“Yes, I’ll marry him—it’s just a matter of time.”
She was willing to wait, to stand beneath the lights of a grand wedding and have the world bear witness.
—
The next day.
Rumors and gossip still blazed online, the controversy showing no signs of cooling down.
When Danielle arrived at Ninesky, she found Kirsten hunched over her phone, scrolling through the latest headlines.
“You’re here?” Kirsten glanced up, eyes dropping back to the comments. “Last night, everyone was calling her a homewrecker. Now look—public opinion’s flipped again.”
Danielle barely spared it a thought.
Millie was Alexander’s darling, after all. Any backlash against Millie online would be handled by Alexander without breaking a sweat.
It was exactly what Danielle had expected.
She took a seat, opening her laptop to check the analytics. “Just hired trolls,” she said. “Offline, people aren’t so easily fooled.”
Kirsten made a face. She knew Danielle was right, but scrolling through those comments still left a sour taste.
“He’s unbelievable,” Kirsten muttered, jabbing her finger at the screen. “Now he’s dragging your name into it, saying Millie’s the next Sophia? Please. Give her a hundred years, she still couldn’t measure up.”
She scrolled further, scoffing at one particularly absurd remark. “Someone actually wrote that the whole country’s counting on her to ‘take off.’ If that’s the case, we might as well give up now.”
Danielle’s expression didn’t change. Only those lacking real talent stooped to such cheap tactics.
“If she wants to play that game, let her.”
Meanwhile, Attorney Stewart was already compiling evidence for the plagiarism case.
Danielle changed the subject, steering them back to business. “Phase two of our government project with Newsworld has been running for two weeks. It’s time for a progress report—call them and set up a meeting.”
Kirsten nodded. “It’s scheduled. They can’t meet until the day after tomorrow, but we’ll have a prep meeting tomorrow.”
She glanced at her calendar. “AetherX Dynamics is showcasing their new project today—it’s basically their next round of fundraising.”
Liam glanced back and spotted them.
Just then, Keegan strolled in, unhurried as always.
He was a workaholic, now shifting his focus to Northridge City, so of course he attended every city meeting.
Catching sight of Danielle, he came over first to say hello.
Danielle gave a brief nod in return.
Liam frowned. “Why bother greeting her?” he asked Keegan. “Gian’s off in the desert for project testing, so they send her to represent Ninesky? She’s just a figurehead, nothing more.”
“Someone like her actually thinks she can compete with Millie.”
His words weren’t loud, but Danielle heard them clearly.
This was a massive conference room, with a raised platform and a crowd of industry heavyweights.
Danielle smiled coolly. “A figurehead’s still better than a homewrecker, isn’t it?”
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