan and Rachel Ngan, were leaked from Edison's computer.
During that interview, Cecilia broke down in tears and described Edison as a hypocrite, who apologised to the public but failed to console or support the female victims of the scandal.
More than once, she burst out: 'When the scandal broke out, he promised to protect us, the female artistes, but what has he done to help us?
'I do not expect him to help us, but please stop the blatant lying!'
Cecilia was responding to Edison's remarks in a special court hearing in Canada last month, when he claimed he was 'determined to protect the girls' innocence'.
She accused Edison of not even bothering to respond to her manager when she tried to contact him when the scandal first broke out.
She said: 'He did not even call to apologise for the scandal. Please respect us women. Please give us dignity. We have suffered so much.'
Cecilia recalled her reaction when she first found out about the photo leak.
'Time bomb in heart'
'It was like having a time bomb in my heart. I was frightened, so frightened that I didn't know how to tell people how frightened I was.
'I thought these were private, and Mr Chen assured me he would not show them to a third person.'
She said she decided to punish herself.
'I cannot deny what I have done. I'm a public figure, I'm an idol and my actions will affect the next generation.
'I decided to punish myself, to face up to all my responsibilities. I didn't tell people my story because I didn't want any sympathy. I went out as usual.
'It felt terrible. As a woman, I felt terrible.'
Cecilia also praised husband Nicholas Tse, saying a 'perfect husband' like him was 'impossible to find.'
With all this new drama surrounding Edison, fans and detractors are eagerly awaiting the airing of another tell-all interview, this time by Gillian.
The recording was done yesterday, and is scheduled to appear on TVB's talkshow Be My Guest tomorrow.
