The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress - Chapter 245

Chapter 245: Chapter 245 Slander
Athena had mentioned that Luke behaved this way with Alice in the novel only after they had confirmed their relationship and become intimately involved. Hera felt that the sequence of the story had become jumbled and harder to predict, perhaps due to her own actions in altering the flow of events and attempting to steal Alice’s fate.

But regardless, this type of approach and seduction wasn’t good for her heart. She couldn’t claim innocence or ignorance about the dynamics between a man and a woman, especially with a friend like Athena. While she was inexperienced, she wasn’t oblivious.

She understood what Luke was doing and was aware of what had transpired between Leo and herself yesterday. It seemed that ever since the story began to unfold, her mind involuntarily veered towards less than-holy thoughts, particularly noticing men in a more sensual manner. Unlike before, where no matter how attractive a man was—like Alexi, who once stood before her in nothing but a robe or just his boxers—she had never found herself thinking in such a way.

Before, she hadn’t experienced any physical reactions or arousal to such situations. However, now, whether it was Luke, Leo, Zhane, Rafael, Xavier, or Dave, she couldn’t help but feel something each time. Though the feelings were different for each person, she was undeniably drawn to them, like a bee to honey or a moth to a flame.

Or was it simply because they were the male leads whose sex appeal could make anyone drool?

She always attributed these feelings to the ‘male lead halo’ and the storyline trying to influence her. But then, what about Leo? He wasn’t one of the male leads; he didn’t have the world’s protection and blessings, nor did he have any fate to fulfill like her. Or was it because he had no fate to fulfill that he could freely decide for himself, much like how Athena was free to do anything she wanted?

‘Here we go again, I can never seem to stop overthinking,’ she sighed to herself. ‘That’s the problem with overthinkers—always overanalyzing everything to death.’ She shrugged and pulled out her phone, deliberately avoiding looking at Luke. Her heart was still unsettled, she feared he might try to seduce her again with his subtle movements and gazes.

She poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table, realizing she hadn’t had any since her jog. Luke had thoughtfully prepared the water and placed it in front of her. Grateful for his consideration, she sipped the cool water as she scrolled through her phone. Eventually, she came across the trending topic of the day.

[#1 Daily Trending Topic Hera Ainsley’s rendevous with more than one man.]

Below was a series of pictures: one showing her stepping out of a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster with Leo in the passenger seat, another in a hotel lobby with Dave (Leo absent from the shot, making it appear separate), one where Zhane carried her inside a hospital, and the final one with all six of them surrounding her as she headed to meet Bry, his father, and uncle for a consultation.

Hera’s brows twitched as she scrolled down, reading the slanderous article under the trending topic intended to tarnish her reputation. Despite the negativity, she couldn’t help but be somewhat amused; after all, some parts of it were true. It was also an opportunity for the public to get accustomed to seeing her photographed with the male leads.

She read through the comments below, filled with vulgar and harsh words that were clearly from keyboard warriors and likely a hired water army meant to fuel the controversy.

[Dummy123: She’s truly living the life of a loose woman, or perhaps this is her actual profession—being an escort, letting anyone with money sleep with her. I have money too. How much do you charge? I wouldn’t mind trying this forbidden fruit. Kekekeke.]

[PasserbyGod: Hey, buddy upstairs, use your real account before you talk. Seems like you’re getting paid by the hour to smear someone. How can you even afford a regular escort? ((⊂(`ω´∩)]

[HeraismySister: Someone seems jealous of my sister’s beauty and her handsome suitors. Look at those male gods who’ve descended to the mortal realm!!!! Aren’t they just absolute eye candy? It’s only natural that such outstanding men would be drawn to my sister—after all, she’s not just beautiful but incredibly talented too.]

[AuntieMe: So, in short, she’s just a woman who jumps from one man to another. Don’t try to dress it up as something virtuous and beautiful, girl above.]

[Iambeautiful: What talent did she even have? Seducing men with her vixen face?]

[AuntieNextDoor: Ooh, I smell sour lemons from afar! Some bitches are clearly jealous of Hera because she’s beautiful and well-liked. It’s obvious someone wants to slander her. So what if she has many suitors? These jealous people wish they had suitors like Hera’s, but with their ugly faces and ugly hearts, they can’t even attract a man half as outstanding. Die from envy, you bitches!! Nyahahahah! (✿• ̀з•́) 人 (•̀‿•́ )]

She wasn’t in a hurry to address it immediately. Instead, she sent a message to Gerald to investigate who was behind the trending topic. After messaging him, she returned to the same page and scrolled down, where she noticed the second trending topic. Moreover, her rapidly growing fanbase had already begun to defend her, becoming as formidable as Xavier’s fan base.

She couldn’t help but chuckle as she read through the comments where her dedicated fans were roasting the keyboard warriors. Despite their serious defense of her, they managed to inject playfulness and mischief into their responses, which amused her greatly.

Little did she know that Leo was spearheading the effort, leading her fans in a counterattack against the water armies and keyboard warriors. Most of her supporters were reporting the offensive and slanderous accounts, while Leo mobilized his own legal team to send cease-and-desist letters to those responsible for spreading slanderous comments.

He also meticulously took screenshots of the comments as evidence against those individuals, along with their IP addresses and actual addresses obtained through tracking their accounts. Only after gathering this information did he authorize Hera’s fan base to report and take action against those accounts.

The silver lining in this situation is that Xavier, who was also captured in the last photo, managed to avoid any backlash from his fans. Fortunately, they believe in Xavier’s character and his discerning nature when it comes to forming relationships, especially with women. Given his sharp wit and venomous tongue, they are confident he would swiftly dismiss anyone with ulterior motives attempting to get close to him. Consequently, Xavier’s fans understand that Hera is not responsible for stirring up this scandal, recognizing that someone else has targeted both her and Xavier. They feel indignant because this individual has also involved Xavier in the controversy.

Xavier had maintained a pristine record without any prior involvement in scandals, serving as a role model for all actors, his fans were particularly enraged. The individual who initiated this controversy unwittingly stirred up a hornet’s nest, unaware that Xavier was also captured in the picture.

Even without seeing Xavier’s full face in the picture—only a glimpse of his black trench coat and his distinctive hand accessories—his dedicated fans immediately recognized him. They possess an uncanny ability to identify Xavier from among numerous individuals based on small details like his accessories, clothing, and other subtle indicators, much like obsessive fans often do.

So, just like before, Hera’s and Xavier’s fans united in the comment section to push back against the attacks. They exchanged harsh words with the keyboard warriors and hired trolls, who felt personally targeted. The discussion veered off-topic quickly, devolving into a flurry of personal insults that had little relevance to Hera or Xavier anymore.

This drew more bystanders to watch the commotion, significantly boosting Hera’s popularity. Thanks to Leo’s exceptional management and leadership, what started as a controversy turned into a promotional opportunity for Hera herself.

Betty doesn’t even need to do anything when she has already prepared their PR team to handle the matter but Leo was faster than her and was amazed at how things turned out. She now saw Hera as her most promising talent, a fortunate individual destined to become a lucrative asset.

[#2 Daily Trending Topic Alexi and Minerva’s love story.]

Seeing the second trending topic was a clear giveaway that Minerva was using her again as a stepping stone to portray her love story with Alexi as pure compared to Hera’s involvement with multiple men. It seemed like a stunt to elevate their own standing, leveraging Hera’s greater fame. Besides, wasn’t Minerva with Alice yesterday in the hotel?

So Hera deduced that Minerva must have already been in the hotel lobby, snapping a picture of her with Dave and Leo with the intention to slander her thereafter. It appeared that the lessons she imparted to Minerva weren’t sufficient to deter these attacks. ‘If only it were that simple to make them stop,’ Hera mused to herself. ‘My family wouldn’t have suffered their downfall, and I wouldn’t have met my demise, would I?’ She chided herself for entertaining such naive thoughts once again.