One by one, the topics were either related to her relationship with Jack or casting doubt on her credentials as a partner in the Damaris family’s project.
Just looking at those topics gave Roxanne a headache.
Upon randomly clicking on one of them, she saw that it had almost a million views.
Jack Damaris dates one of the doctors of the Damaris family’s new project. Their suspected relationship was exposed…
Inserted underneath the title were a few blurry photographs.
The first one showed Roxanne sitting opposite Jack in the restaurant. Both of them looked like they were chatting, while the table in front of them was filled with food.
The second picture showed them at the staircase of the restaurant entrance. Jack turned around to hold Roxanne’s hand and they looked intimate.
Finally, the last picture was Jack dropping Roxanne off at her home.
After going through them, a sense of gloominess hung over Roxanne.
Even though our photos were taken throughout the night, Jack and I were completely oblivious to the fact.
As for the comments below, they could only be described as colorful.
A: Is she that Dr. Jarvis on the list? I knew there was something strange about her. How can someone so young be such a skilled doctor?
B: Just as expected, she’s on the list because of her looks! Having said that, Dr. Jarvis is really pretty. If I were in the same position, I would have included her on the list too!
C: What a beautiful couple!
The first comment that doubted her capabilities instantly disheartened Roxanne.
Even though she was expecting it the moment the name list was released, she never imagined it would happen in such a manner.
Due to the exposé, the doubt cast upon her credentials was the most discussed matter.
Finally, she received a call from Jack while she was still surfing Twitter.
It took her a few seconds to regain her senses before answering it.
“I’m sorry. I just saw the news online.” Jack was extremely apologetic over the phone. “Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility by removing all the fake news.”
Despite his reassurances, the frowning Roxanne still had her concerns. Nonetheless, she replied, “Thank you.”
After a momentary silence, Jack continued, “About what happened last night, I’ll demand an explanation from the Hightower family. Given Jessica’s strange behavior, she must definitely have something to do with this.”
Surprised by his point, Roxanne hesitated for a few seconds before stopping him. “Let’s just let it slide since we don’t have any evidence. What matters now is clarifying the rumors online.”
Even though Roxanne shared his suspicions, she knew Jessica would unlikely admit to it in the absence of any proof.
Therefore, confronting her was a futile endeavor.
Furthermore, now that the news had exploded, all Roxanne could get from the mastermind was an apology even if she found them. That was of no help to her current predicament.
Over the line, Roxanne’s dissuasion prompted Jack to realize his hastiness. Upon calming down and seeing her perspective, he replied in a deep voice, “You’re right. I was too consumed by my emotions. Let me think of a way to suppress the controversy first.”
After Roxanne hummed in agreement, Jack ended the call quickly.
Watching her phone screen fade to black, Roxanne took a deep breath.
With Jack taking action, she too, couldn’t sit idly by and allow the matter to go out of hand.
Initially, Roxanne wanted to put out a statement. However, since her Twitter account was mostly used to surf for news, it essentially had no content. Therefore, whatever she had to say would likely not reach anyone.
After further contemplation, she decided to give Colby a call and got him to use the research institute’s account to put out her clarification.
Although the account wasn’t particularly popular, it was still a much better option than using hers. “What happened?” Colby had gone to the research institute early and only learned of the controversy when Roxanne gave him a call.
When he saw the pictures of Roxanne and Jack interacting with each other, he felt a faint squeeze in his heart. Sighing in resignation, Roxanne clarified, “I can’t really give you a good explanation but what happened last night was a misunderstanding. Both of us were not alone at the dinner.”
Even though her assurances failed to cheer Colby up, he remained hopeful and persuaded himself to have faith in Roxanne.
After all, if I don’t trust her, one can’t expect the netizens who are ridiculing her to do the same. Moreover, Roxanne has no reason to lie about the matter.
Holding that thought, the relieved Colby answered in a grim voice, “I understand. I’ll put the statement out.” Roxanne grunted in acknowledgment before ending the call.
Half an hour later, both Jack’s and the research institute’s statements were released at almost the same time and quickly became a trending topic.
However, instead of convincing anyone, the response triggered was entirely hostile and filled with skepticism. In fact, on Jack’s Twitter account, netizens even began to cast doubt on the Damaris family.
B3232: Why are the Damaris family’s selection criteria for the partners so lenient? How can one be included in such an important project or even end up on the name list by pulling some strings? Do you take us for fools?
Love212: Is being pretty all that’s needed to be selected? In that case, even I am qualified.
Many similar comments populated the feed, to the extent Jack ended up arguing with the netizens in the comments section.
After skimming through the comments, Roxanne sent Jack a message: Don’t worry about me. I’ll deal with this myself.
At the other end, the sullen-looking Jack was busy responding to the barrage of insults. Subsequently, he was baffled when he received Roxanne’s sudden message. He responded: I was the one who caused this, so how can I sit idly by and do nothing?
Smiling wryly, Roxanne replied: Just let me be the lightning rod of their disparagement. At the rate you’re going, the Damaris family will be dragged into the matter. When that happens, I’ll be the one to blame.
Upon reading her message, the frowning Jack furrowed went through the comments online.
It was then that he realized his presence had shifted the netizens’ focus from Roxanne to the Damaris family.
If he were to continue on his path, the Damaris family’s reputation— built over a century—would be ruined.
Cognizant of what was at stake, Jack weighed his options before deciding to remain silent. In spite of that, he still couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. Jack: In that case, I’ll investigate if the Hightower family was behind this.
Roxanne responded with her agreement.
Meanwhile, when the netizens realized Jack had left, they swarmed toward the research institute’s Twitter account and demanded for Roxanne to give an explanation.
Naturally, Colby couldn’t tolerate the slander against Roxanne. Faced with their relentless skepticism about her medical skills, he posted a list of all the major projects that the research institute had completed under Roxanne’s leadership.
Unfortunately, most of the netizens were laymen who were not bothered about such details.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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