My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 36

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No way, no way, surely no one actually believes CEO Hawthorne is this pure, right? You can’t seriously think he’s the hero from a romance novel, do you? He’s just playing the field. Nothing’s come to light yet, but wait for it.

The comment section was a battlefield—Alexander’s fans defending him, Isabella’s supporters distancing her from him, bystanders soaking in the drama, and haters refusing to back down.

Then, another Trending Topic appeared: Vivienne Sinclair.

The situation had exploded last night, and after hours of digging, netizens uncovered Vivienne’s Twitter ID, comparing it to photos she’d posted in the past. The clothes matched exactly.

On top of that, Vivienne’s ties to Isabella were now common knowledge—she was the V&R brand director and the adopted daughter of Chairman Hawthorne.

The comments on Vivienne’s tweets were split down the middle.

Some people, including bystanders and Isabella’s detractors, argued that since Vivienne was Chairman Hawthorne’s adopted daughter and had known Alexander since childhood, maybe Isabella had been the one inserting herself as the mistress. Or perhaps they were just close, like siblings, with the media blowing everything out of proportion.

On the other hand, there were those who believed Vivienne had interfered with Alexander and Isabella’s relationship, using the earlier makeup incident as "proof" that she had been deliberately targeting Isabella.

Vivienne’s Twitter quickly became a mess, far worse than the last time.

Replies went from double digits to hundreds, then to thousands. Her followers skyrocketed, and private messages flooded in.

I immediately called Jane, using Vivienne’s phone, ordering him to suppress the Trending Topics.

Not long after, Jane called back. "CEO Hawthorne, we’ve been working on suppressing the Trending Topics, but it seems someone deliberately leaked the news last night. It caught everyone off guard. Even if we suppress it now, the situation has already escalated."

"Just do your best to handle it," I replied.

"Understood."

After hanging up, I scrolled through the comments under Vivienne’s Twitter. They were filled with accusations like "Mistress," "Homewrecker," and "Apologize," with only a few defending Vivienne.

Private messages bombarded her inbox, full of insults targeting her family, her appearance, and more. It was unbearable to read.

My face darkened with anger. I quickly turned off private messages and comments on Vivienne’s account.

But disabling the comments without responding, while still suppressing the Trending Topics, only made the public think we were guilty of something.

I urged Jane again to keep suppressing the Trending Topics, and I called the Members-Only Club to ask them to bring my phone over.

The guests at the Members-Only Club were wealthy and influential. They’d never dare keep a lost phone, so it was quickly returned.

The young man who brought it to me added, "Mr. Hawthorne, when I arrived, your phone rang several times. Seems like there’s something urgent you need to handle. You should return the call as soon as possible."

I opened the phone and saw dozens of missed calls.

There were calls from Jane, other secretaries, and CCPR, all clearly aware of the Trending Topics situation, trying to reach me. But I had been unreachable.

Eliza had also called me several times.

Worried this might affect Isabella, I quickly dialed Eliza back. "Miss Eliza, how’s Isabella doing?"

"I’ve been trying to reach CEO Hawthorne. Isabella isn’t doing well. She feels guilty about Vivienne being labeled as a Homewrecker. If I hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve tried to clarify things on Twitter. CEO Hawthorne, Vivienne is my artist. I have to think about her future. I couldn’t let her make such a move—it would ruin her career."

"I understand."

"I need to know what CEO Hawthorne plans to do about this. I have a selfish motive—I don’t want this affecting Isabella. You promised Isabella wouldn’t be labeled as a mistress. Not responding is the best response. Since neither you nor Vivienne are in the industry, it’s just a few people venting. After a few days, it’ll blow over."

"I agree. I’ve already instructed people to suppress the Trending Topics. It won’t affect Isabella."

"I trust you’ll keep your word. You remember the situation with Stellar Entertainment Group, don’t you? If you don’t clarify, someone else will."

I understood Eliza’s point. "I’ll handle it."

The only people who knew about my marriage to Vivienne and could help clear things up were likely Pop-Pop and Nana.

"Thank you, CEO Hawthorne. Please hurry and check on Isabella. She’s in a very unstable emotional state right now."

"Okay."

After hanging up, I called Jane again, instructing him to keep a close watch on the situation and ensure no clarifying news articles surfaced.

Once things calmed down, I would personally explain everything.

I was holding Vivienne’s phone, planning to return it to her room, but then I had a thought. Instead of leaving it with her, I decided to keep it in my pocket.

When I reached the living room downstairs, I turned to Maggie. "Don’t tell Vivienne about the news."

The things happening online were temporary—people venting their frustrations. In a few days, the hype would die down.

Maggie hesitated. "What if Miss Vivienne sees it herself?"

"You don’t need to worry about that. Just keep it from her."

Maggie nodded, though reluctantly.

Only then did I head to the car to check on Isabella.

Vivienne’s POV

I woke up and instinctively reached for my phone by the pillow. After a few moments of searching, I realized I couldn’t find it.

I opened my eyes, stretched, and propped myself up to look for it. I checked all around my pillow, but it wasn’t there.

I rubbed my forehead, trying to recall what happened the night before.

I’d taken my phone when I went to pick up Alexander, but after coming back, I had moved to the guest room to sleep.

It was probably in the other room.

With that thought, I got up, washed, dressed, and headed to look for it.

The room was empty. Alexander had clearly been up for a while; the bed had lost its warmth.

I searched everywhere—on the bed, the table, around the floor—but I still couldn’t find it. I even tossed the blanket aside twice.

Rubbing my forehead in frustration, I realized that if it wasn’t in the room, it had to be in the car or left behind in the private room. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

I checked the car, but after searching every corner, there was still no sign of it.

That left one possibility: I must’ve left my phone in the private room when I picked up Alexander.

Since I couldn’t retrieve it for now, I went downstairs to have breakfast.

Afterward, I drove to the Members-Only Club where we’d been yesterday and went straight to the counter.

"Did you find a phone in the 502 private room?" I asked.

"Yes, miss. But it’s already been returned to its owner."

"Returned?" I raised an eyebrow. "You’re sure? I haven’t gotten my phone back."

The staff member double-checked with a colleague. "Miss, we returned it directly to Mr. Hawthorne. It was delivered to him in person."

I frowned. There was no reason for them to lie about this.

It had to be Alexander who had taken my phone and put it somewhere I hadn’t noticed.

I drove back home and searched the living room again—no luck. Then I checked Alexander’s library, the master bedroom—even the bathrooms. Still nothing.

This was getting weird.

I borrowed Maggie’s phone and dialed my number, walking around the house. But I didn’t hear a single ring.

I ended up calling Alexander’s number instead. The phone rang several times, and just as it was about to go to voicemail, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

The voice that answered was unmistakably Isabella’s.

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

I forced calm into my voice. "It’s me. Where’s Alexander?"

"It’s Vivienne," Isabella said, almost too cheerfully. "Alexander’s in the kitchen, cooking for me."