My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 105

Vivienne’s POV

I first heard the news from Julian.

While I was having breakfast, I received a message from him on WhatsApp:

"Don’t pay attention to what’s being said online. Those people are just venting their frustrations. After a while, no one will care about it."

I replied with a question mark. "What do you mean?"

The chat box showed that Julian was typing, but no message came through.

Julian regretted it. If he had known I didn’t already know about the news, he wouldn’t have sent that message. Now it was too late to take it back.

I had a hunch about what was going on. “If you’re not going to reply, I’ll just look it up myself.”

Reluctantly, Julian shared a link with me.

The link led to a gossip article on Twitter.

"Just take a look at these. The media are just grasping at straws, and netizens don’t think critically. They’re easily manipulated. Don’t let it bother you," Julian added, trying to reassure me.

I clicked the link and skimmed through it, keeping my expression neutral.

Well, the writing wasn’t bad. The suspense was well done, and it had a certain professionalism typical of journalists.

When I reached the end and saw the time the article was published, I looked up at Alexander, who was sitting across from me.

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

Alexander glanced subtly at my phone screen. "This isn’t something you need to worry about. I’ve already had people handle it."

"Mm." I nodded calmly and took a bite of my sandwich.

The comments on Twitter didn’t stir any emotions in me.

They were nothing but a mob of people lost in their own little world, unable to listen or think rationally. To them, explanations were just excuses, and silence was a sign of guilt. There was no need to care about them.

I made sure to reply to Julian, "Thank you. I’m not bothered by it, and you shouldn’t let these people upset you either..."

"Stop playing with your phone while eating," Alexander subtly reminded me. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

I looked at him for a moment. Just as I was about to put my phone away, another message from Julian came in:

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

There was a hint of probing in Julian’s message. He remembered me mentioning before that my relationship with my boyfriend wasn’t going well and that we were about to break up.

I glanced at Alexander.

At first, I thought I’d be divorcing Alexander soon, so I had kept our relationship a secret. Now, things had turned out unexpectedly.

I didn’t want my friends to misunderstand, nor did I want them to keep worrying about me.

After thinking it over, I replied, "He doesn’t misunderstand."

By replying like this, it was clear that I had no intention of breaking up anytime soon.

Julian’s voice seemed tinged with a little loneliness. "As long as he trusts you, that’s enough!"

Vivienne: "What I mean is... some of the things in the news are true."

Julian: "? "

Julian: "Is that really what you meant?"

The "typing..." indicator on the chat screen flashed repeatedly, showing that Julian was deeply conflicted.

I was about to explain to Julian, but I saw Alexander set down his utensils. "I’m done eating. Hurry up, I’m waiting for you so we can go to the office together."

Seeing this, I couldn’t procrastinate any longer. I closed my phone and focused on finishing my breakfast.

Once in the car, I opened my phone again to find two more messages from Julian.

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

The punctuation didn’t even begin to express how incredulous Julian was.

He couldn’t believe it, but then he remembered that time in the underground parking lot at Isabella’s birthday party. Vivienne had acted distant toward Alexander, yet he hadn’t been angry at all, which clearly indicated that their relationship was anything but ordinary.

Thinking back to the way Alexander treated him, always with subtle hostility, Julian had initially thought it was just his imagination.

Now, with a few unnoticeable details in hindsight, everything was starting to make sense.

Some things had been foreshadowed long ago.

He even suspected that the boyfriend Vivienne mentioned might actually be Alexander.

Last time, Vivienne had said they were on the verge of breaking up, and the reason was Alexander celebrating Isabella’s birthday.

Julian also remembered how, when Isabella had been burned, her injuries weren’t severe, but Alexander still stayed by her side all night.

How could Alexander, so entangled with Isabella, possibly be the right person for Vivienne?

So, Julian sent another message to Vivienne: "Vivienne, if the rumors are true, I hope you’ll think this through. Alexander is not someone you can trust!"

I unlocked my phone and saw Julian’s two messages.

If this had happened before, I would’ve defended Alexander the moment I saw something like this from Julian.

But now, I just furrowed my brow slightly, about to reply, when I heard Alexander’s voice.

"Not someone you can trust?"

His tone was tinged with amusement as he asked, "If I’m not, then who is? Julian Steele, maybe?"

I jumped, startled, and quickly pulled my phone behind me, eyeing Alexander warily. "How did you see my phone?"

"I didn’t ‘see it.’ I was just looking," he said nonchalantly.

During breakfast, I had been holding my phone, chatting away, and Alexander had noticed the contact was Julian.

When I continued the conversation with Julian after getting in the car, Alexander couldn’t resist glancing at my screen, and that’s when he saw the message.

"You..." I gave him an exasperated look without saying anything and opened my phone to reply to Julian. "I’ll explain later."

Reading this, Julian’s expression darkened.

He thought about replying again but hesitated, not wanting to overwhelm Vivienne with his concerns or risk annoying her.

He also feared Vivienne might see through his true feelings, and then they might not even stay friends. He typed out a few words, then deleted them.

"You still haven’t answered my question." Alexander wouldn’t let it go.

"What question?"

"I’m not someone you can trust? Then who is? Julian Steele?"

Alexander’s gaze was sharp, and his voice low.

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

Could it be that Vivienne had feelings for Julian?

Alexander’s tone sharpened, as if accusing me of cheating.

I glanced at him coldly. "I didn’t say that. Why are you so worked up?"

"But you didn’t deny it."

I replied, "If it weren’t for Grandpa’s health, we’d already be divorced. Talking about this is pointless."

Alexander fell silent.

"I know what you’re worried about, but listen: I’m not like you. Julian won’t affect us. If we end up getting divorced, it’ll only be because I’ve been utterly disappointed in you."

The rest of the drive to the office was filled with silence.

Neither of us spoke.

I leaned back in my seat, gazing out the window as the streets passed by. Alexander closed his eyes, resting.

James, the driver, didn’t dare to speak, sneaking glances at us through the rearview mirror as he continued driving quietly.

When we arrived at the office, the elevator ascended and stopped at the designated floor.

I stepped out of the elevator behind Alexander and headed toward the restroom.

Alexander, ever observant, noticed that I still didn’t want to be seen with him by the employees.

I entered a stall in the restroom.

Soon, I heard footsteps approaching, followed by voices.

It was a group of employees from another department.

Since it wasn’t yet time to start work, they were chatting and laughing as they entered the stall next door.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard one of them lower her voice and say, "Hey, did you see the Twitter hashtags from last night?"