My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 20

I was speechless, my mouth opening and closing without knowing what to say.

I took a slow, deep breath, the bitter, suffocating ache in my chest pressing down on me.

I couldn’t.

I couldn’t take this gamble.

I had long understood that, in Alexander’s heart, compared to Isabella, I meant nothing.

With Alexander, he could push me aside to catch Isabella when she was about to fall—why couldn’t he push me aside to shield her from malicious gossip? After all, those were just rumors online, and they couldn’t hurt me in the least.

Olivia, sensing my silence, grew more arrogant. "Director Vivienne, do you dare to take this bet?"

I didn’t answer. I simply ended the call.

I knew this was a losing game, and there was no point in playing.

Even if Alexander didn’t know about this, if he ever found out, he might even side with her.

But I couldn’t just let it go. I needed an explanation.

The head of the photography studio had already sent me the surveillance footage from that day in the makeup room.

There was no sound, but the visuals were clear enough for anyone to see what happened.

I grabbed a screenshot and sent it to Isabella’s team in the WhatsApp group, along with a few screenshots from the fan group: "Apologize on Twitter, or I’ll have no choice but to release the footage. Think about the consequences!"

The WhatsApp group went completely silent.

No one responded. No one was willing to take responsibility.

Five minutes later, still no reply in the group. I started reaching out to the Clickbait Accounts.

I’d done promotions before and had worked with a few of these accounts regularly.

If they wanted drama, I didn’t mind giving them more to work with, fueling the fire for this brand endorsement. Whether it was bad press or good press, it all meant traffic in the end.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Alexander.

For a brief moment, seeing his name on the screen, a small part of me dared to hope. Maybe he had seen the situation unfold on Twitter and was calling to check on me?

I picked up. "Hello, Alexander."

"Vivienne, don’t release the surveillance video."

That was the first thing he said.

The words hit me like a slap, and the icy chill spread through my veins. My smile vanished instantly.

I should’ve known.

I should’ve known all along. I shouldn’t have held onto any illusions about him.

I struggled to breathe, the pain in my chest making each inhale feel like agony.

No wonder Isabella’s team hadn’t responded—they had nothing to fear.

With Alexander on their side, my threats meant nothing. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Noticing the silence on the other end, Alexander continued, "I’m sorry about the makeup situation with Isabella. It was my misunderstanding of you, and I apologize."

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

How laughable. It was utterly ridiculous.

If it hadn’t been for today’s events, would Alexander have apologized for that day?

If it weren’t for Isabella, would he have apologized?

Of course not.

"Alexander, I don’t need your apology. I need the people online to stop insulting me!"

"Vivienne, I know you’re upset. I’ll handle it, but only if you don’t release the surveillance video."

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind—thank goodness I hadn’t taken Olivia’s bet.

Thank goodness.

"So I’m just supposed to suffer in silence? Take all the blame and let them insult me without a word?" I suddenly shouted into the phone.

"I’ll compensate you."

"Compensate me? With what? Money?" I shot back. "Unless you plan on not divorcing me. Can you do that?"

There was a long pause. Finally, Alexander asked, "What do you want?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

He couldn’t do it. It wasn’t that he couldn’t—he just wouldn’t. He wanted it all.

He wanted the divorce, wanted to be with his old lover, and still expected me to take the blame, to endure the scorn of everyone.

"I think you should understand. If people outside are dissatisfied with me as the director, then I’ll resign. How’s that?"

"No. I won’t agree to that." Alexander’s voice was firm.

I felt drained. I knew I wouldn’t get anything from him. All he could offer was money, but that wasn’t what I needed. In three years at Vanguard Global Enterprises, I’d earned enough through my salary and bonuses.

"Let’s leave it at that, Alexander. I’ve said all I needed to. Goodbye."

I hung up the phone and collapsed onto the bed, suddenly unsure of what to do.

The phone rang again.

I picked it up immediately. "I said goodbye. Don’t call me again."

"Vivienne, it’s me." Julian’s voice came through.

I hesitated, glancing at the screen. "Sorry, I thought it was someone else."

"I know. I saw what happened on Twitter. How are you holding up?"

"I’m fine. What could happen to me? Just a few insults, that’s all."

The online insults didn’t hurt me that much.

What really hurt was Alexander.

"Good to hear. Someone’s already suppressing the Trending Topics. It should be your CEO, Hawthorne, who had it done."

At that, I couldn’t help but ask, "How do you know it was him?"

"Just check the Trending Topics yourself, and you’ll see."

I followed Julian’s advice and opened the Twitter Trending Topics on my iPad.

What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks—Trending: The cast of the TV series Empire of Shadows had been announced by the production company.

Right behind it was a word that had exploded in popularity.

The post read: The cast of the TV series Empire of Shadows announced by the production company.

Then a few more names popped up in the Trending Topics: Isabella Blackwood as Madeline Parker, and Julian as Landon Mercer.

I clicked on the first Trending Topic to check it out, and it turned out to be the official announcement from the Empire of Shadows production company regarding the lead cast.

The female lead, Isabella Blackwood, would play Madeline Parker, and the male lead, Julian, would play Landon Mercer. The post also included a list of supporting roles, each tagged with the corresponding actors.

The actors responded by retweeting the announcement.

The post about Empire of Shadows seemed a bit rushed compared to other shows, which usually included photos of the actors in character. But Empire of Shadows had none—just a simple text introduction.

Why? Because the actors had just been confirmed and hadn’t had time for a photoshoot.

For some lesser-known actors, though, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Empire of Shadows was a big-budget sci-fi series directed by the renowned Ethan Calloway, with a screenplay written by the original author and a top industry screenwriter. The production and supervising companies behind it were also impressive.

It could be said that roles in Empire of Shadows, regardless of size or gender, were highly sought after. Naturally, there were powerful backers eager to insert their own people into the show. The earlier the roles were announced, the better—delays would only lead to unnecessary complications.

Many netizens could tell that the announcement of the cast was likely meant to divert attention from something else.

As for what that “something else” was, the internet speculated it had to do with Isabella’s Brand Endorsement, but they didn’t connect it to me.

And the deflection worked quite well. The insults under my Twitter post lessened considerably.

Why?

Because Isabella’s fans flocked to the Empire of Shadows Twitter page to show their support.

Compared to a major TV production, what was a Brand Endorsement really worth?

After showing their support, some fans came to my Twitter and said, “Did you see? This is the script that CEO Hawthorne invested in for sister Isabella. You, an adopted daughter, dare to act so arrogantly? Once she becomes the wife of the CEO of Vanguard Global Enterprises, you’ll have to call her Sister-in-law!”