Chapter 218 Are You Touched?
Harold asked, "So, what's the first step?"
Ashley, who had a rough plan, knew the first step clearly. "Complain, play the victim, and act like I'm being bullied."
Hendrix shuddered. "Can you pull it off?"
Ashley replied, "No need to show my face. Just post on Facebook, write some sad stuff, and see who reacts. Then trace their IP addresses."
Lucien didn't say anything but opened Facebook to check the buzz. Normally, he wouldn't get involved, but since Mark was his client, he had to. His calm expression changed when he saw Facebook.
Lucien said, "You guys should see this."
They saw Damian's news dominating the top five trending topics, overshadowing Ashley's.
Even with keywords, they only found bits and pieces, not the whole story.
Hendrix reacted the most. "Oh my God!"
He knew Damian well. That guy hated social media, thinking it was for the masses.
Others might not know, but he knew about Damian and Ashley's "affair."
Harold, recalling Damian's behavior at dinner last night, felt his mood swing. He smirked, "Ashley, you're lucky. With Damian's news out, no one's looking at you."
The plan to "play the victim" backfired fast.
Ashley felt a chill from his laugh.
Lucien, unaware of the backstory, scrolled down. "Even related news is gone. Did any of you hire a PR team? This is efficient."
Ashley gritted her teeth. She thought that Damian's move was unnecessary. "I know who it is. I'll handle it."
As the tension eased, Hendrix frowned. "Did you drink? Why?"
Ashley, feeling stifled, said, "Do I need a reason? I just felt like it."
Hendrix eyed her skeptically. He didn't believe anyone would drink alone for no reason and end up hungover. "Relationship issues?"
Lucien also looked at Ashley.
Harold stayed quiet.
Ashley brushed her bangs. "I'm more into my career than relationships. Men aren't reliable."
Hendrix retorted, "I can't speak for others, but I'm reliable."
Before Lucien could smirk, Ashley laughed. "Hendrix, personal feelings aren't on today's agenda. Let's not waste time."
Harold added, "Office romance is one thing, but playing around and then ditching someone is your style. Shut up; no one wants to hear it."
Feeling attacked, Hendrix shut his mouth, annoyed. He thought about how he had made things clear to Lynn, yet she still wouldn't settle down.
Ashley called Damian, but he didn't answer.
At that moment, Damian was in his parents' study, facing his furious father.
Bryan slammed his hand on the desk. "You suppressed the news and denied your relationship with Trinity. What are you trying to do?"
Unlike his agitated father, Damian stayed calm. "Is there a problem with posting a regular photo?"
Bryan, furious, grabbed a pen holder, ready to throw it at Damian's head. But seeing his son's face, which resembled his own, he put it down in frustration. "You said no public events, no interviews, no KM Group activities that require public appearances. And now this? Do you expect me to believe it was a whim?"
Damian didn't expect him to believe it. He offered an explanation to give both sides a reason. "Dad, do you think highly of the Bezos family? Do you think highly of Emperial Avenue Group? I just did what you wanted to do but hesitated to act on."
This hit a nerve with Bryan. While abroad, he had heard that Damian was finally willing to meet another woman. After three years, his son had finally relented. He didn't ask much and just said it was good as long as his son was willing to let go of Ashley, any woman would do.
But after meeting people from the Bezos family, Bryan gradually realized that the Emperial Avenue Group wasn't a match for the Hearst family. His son could find someone better.
Unwilling to accept this and worried that Damian might go back to Ashley, he and his wife were very conflicted.
But before they could decide, Damian had already suppressed the news to help Ashley, exposing his own private life.
The identity of the person in the photo didn't matter. What mattered was that his son had genuinely helped Ashley.
Bryan sighed, "If you don't like Trinity, find someone better. But remember, it absolutely cannot be Ashley."
Seeing Damian's silent and dark expression, Bryan placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and spoke softly, "If you insist on going your own way, don't blame me for taking extreme measures. You're my son, and I won't harm you, but someone will pay for this."
With that, Bryan turned and left the study.
Damian closed his eyes in frustration, clenched his fist, and pounded it on a stack of documents.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Damian took it out and saw a familiar name, his gloom slowly dissipating. "Hello?"
Ashley asked, "Mr. Hearst, did you put yourself in the spotlight to help me?"
Damian smiled. "Are you touched?"
Ashley replied, "Mr. Hearst, your way of helping is truly unique. Even if you wanted to suppress the trending news, you could have used a celebrity scandal to divert attention. But you chose to step in personally. Were you afraid I wouldn't know who was helping me behind the scenes?"
Damian showed no embarrassment at being exposed. Instead, he responded naturally, "Since you know, have you thought of a way to thank me?"
Ashley laughed in exasperation. "Did I ask for your help?"
Damian said, "Do you think you could handle this on your own? Ashley, this is a matter of life and death, not a trivial issue."
"Even if it's serious, it has nothing to do with you, Mr. Hearst. There's no need for you to do something just to feel good about yourself."
Damian snorted in frustration, then calmly said, "Consider it a good deed for the day. The trending news has been suppressed, and public opinion won't target you for a while. As for how to clear your name, you'll have to figure that out yourself."
Ashley wanted to say she didn't need his help but felt it would be too aggressive. So she coldly replied, "Instead of worrying about me, you should think about how to explain this to your grandfather!"
Damian's smile grew. "Worried about me?"
