My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 21

I was scrolling through Twitter while talking to Julian. "Is this the TV show script you were telling me about a few days ago?"

"Yes, that’s the one."

I smiled. "Congrats! You got the role you wanted. Good luck—aim for Best Actor in a Drama."

Julian had a solid reputation, always willing to take on a variety of roles. Among the younger stars, he was a breath of fresh air.

Recently, he’d played the lead in a romance drama and received rave reviews.

"Do you like Best Actor in a Drama winners?"

"Of course, who doesn’t admire a talented actor?"

"You’re right. I’ll work hard and bring home the Best Actor in a Drama award so you can see it for yourself."

After hanging up with Julian, I continued scrolling and came across another trending topic that caught my eye.

Alexander & Isabella.

I could pretty much guess what it was about, but I couldn’t resist clicking on it.

As expected, it was an OTP (One True Pairing) thread.

The OTP fans had found their sweet spot. Empire of Shadows was Isabella’s first leading role since returning to the country, and the investment had come from Stellar Entertainment Group.

Stellar Entertainment Group was a subsidiary of Vanguard Global Enterprises.

The fans didn’t buy the idea that Stellar Entertainment Group’s involvement in Empire of Shadows and Isabella being the lead were unrelated.

Not only the fans, but I didn’t believe it either.

This thread had gained a lot of traction, and the number of fans under the OTP hashtag had soared.

It felt almost like self-inflicted torture as I slowly scrolled down, taking in everything from the hashtags.

My eyes narrowed, lips tight, and my fingers gripped the sleeve of my shirt, tightening with each passing moment.

Someone had edited a video of Alexander and Isabella, combining footage from a financial news segment with clips from a modern drama they’d worked on together. They added a narrative that instantly created a touching story, attracting numerous fans to watch and leave comments.

When the video ended and the screen went black, I suddenly realized I had been holding my breath.

I created a new account and followed the OTP hashtag.

"Vivienne, are you okay? I just saw what’s on Twitter. Damn, it’s infuriating."

Sophie sent me a message on WhatsApp, followed by another one.

"Isabella’s team is shameless, and now they’re trying to blame you. She’s just The Innocent Darling."

Vivienne: "I’m fine. I was angry when I first saw it, but I’ve calmed down now."

Sophie: "Why don’t you fight back? Let them mess around on Twitter?"

Vivienne: "They’re business partners. Infighting isn’t good."

Sophie: "That’s not like you. It must be Isabella, someone’s backing her, right?"

Sophie: "FUCK!"

Sophie: "CEO Hawthorne is really blind. He’s young, but he can’t tell right from wrong."

Vivienne: "Let’s not talk about it anymore. Let them say what they want. It’ll blow over in a few days."

But Sophie couldn’t hold back. She posted a tweet:

"Some people are really The Innocent Darling. They insist on bringing their own makeup artist, then when the makeup fails, they immediately blame others. This move is 666!"

Her Twitter account was verified, with hundreds of thousands of followers, and she had quite a few makeup artists following her.

As soon as the tweet was posted, everyone knew it was about Isabella.

Since mentioning Isabella was a hot topic, a Clickbait Account immediately shared Sophie’s tweet, implying there was something more to the story.

Fans flooded the comments section, tearing each other apart.

The studio manager personally called me, confirming that they had found the staff member who leaked the photos and had taken action against them.

I thought for a moment and then sent Ariana a message.

Vivienne: "Ariana, do you have the final photos yet?"

"Yes, do you need one now?"

Vivienne: "Yes, just send me one from the first day of the shoot."

Ariana quickly sent me a photo. It was taken from the photographer’s angle and looked completely different from the paparazzi shots. After some editing, the photo had a unique charm.

I forwarded the image to my assistant.

Vivienne: "Crop part of the image and post a sneak peek on V&R’s Twitter, but don’t post the original."

The assistant quickly followed my instructions and posted on the official account:

“Just sharing a sneak peek, Isabella is so beautiful~” with the attached image.

The atmosphere on Twitter was peaceful, with fans leaving comments and sharing the picture.

The whole situation passed without much fuss, and thankfully, nothing too major came of it.

My leg had healed enough, and I started heading back to the office on Wednesday.

I came out of the bathroom and walked past the elevator. Just as I reached it, the doors opened, and Alexander stepped out, followed by a few secretaries.

Jane and the others immediately greeted me, "Director Vivienne."

I nodded casually and greeted Alexander.

"CEO Hawthorne. Just got back?"

Alexander looked at me and replied with a simple "Hmm."

"I’ll get back to work now."

Before noon, I received an internal call from Alexander.

I listened to the phone ring, waiting until it was nearly finished before picking it up.

"Hello, is there something you need, CEO Hawthorne?"

"Come to my office for lunch."

"I’m going to the employee cafeteria."

"I’ve already ordered your portion."

"Oh."

At exactly twelve o’clock, the employees in the open area stood up, chatting and heading to the cafeteria.

When the area had cleared out, I left my office and walked straight to the CEO’s office.

I didn’t knock but pushed the door open.

On the dining table in the reception area of the CEO’s office, lunch had already been laid out. From the packaging, I could tell it was the specially ordered Aroma Palace meal, beautifully presented with a perfect blend of color, aroma, and flavor.

"Please, sit," Alexander said.

He picked up a square box and placed it in front of me.

"A gift for you. See if you like it."

I opened the box to reveal an exquisite ladies’ watch. The face was small and square, deep blue, with fine craftsmanship.

"It’s beautiful."

I tried it on and showed it to Alexander.

"It’s perfect. Let’s eat. I ordered a few of your favorite dishes."

"Thank you, CEO Hawthorne."

I sat down across from him and picked up my chopsticks.

"Now that it’s just the two of us, do you still want to call me CEO Hawthorne?"

"This is the company."

Alexander picked up a few pieces of food with his chopsticks and placed them on my plate. "How’s your foot? Why didn’t you rest a little longer at home?"

"It doesn’t hurt anymore. Sitting around at home with nothing to do isn’t any better than coming to work, especially since I’m not walking around much."

"I’m sorry for misunderstanding you last time." Alexander gave me an apologetic look.

There was probably an issue with my makeup at that time, and he should have trusted me. It wasn’t easy to get the famous CEO Hawthorne to apologize.

I stayed silent for a moment, lowered my head, and said softly, "It’s in the past. No need to bring it up again. You’ve already apologized over the phone."

"You mentioned before that you were feeling a bit tired and needed a break. How about hiring a few more assistants?"

I shook my head. "We have enough for now. We’ll see when the time comes."

"When’s that?"

"Just something I said offhand."

As my belly grew and my pregnancy became more obvious, it would be impossible to hide it from those around me. I wasn’t sure if Alexander would even allow me to keep the baby, and even if he did, there might be a custody dispute.

So, I planned to keep the pregnancy quiet, at least for now.

"If you need anything, don’t hesitate to tell me."

Suddenly, a thought flashed in my mind. I looked up at Alexander. "I do have a request, but you might not agree to it."