But the clickbait accounts and troublemakers hadn’t disappeared entirely.

At 9 a.m., a well-known emotional gossip account on Twitter posted a new update.

A single image.

Captioned:

"The power of money."

The photo was a screenshot of a backstage message:

"Hello, I’m Mr. Alexander’s secretary. Your actions have infringed on Mr. Alexander’s legal rights. Please provide a contact so we can discuss removing the post before the situation escalates."

The wording was formal.

Measured.

But in the hands of the public—

It became something else entirely.

Proof.

Or what they chose to believe was proof.

The post spread quickly.

And with it—

A new wave of mockery.

Comments flooded in, sharper than before:

"So this is how the rich silence people?"

"Caught red-handed and now threatening others?"

"Money really can bury anything, huh?"

Alicia’s name resurfaced once again.

Dragged through the noise.

Distorted.

Reframed.

But this time—

It didn’t rise the same way.

Despite the engagement, despite the comments piling up—

None of it reached the trending list.

Every attempt to push it further was quietly suppressed.

Controlled.

Contained.

On the surface—

The storm was fading.

But underneath—

It hadn’t ended.

Not really.

And somehow—

Alicia still found out.

Alicia’s POV

While I was having breakfast the next morning, my phone vibrated.

A message from Aiden.

"Alicia, are you alright? Don’t let anything get to you, okay?"

I frowned slightly and replied:

"?"

"What do you mean?"

The chat showed typing... for a few seconds.

Then nothing.

A quiet sigh escaped me.

I already had a feeling.

"If you’re not going to reply, I’ll just look it up myself."

A moment later, a link came through.

"Just take a look at this," Aiden added. "The media are just grasping at straws. Netizens don’t think critically—they’re easily manipulated. Don’t let it bother you."

I tapped the link. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

A gossip article.

I skimmed through it quickly, my expression unchanged.

The writing wasn’t bad.

Structured. Controlled. Even a little... convincing.

Professional enough to blur the line between fact and speculation.

When I reached the end, my eyes paused on the timestamp.

Then, slowly—

I looked up at Alexander.

He sat across from me, calm as ever.

As if none of this existed.

"I saw the news," I said evenly. "Did Jane call you in the middle of the night because of this?"

His gaze flicked briefly toward my phone.

"This isn’t something you need to worry about," he replied. "I’ve already handled it."

"Mm."

I nodded and took another bite of my sandwich.

The comments didn’t affect me.

They were just noise.

A crowd speaking loudly without thinking, convinced they were right.

To them, explanations were excuses.

And silence—

Was guilt.

There was no point caring.

I typed a quick reply:

"Thank you. I’m not bothered by it. Don’t let it get to you either."

"Stop using your phone while eating," Alexander said lightly.

I glanced at him.

Just as I was about to put my phone down, another message came in.

"Has your boyfriend seen the news? If he has, you should explain it so he doesn’t misunderstand."

I paused.

There was something probing in Aiden’s words.

He must have remembered what I’d said before—

That things between me and my boyfriend weren’t going well.

That we might separate.

My fingers stilled.

I glanced at Alexander again.

Back then, I had truly believed we would divorce.

So I kept everything hidden.

But now...

Things had changed.

Not in a way I could fully explain.

Not even to myself.

I didn’t want my friends to misunderstand.

I didn’t want them worrying.

After a moment, I typed:

"He doesn’t misunderstand."

The reply came almost instantly:

"As long as he trusts you, that’s enough!"

My fingers hovered over the screen.

Then, slowly, I added:

"...What I meant was Some of the things in the news are true."

A pause.

Then—

"?"

"what do you mean?"

The typing... indicator flickered repeatedly.

Uncertain.

Hesitant.

I knew what would come next.

Questions.

Clarifications.

Things I wasn’t sure I was ready to explain....

"I’m done."

Alexander set down his utensils.

"Hurry up. I’m waiting for you—we’ll go to the office together."

I looked up.

For a second, I considered replying.

Then I locked my phone.

"Okay."

I lowered my gaze and finished my breakfast quietly.

Third Person POV

Once inside the car, Alicia unlocked her phone again.

Two new messages from Aiden.

"Do you mean... you and CEO Blackwood...?"

The hesitation in his words was obvious—even through text.

Disbelief.

Confusion.

Something just short of certainty.

Aiden stared at the chat on his end, his thoughts racing.

That night in the underground parking lot at Lilian’s birthday party resurfaced in his mind.

Alicia had been distant towards Alexander.

Cold, even.

And yet—

He hadn’t shown the slightest trace of anger.

At the time, it felt strange.

Now—

It made sense.

Too much sense.

Even the way Alexander had treated him before—polite on the surface, yet faintly hostile beneath it.

Aiden had once brushed it off as imagination.

Now, looking back—

It wasn’t.

It had never been.

Some things had been there all along.

He just hadn’t seen them.

His expression darkened.

If what he was thinking was true...

Then everything Alicia had said before—about her "boyfriend," about their relationship being unstable—

It all pointed to one person.

Alexander.

And if that was the case—

Then the reason behind it wasn’t hard to guess.

Lilian.

He remembered the incident clearly.

Lilian’s injury hadn’t been serious.

And yet Alexander had stayed by her side the entire night.

A man like that—

Entangled with someone else.

Unable to draw boundaries.

How could he possibly be right for Alicia?

Aiden typed quickly:

"Alicia, if the rumors are true, I hope you think this through."

"Alexander is not someone you can trust."

Back in the car—

Alicia read the messages.

If this had happened before, she would have responded immediately.

Defended Alexander.

Explained.

But now—

She only frowned slightly.

Her fingers hovered over the screen.

Then stilled.

"Not someone you can trust?"

Alexander’s voice broke the silence.

Low.

Calm.

Carrying a trace of amusement.

Alicia froze.

Her grip tightened around her phone as she turned her head.

He was looking at her.

"If I’m not," he continued lightly, "then who is? Aiden Firestone, maybe?"

Alicia’s heart skipped.

She quickly pulled her phone closer to herself, instinctively shielding the screen.

"Why were you looking at my phone?"

"I wasn’t looking," he replied casually. "Just happened to see."

His tone was effortless.

Too effortless.

During breakfast, he had already noticed the name.

Aiden.

And now—

In the confined space of the car, with her attention fixed on the screen—

It hadn’t been hard to catch a glimpse.

Just a glance.

That was all it took.

But the words—

’Not someone you can trust.’

They lingered.

Longer than they should have.

Alexander leaned back slightly, his expression unreadable.

The faint curve of amusement on his lips didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"Interesting," he murmured.

"You..."

Alicia shot him an exasperated look but said nothing more. She lowered her gaze and unlocked her phone, typing quickly.

"I’ll explain later."

On the other end, Aiden read the message.

His expression darkened.

He started typing a reply—

Paused.

Deleted it.

Then typed again.

Stopped.

In the end, he said nothing.

He didn’t want to overwhelm Alicia with his concerns or risk annoying her.

He also feared Alicia might see through his true feelings, and then they might not even stay friends.

Or worse—

He wasn’t sure he was ready for her answer.

Back in the car—

"You still haven’t answered my question," Alexander said.

His voice was calm.

Even though things between them had been going well lately, Alexander hadn’t forgotten that when he’d suggested a divorce, Alicia had immediately agreed.

‎Could it be that Alicia really had feelings for Aiden?

Alicia didn’t look up. "What question?"

Alexander turned his head slightly, his gaze sharp.

"If I’m not someone you can trust—then who is?" he asked quietly.

"Aiden Firestone?"

There was something dangerous beneath the softness of his tone.

Something restrained.

Alicia finally looked at him.

Her expression cooled.

"I didn’t say that," she replied flatly. "Why are you so worked up?"

"But you didn’t deny it."

The words came out sharper this time.

More direct.

More personal.