Chapter 26

After the live stream incident, Stefan found himself in a PR disaster where netizens cursed him out daily. Some of them even went as far as to expose Briar Desrosiers’ past relationship with his late brother.

Everyone was absolutely furious with Stefan’s indecency, especially with how he was sexually involved with his brother’s girlfriend.

H Group, which had barely recovered from the recent cyber attack, was affected by this as well. Their stock prices tanked as soon as news of their CEO’s scandal spread.

“Fan, what in the world happened in that live stream? Just look at how you treat Renee… How could my son be such a bastard!”

“Your cheating is now being published on every platform too! Aren’t you proud of yourself!”

“And how dare you abuse Renee! If I wasn’t traveling abroad to find a suitable heart donor for your grandfather’s surgery, I’ll make sure you won’t seethe light of day!”

The sun had just risen but Stefan had already received an earful from his father.

With a disappointed frown, he tugged on his tie and said, “It’s all an act, you’ve been tricked by that woman.”

“Bullsh*t!”

Alexander was so agitated that he nearly cussed at his own son. “I know Renee, okay?! She’s an honest and responsible child! If you hadn’t pushed her over the edge, why would she ever expose our family matters online?”

‘Honest?! Responsible?!’ Stefan felt like exploding as soon as he heard those words.

Back then, Renee could still be considered honest, responsible, obedient, and adorable in his books.

However, she was now just a sly and irritating fox.

“Or perhaps… you still love Renee, like what some people are saying. Is that why you refused to sign the agreement? Do you not want a divorce?” Alexander said with a smirk. 1 “If that’s the case, you should just apologize! Women like it when a man is gentle with them, alright? I’m experienced in this. I’ll teach you everything when I get back. Women need…”

“I don’t love her, and I never will.” Stefan interrupted coldly as if trying to deny even the possibility of that idea.

Alexander was at his wit’s end.

“Ah, whatever. Do what you want! Just deal with this immediately, especially the accusations in the comments!”

“Your grandfather is currently in the hospital, so he doesn’t have access to the internet for now. Should he find out and if something were to happen to him, you’re the one to blame!”

Peace and quiet returned to Stefan’s office when Alexander hung up the phone.

Leaning against his chair, he stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. Despite claiming that he had never fallen for Renee, his mind was completely occupied by her.

‘Ah… I didn’t expect to be played by my inconspicuous, so-called wife.’

‘To think I made a fool of myself because of her. I’ve really underestimated you, Renee Everheart.’

“Mr. Hunt,” said someone from outside.

“Come in,” Stefan responded. It took one second for him to restore the cold, stoic expression on his face.

It was his personal secretary, Rachel Miles.

“Mr. Hunt, the PR department has already dealt with the negative comments regarding the live stream.

We’ve also paid the media to help restore both you and the company’s reputation by releasing articles all together”

“But…” Rachel paused awkwardly.

‘What is it?”

Rachel took a deep breath and replied carefully. “Sentiments are high, and the netizens are split over the issue. One side is accusing you of being an abusive cheater, and they wish to take you and H Group down.”

‘The other side, however, are die-hard fans of your relationship with Mrs. Hunt. They truly believe that you two were flirting during the live stream and that they were blessed to have been able to witness your love on screen.”

Stefan’s expression darkened. H did not expect people to have such imaginative minds and so much time for online gossip.

“Our current issue is that we can’t control the netizens’ comments, even though we are able to control the media.”

“Our teams may be trying their best in deleting their posts, but they are unable to keep up with their speed, given how they’re posting on multiple forums. They’ve even created pages to hate on you, or fangirl over your relationship.”

‘The two sides are practically at war right now, and they’re what’s keeping this topic trending on the internet. It’s simply too difficult to keep everything under control as of now!” i Stefan was speechless, he wondered if he should be angry or if he should laugh at the sheer absurdity of this situation.

“Is there a solution?”

‘The PR department has been working overtime to figure something out. Not only will this calm everyone down, but it might even help H Group regain its popularity. It’s just that… I’m afraid you’ll dislike what we have in mind….”