Since the interview that Katie had given, news media were suddenly all after it.
Every single media house has released long articles on the interview that happened. Everyone was fighting to get more details about the accusations against Aiden.
The news was heating up minute by minute. So much so that even people on the streets were getting notifications about it.
The effect was so big mainly because of the image that Aiden had created in the minds of the common people till now. He was the man with no dark spots on his body who had never gotten into any ugly controversy and had always acted as a professional.
Those types of people are rare and although they might not be in the limelight all the time, they are always respected heavily.
So, this news was like someone had thrown dark paint all over Aiden suddenly.
People all across the world were shocked! Any person who had a slight knowledge on who Aiden was shocked! And the media didn't seem like they were going to stop talking about the news.
<Breaking news! Katie Brooks accuses Aiden Silvereye of harassment and molesting when both of them were shooting and promoting [30 days of Happiness] together. She revealed it in an interview.>
<Actress Katie Brooks has come out with a harassment story of her own. She joined a big group of actresses that has accused someone from the industry of misbehaving with them.>
<The whole Hollywood is shocked as sudden news of molestation against Aiden Silvereye had come out. The news broke out weeks before the release of [Hex - Part 1]. The fans of the acclaimed novel seemed to already be lashing out on the film star.>
<The director of [30 days of Happiness], Leo Shaw said that he had no idea of it and he didn't want to go into any conclusions when asked about it. He further added that the atmosphere on the set was always good and it was the first time he was hearing about it.>
Aside from these articles, Aiden and Katie were already trending on Sparrow alongside tags like molestation and Metoo.
There were a lot of comments and most of them were not in favour of Aiden. After all, something like an accusation of molestation was very common against men in the industry and it won't take a long time for someone to form their own conclusions.
[Mr. Deez Nuts: I always knew he was not a good person. I kept telling others that he just has a weird smile and how he's fooling but no one listened. Now, they know. He's just like the others.]
[Anime girl shagger: I always thought that he was too good to be true. He was doing everything so perfectly that it was just a matter of time until something like this breaks out. I hope he gets the equivalent punishment for this crime.]
[Never gonna give you up: I find it weird that the news broke out weeks before [Hex - Part 1] release. My conspiracy theorist experience tells me that this is some rival studio's attempt to sabotage the release of the movie. But conspiracies don't work in front of the law.]
[Tweeting from Romanian Jail: Ah, this is another fake news by all these 'Feminist' to destroy a good man's career. You will see that there will be petitions to not watch his movie soon and then, the law will continue to harass the guy while no one will have the patience to find out if it's even real.]
[Pussy hunter: I'm extremely disappointed as a diehard <Hex> fan. I don't know how true it is but I know it's going to severely affect the movie. I'm really worried about what I will do now. This will surely bring in a lot of negativity to the movie.]
[Cookie Hunter: When I read the news, I really wondered who Katie Brooks is until I searched a bit about her. Anyone else feeling like this is just a fake accusation of sorts? I mean, there's no proof other than Katie saying it out loud. I really want to know what Aiden says about it.]
***
As the issue was growing online, Aiden was dealing with an internal turmoil. He needed to make a decision whether to pick up the call from Ava or not.
He didn't know if she would understand his words or she would simply choose to believe the news that was going around. Or she would just be sceptical about everything.
He still remembered the gazes of people when he had first gotten the news. They were looking at him with doubt and contempt. He was sure that a lot of them have already formed a conclusion in their mind.
Was Ava going to do the same? He didn't know.
As he was having an internal dialogue, the call ended and he took a sigh of relief. But the next second, it came again.
'There's no choice...'
He thought in his mind and picked up the call.
"Aiden, are you okay? I saw the news online."
That was the first thing that Ava said and for a moment, Aiden didn't know how to reply but he tried to calm himself down.
"Yeah, it's all over the internet probably."
"Where are you right now?"
"I'm going to the office. Need to deal with this after getting there."
He said and tried to smile but no smile formed on his face. Even Ava could sense the frustration and sadness in his voice.
"Aiden, it will be all fine. I know it's a false accusation."
"You do?" He asked, his voice a pitch higher, causing Tom to look at him for a moment before focusing on driving.
"Yes, I do. I have known you for a while now and this is one thing you will never do. As for the person who accused you, were you two close?"
Ava asked suddenly and Aiden took a moment to answer her.
"She is... was a friend. We used to watch movies together back in the day as struggling actors."
"Must be hard on you. Well, I got something on her."
She said and Aiden blinked his eyes, wondering what it was.
"What?"
"I looked into her background a bit as soon as the news broke out and just a year ago, she changed her agency. It seemed like her previous agency failed to give her roles that she wanted to do and her career was also going nowhere, so she changed agencies."
"Which is her current agency?"
"SGA. You know what that means, right?"
Aiden had actually mentioned to Ava about what had happened between Franco Li and him, so it was easy for her to make a connection.
'Franco Li. No one else can do this other than him. He never liked me rejecting his offer and was always after me.'
Aiden thought in his mind.
He didn't know how he got his hand on Katie or what type of deal was made between them but he was sure that Franco Li was pulling the strings and using Katie as a puppet.
Of course, this doesn't lower his anger towards Katie. After all, she had betrayed him and there was no going back now. She had made her decision and every decision had consequences.
"I know what it means. Thanks for telling me this."
Aiden said and Ava replied quickly.
"No need to say that. I will try to see if I can get more information out of this. The news is spreading fast, so be careful of the media."
"Okay."
She cut the call after that and Aiden felt a bit better. He took a deep breath and tried to think rationally.
At least now, one of the fears from his heart was gone.
Ava hadn't doubted him in the least and had been supportive, even letting him know an important fact about Katie.
'I don't know how to get out of this yet but I will never let Franco Li win.'
Aiden thought in his mind and at that moment, the car stopped. They reached their office but when Aiden got out of the car, he saw that the whole office area was already surrounded by reporters.
Cameras were everywhere and reporters were rushing towards him to ask their questions.
'Do they have the power to teleport or something? Why are they so fast?'
He thought in his mind.
"Aiden, are the allegations against you true?"
"Were you really in a relationship with Katie Brooks? Please confirm it?"
"What really happened between you and Katie Brooks?"
"How many other actresses have you molested before?"
"There are rumours that she was pregnant after your relationship and you asked her to abort? Is it really true?"
Hearing those questions, especially the last one, Aiden really wanted to punch these reporters.
What do they even mean by how many actresses have he molested or if he made Katie pregnant? He had not even kissed her ever.
But he didn't say anything, knowing that an angry outburst would form a worse image in front of the media. But he didn't know how to get away from the reporters either.
They have completely surrounded him.
It was then that Wade came to his rescue.
