The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 228: Kicking Someone While They’re Down
"You’re already doing great, Naomi."
His voice was unusually gentle, like a patient guide:
"It’s your tough exterior and soft heart that make you who you are—unique and irreplaceable."
"Since you don’t regret it, why let other people’s words affect you? They aren’t you. They can’t make choices from your perspective."
He lowered his gaze slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I’m very happy you were willing to share your feelings with me."
"I used to think you were invincible. Now I see you have a soft side too, that you can feel lost and helpless..."
His gaze fixed for a moment as if he was thinking.
Naomi Kenway was a little stunned. The next second, she found herself in a warm embrace. A light kiss landed on the ends of her hair, and the phone was taken from her hand. "Don’t look at this stuff anymore. Go to sleep. This will all pass."
Ethan Shaw’s words gave her an unexpected sense of security, and she didn’t find herself rejecting the hug.
The lights in the room went out, plunging them into darkness.
Her senses heightened. Smelling the faint scent of body wash from the person beside her, Naomi Kenway gradually relaxed and drifted off to sleep. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
*
The next day, Felix Jacobs posted a hospital report and a photo of his gaunt, bandaged back. The report detailed his injuries. He accused Naomi Kenway of being responsible for all of it.
The production team of "Super Mom" immediately issued a statement explaining the situation, stating that Naomi Kenway had acted in an emergency to save someone and that the staff could all testify to it.
However, most people didn’t believe the statement when it came out. They just saw it as "the power of money" and "birds of a feather flocking together."
As the situation fermented over time, Naomi Kenway’s social media account was flooded with hateful comments from self-proclaimed "crusaders for justice."
[How can you be so evil? You’re rotten to the core, deliberately destroying a family’s harmony and making their lives miserable!]
[Never thought I’d learn about you this way, Naomi Kenway.]
[Just came from Felix Jacobs’s latest video. He posted his medical report, and his injuries are no joke. Who would’ve thought a glamorous celebrity could be so violent, bullying us poor, ordinary people? It’s disgusting!]
[Can you even sleep at night? Felix Jacobs’s wife and child left him, his mother is in the hospital, and he’s in his forties but his hair is almost completely white. This is all your fault!]
[You were both on the same show, but fellow guest Renee Jennings does so much charity work. Look at you—you make all this money but not only do you not do any charity, you even maliciously cause trouble!]
[Naomi Kenway’s fans are always bragging about how kind she is. I think it’s all an act!]
...
As a guest on the same reality show, Renee Jennings was always exceptionally high-profile about her charity work. With the contrast, she was inexplicably praised to the heavens.
Renee Jennings was overjoyed. Her social media was filled with photos of her doing charity work and her thoughts on philanthropy. Her most recent post read, "All people are born equal. I hate bullies who pick on honest folk the most." Many saw this move as a malicious dig at Naomi, kicking her while she was down.
Naomi Kenway was no longer in the situation she once was where the entire internet was against her; she now had a large, loyal fanbase. During this time, besides managing the comments on her own page, they went to Renee Jennings’s social media account to curse her out.
Renee Jennings couldn’t handle the pressure, and the post was quickly deleted. Renee herself came out to explain that her assistant had made a mistake and that she was very sorry for the trouble it had caused.
A crowd of onlookers went to Renee Jennings’s account to ask about Naomi Kenway’s behavior on the show. Renee actually replied, but with a vague, "It’s not my place to comment on others." This statement, of course, sparked even more speculation.
Unsurprisingly, Renee Jennings’s account was once again swarmed by Naomi Kenway’s fans.
Naomi Kenway received a call from Laura Grant. "How are things now?"
"We’ve issued a clarification, and the ’Super Mom’ team also put out a statement to help. But this Felix Jacobs guy is a real sensationalist. He posted a picture of his ID to back up his accusations, which makes people instinctively see him as the victim. In this day and age, anyone willing to reveal their official ID online is assumed to have suffered a grave injustice, so netizens are automatically leaning toward his version of events."
"In today’s fickle world, many people are deceived by superficial news and become pawns. The internet has its pros and cons. This Felix Jacobs seems to have cracked the code for going viral. He keeps showing off how tragic his family situation is in his videos, which has led to many well-meaning netizens sharing them."
Noticing silence on Naomi Kenway’s end, Laura Grant asked, "Nicole, are you still there?"
"I’m here," Naomi Kenway said.
"You should stay out of the public eye for a while. Director Ruby Preston has been very understanding and agreed to delay filming for your scenes. Nicole, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Don’t be afraid."
"Why should I be afraid? I’m not the one who did anything wrong, so I have nothing to feel guilty about. Have you called the police?"
Laura Grant said, "We reported it as soon as it happened."
"Good. That’s the most convincing course of action. That Felix Jacobs actually dared to twist the truth." Naomi Kenway sneered. "I’ll make him regret this."
A little while later, Laura Grant called again. She said they had received a call from Felix Jacobs, who wanted to speak with Naomi Kenway to "discuss things."
Naomi Kenway had switched to a new SIM card, so Laura Grant patched the call through to her.
"How dare you call me?" Naomi Kenway’s voice was ice-cold.
"Well now, aren’t we a big shot celebrity!" The voice on the other end was gloating, the tone of a complete lowlife. "Let me tell you, I’m not afraid of you. Everyone on the internet is on my side. You’re finished, you hear me! You’d better give me that bitch Joelle Lynch’s address right now, or I swear I’ll destroy you!"
"You want to destroy me? You should worry about yourself first. I’ve already called the police."
"The police..." The voice on the other end clearly faltered. "What good will calling the police do? I haven’t broken any laws."
"Spreading rumors? Slander? That’s defamation, and it carries criminal liability. If I’m not mistaken, someone must have taught you what to say and is managing these videos for you, right?"
Felix Jacobs’s voice trembled on the other end. "Y-You, how did you know..." His voice suddenly became agitated. "How did you guess?!"
"Does that even require guessing? A half-wit like you could never come up with such coherent lines or know how to exploit people’s sympathy."
"The team behind you is just in it for the profit. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop spreading rumors and apologize to me immediately. Otherwise, I’ll sue you until you’re bankrupt. No, wait..." Naomi Kenway laughed. "You’re already broke."
Felix Jacobs, feeling humiliated, cursed viciously. "So what if you’re rich? I’m living just fine without money. All you rich people should just die! Stop trying to scare me. You tricked my wife and kid away from me and left me with these injuries. I’ll make you pay for this!"
