My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 104

Other’s POV

The news of Vivienne Sinclair’s interference in Alexander Hawthorne’s relationship with Isabella Blackwood—his alleged mistress—had been circulating for some time, but the gossip never seemed to die down. Every time Isabella was mentioned in the media, comments inevitably brought up Vivienne.

This was especially true after Isabella’s birthday party, where, as fans celebrated her, Vivienne once again found herself at the center of criticism.

Some people defended Vivienne, pointing out that her father had publicly supported her, and they referenced her performance at the press conference to argue that the rumors about her being a mistress were simply media fabrications.

However, most fans weren’t buying it.

The entire situation had always been shrouded in ambiguity, and the truth remained difficult to pin down.

Tonight, Jane called, saying the media had revived old stories. Alexander and Vivienne were trending again. But this time, the news wasn’t speculative—it was concrete.

The media had released several videos of Alexander and Vivienne arriving at his home together, along with footage of them shopping at a jewelry store. There were even pictures of them in the underground parking garage of Vanguard Global Enterprises, where they were seen getting out of the same car.

There was now an overwhelming amount of evidence, making it impossible to explain it away as a mere sibling relationship.

The initial leak came from a Twitter influencer known for spreading emotional gossip. Along with the evidence, they posted an image with a text. In the image, the author, posing as an insider who knew Vivienne, Alexander, and Isabella, shared their “observations.”

“...It’s really ironic. I never thought it would come to this. Back in college, Alexander and Isabella were such a perfect couple—well-matched in every way. It’s a shame... I honestly think Alexander still has feelings for Isabella, but there’s nothing he can do...”

“I’ve met Miss Vivienne a few times, and she strikes me as... well, quite proud. By the way, not long ago, a director at Vanguard Global Enterprises was transferred after apparently offending Miss Vivienne... think about it...”

“Alexander and Vivienne’s affair isn’t a secret in our circle. Otherwise, how would the paparazzi be able to capture them? From what I’ve heard, at a recent banquet, Vivienne asked some business partners to toast to Alexander, and when he got drunk and went upstairs to rest, she followed him into his room...”

“Now that it’s like this, how could Chairman Hawthorne possibly reject this orphan? When it comes down to it, Vivienne is really something. With her father’s liver, she’s been relying on the Hawthorne family for so long. Just think, with Chairman Hawthorne’s wealth, wouldn’t he be able to find a liver donor? She’s practically blackmailed him with her morals...”

“...”

Alexander read through the text, his brow furrowing, eyes narrowing. Some details seemed convincing to the clueless netizens, but he knew right away that much of it was fabricated or based on speculation.

For example, that night three years ago—he hadn’t been drunk. He’d been drugged and mistakenly ended up in Vivienne’s room. But these falsehoods were exactly the narrative that netizens wanted to believe.

The article had been carefully crafted. At first glance, it didn’t seem too serious, but upon a second read, it was clear that the piece mostly targeted Vivienne. While it outwardly criticized Alexander for cheating and painted Vivienne as the mistress, it subtly implied that Alexander still had deep feelings for Isabella, and that Vivienne had used her family’s influence to threaten him. Uninformed netizens quickly latched onto this and began attacking Vivienne, while Alexander, who had failed to manage his relationships properly, remained in the background.

Once the story went viral, countless clickbait accounts joined in, posting similar content. Alexander and Vivienne quickly shot to the top of the trending topics.

Logically, Vivienne was just an ordinary person, and while Alexander was a public figure, he wasn’t in the entertainment industry. Therefore, their relationship didn’t carry the same allure as a celebrity affair.

But the involvement of Isabella had changed everything. Once a celebrity was implicated, the story gained momentum. Moreover, in the news, Isabella was portrayed as the victim.

Netizens, who were already skeptical of big business, quickly branded anyone who defended Vivienne and Alexander as mere pawns of the wealthy.

Before long, the two were being viciously attacked online, and even Vanguard Global Enterprises’ stock plummeted.

Alexander’s POV

After hearing what Jane had to say, I ended the call and quickly dialed a number from my contacts.

A few seconds later, the phone was picked up.

A man’s deep voice came through. "CEO Hawthorne, how can I assist you?"

"You have one day to find out who’s behind these Twitter accounts!"

It seemed I’d been too lenient with the media outlets, letting them push my boundaries over and over.

The man’s tone remained casual. "Don’t worry, CEO Hawthorne. You’ll have an update by tomorrow."

I hung up and returned to the webpage.

Thanks to Jane’s efforts, the trending topics had already started to subside.

I turned off my phone and returned to the master bedroom, gently closing the door behind me.

"You’re not leaving?"

At the sound of my voice, Vivienne opened her eyes and glanced at me. She had just woken up, and her voice was still hoarse.

Seeing she was awake, I walked over to the bed and frowned. "Leaving? Where would I go?"

In the dim light, Vivienne stared at me in silence.

Our eyes met, and in that moment, I realized Vivienne must have thought I was talking to Isabella.

She probably assumed I’d been called away by Isabella again.

But this time, Vivienne didn’t seem as upset as before.

Had she grown numb to it?

Or maybe she just didn’t care anymore?

I pulled the blanket aside and climbed into bed, then explained, "It was Jane on the phone."

"Was it something serious at the company?"

"No, nothing major. Go back to sleep." I turned toward her and pulled her into my arms, hoping to soothe her. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Vivienne didn’t ask any more questions. She closed her eyes and returned to sleep.

The trending topics were effectively suppressed, and by the time many people checked their social media the next morning, the stories had already disappeared.

However, some netizens had witnessed the slow decline of the trending topics, eventually seeing them vanish entirely.

I’d stopped the spread of the rumors, and now, I just had to leave it to time. Soon, people would forget the incident, and it wouldn’t affect Vivienne’s life.

But the clickbait accounts and troublemakers hadn’t disappeared.

At 8 a.m., an emotional gossip account on Twitter posted a photo with the caption: "The power of money."

The photo showed a backstage message that read: "Hello, I’m Mr. Alexander’s secretary. Your actions have infringed on Mr. Alexander’s legal rights. Could you please provide a contact so we can discuss deleting the post?"

The screenshot of the message was shared, and the comments about Vivienne were met with another round of mockery.

However, after the heat died down, no matter how many comments the clickbait accounts gathered, they no longer made it to the trending topics.

Still, Vivienne found out about it.