Chapter 148
Aria’s POV
Lillian’s message hit me like a truck: [Screenshot.jpg][Screenshot.jpg] “Is this you in these photos p>
I opened the pictures and immediately spotted myself. There I was, clear as day.
“Unbelievable!” Lillian texted. “Some idiot posted photos of us meeting Julian on Valentine’s Day, claiming he’s in a secret relationship p>
I stared at my phone, completely speechless. How do you even respond to something like this?
“Girl, everyone online is digging into this and… shit! Someone already identified you as the ‘mystery woman p>
“Just end me now,” I typed back, already feeling drained.
As if Aiden’s “cheating scandal” wasn’t enough, now I’ve been forcibly cast as Julian’s secret girlfriend. The same Julian fans who were complimenting my beauty hours ago were now hurling insults at me.
“Seriously?! Married people should know better! Keep your distance from other men when you’re married p>
“This Jones woman is something else! Spending Valentine’s Day with Julian instead of her husband? Damn, she’s playing games p>
“I heard Julian paid her 300 grand for that concert appearance-his company only covered 100k, and he paid the rest himself. There’s definitely something going on between them p>
Julian already commanded massive attention, and I was still caught in Aiden’s alleged affair drama. We were both hot topics. When photos of us supposedly spending Valentine’s Day together leaked, the hashtag #JulianTheHomewrecker shot to number one trending within half an hour.
I watched the numbers climb higher and higher, completely powerless to stop it.
I was stunned. All I did was accept a ride home that night-how did that transform into a full-blown affair?
Lillian was fuming: “This is clearly targeted mud-slinging! It looks like they’re attacking Julian, but they’re really coming for you p>
I couldn’t see the pattern clearly. “What do you mean p>
“Look at the hashtags about you and Julian! If I hadn’t been there with you on Valentine’s Day, you two would never be able to clear your names. Now both you AND Aiden are accused of cheating. This is obviously aimed at you-someone wants Julian’s fans to attack you p>
“Just wait,” she added. “Soon someone will leak so-called ‘insider details’ about your marriage with Aiden p>
I don’t follow celebrity culture or social media trends, so I didn’t fully grasp what was happening at first. I just felt wrongfully accused. But with Lillian pointing it out, I started seeing the bigger picture.
True to her word—Lillian really knows her way around internet drama—a post titled “Rich Marriages: Playing Separate Games, Who’s Truly Invested?” went viral almost immediately.
The anonymous poster claimed to be someone on the periphery of high society with inside knowledge. They wrote that the recently lovey-dovey but now scandal- plagued “Mr. S and Miss J” had a marriage of convenience all public displays of affection were just for show while they lived separate private lives.
The post was deliberately vague without naming names, but with the top trending topic being my alleged affair with Julian, people immediately connected the dots.
“Mind blown! I was so naive! I thought this was a real high-society love story. Turns out it was all an act—and I was the foolish fan who bought into it p>
“This is wild! So Miss Jones married Mr. Carter just to save face? Their whole relationship is just business with zero feelings p>
“They were the first couple I ever shipped! I thought marriage would guarantee they’d never disappoint us! Now everything’s crashed so fast, I’m in shock! Who should I even be mad at? Maybe they’re both wrong, maybe neither is wrong— maybe I’m the only one who got it wrong p>
The hashtag about the “truth” of our marriage climbed rapidly, just behind Julian’s scandal on the trending list.
I felt completely overwhelmed. With both Aiden and Julian involved, I couldn’t just make a random statement.
Aiden pov:
I glanced up from my iPad to see Lucas standing there, barely breathing. The poor guy looked terrified to even exist in my presence.
He probably couldn’t make sense of how things had spiraled so quickly. This morning I was allegedly cheating, and by afternoon my wife was supposedly doing the same.
This rollercoaster was making me dizzy with rage.
“Are you waiting for me to tell you to buy trending spots to counter this?” I asked sharply, fixing my gaze on Lucas.
What was he doing just standing there? Did he think watching me would make this mess disappear?
Lucas straightened immediately, his back going rigid. “We’ve already arranged to have the trending topics removed, sir. But since this involves Julian too, it might not be so easy to suppress completely p>
He paused, clearly uncomfortable under my death stare, before
continuing hesitantly: “Besideset
we
remove everything at once, it might actually hurt Mrs. Carter more p>
He looked at me cautiously after saying this.
My eyes darkened. “Contact Julian’s team. Have him issue a clarification first. Then have the legal department send cease and desist letters And find out who’s orchestrating this
from behind the scenes p>
I loosened my tie, my face tense with anger. “Cancel tonight’s dinner meeting p>
“But p>
“But what?” I challenged.
Lucas withered under my intense gaze and shook his head quickly. “Nothing, sir. What about Miss Reynolds p>
“Why? Are you concerned about Madison p>
“No, of course not, Mr. Carter!” he backpedaled.
He should have known better than to mention her.
“Have Madison’s studio release a statement explaining what happened last night p>
If I’d known it would cause this much trouble, I wouldn’t have helped Madison last
night even if she’d been dying right in front of me.
My face darkened further. The online rumors had clearly hit a nerve.
Lucas nodded quickly and practically fled from my office.
I glanced at the files on my computer screen before abruptly shutting it down,
grabbing my car keys and heading for the door.
The financial director was waiting outside with papers: “Mr. Carter, these are p>
I shot him a cold glance, and he immediately went silent.