Mr. CEO, You're Just A Substitute novel Chapter 7

Starry took the divorce papers back. "When did I ever teach you to meddle with someone else's purse?"

Edward shrugged and said in an aggrieved tone of voice, "I didn't. You threw your purse on the sofa when you came back, and that thing just fell out. I didn't know what it was until I picked it up."

As he said so, he paused and then drew close to her with his smiling eyes, "Are you really divorced?"

Starry looked askance at him and said impassively, "Yes."

But the way he looked at Starry made Starry look up at him. "Any problem?"

Starry couldn't help but ask it out loud seeing that he had been silent for so long.

Edward hung his head with a curious look in his attractively smiling eyes.

After a while, he raised his head and flashed a big smile at her, "There surely is a problem. Why didn't you tell such good news to me earlier so we can eat something good and celebrate it!"

Starry laughed at the words, and said, "Don't even think about it. You are all over the news. So don't even think about going out in the next few days."

The smiling-eyed Edward waved the phone in his hand and said, "You are more famous than me this time, Starry."

Edward was right, as Edward's "rumored girlfriend", Filip's wife and young lady of the Pearson family, Starry was indeed a hotter discussed subject.

That morning, she was pictured when she was picking Edward up at the airport, and the pictures were spread directly on the Internet. Soon, Starry was found to be Filip's wife, who had married him in a low-key way.

The labels of "Edward Willis' rumored girlfriend" and "Filip Pearson's wife" were already sensational enough and when the explosive news heated up on the Internet in less than an hour, it was said that the villa where Starry lived had been bought for her by Edward four years before with his first show pay.

At seven in the evening, Edward's rival Eli Foster had made it all over the news that Edward was the one who came between Filip and Starry.

It came to the point where the public opinion had gone out of control. Eli's fans joined Edward's anti-fans in the attack on Edward, whose fans fought back the anti-fan army while lashing out at Starry for seducing Edward. Meanwhile, some bystanders who were fans of no one were adding the fuel to the heated chaos.

The news soon came to the Pearson family. Frances's face darkened after some phone calls. "Don't these people have something better to do in their life?"

Although she was satisfied with Starry's family background, Starry had been married to her grandson for five years, during which she seemed to be well-educated and sophisticated. So Frances eventually convinced herself to accept Starry as her granddaughter-in-law. Those people just called to make fun of her, and the old lady knew it.

It was true that she didn't actually like Starry, but she was satisfying in some way as her grandson's wife. As for Starry' s character, the old lady wasn't so blind and ignorant as to find it questionable.

It was impossible for Starry to cheat on Filip.

Aunt Martha, who had been around her, worried that the old lady would be too upset, so she soon began to comforted her, "Mrs. Pearson, we all know what kind of person young Mrs. Pearson is. The press like to make things up and talk nonsense. I believe young Mr. Pearson will take care of it."

Speaking of Filip, the old lady was even angrier. "I asked him to make up with Starry the other day. He told me that it's none of his business! I wish he could mind it!"

Frances knew her grandson well.

And she was right, when Filip learned the news, he asked Austin to announce their divorce.

Austin was shocked as he had heard Filip's assignment. "Mr. Pearson, are you sure you want to make the announcement right now? Because if it's made right now, people would actually believe that Miss Bradley cheated on you."

Filip said to Austin with an indifferent look, "What does that have anything to do me?"

The icy look in his dark eyes sent chills down Austin's back. He bit his lip and said, "All right, I'm a making the announcement."

Filip said no more. No emotions could be discerned in his deep-set eyes, as if he nothing concerned him.

But the hand that was gripping a pen gave his emotions away, but Austin, who had been given a dirty look, dared not say anything anymore and left, without noticing Filip's real feelings.

Austin was really efficient. As soon as he walked out of Filip's office, he had the divorce announcement posted via the company's official Twitter account.

The announcement not only released Filip from the scandal, but also pushed Starry further into the bombardment of criticisms.

Filip responded nothing to any of the things said about him on the news, instead, he made a concise and powerful divorce announcement, which didn't say much, but people were very imaginative.

The fact that he said nothing but just informed people of their divorce, wasn't it an evidence solid enough to prove that the two had split up because Starry had cheated on him?

"Oh my god, this is juicy. The Pearson family, with all the wealth and the fame, what is this woman thinking about? Why would she give up being a Pearson and hook up with some nameless actor?"

"Watch your language! What do you mean by 'nameless actor?' He is the best actor, most promising new star of the year. He can totally rival that Filip Pearson. (Of course, I'm not saying that Edward had been the homewrecker. I just can't stand certain people's condescending attitude.)"

"Filip is deservedly a president of a company, so decisive and efficient. Doesn't that announcement suggest that Starry Bradley has an affair with the superstar Edward?"

"A testament to Bradley's cheating! And the proof that Edward cheated with a married woman!"

Once the announcement was made, the social media was full of criticisms against Starry and Edward, whose agent almost passed out seeing the attacks against him. She soon arranged damage control with PR, but it had gone out of control, so she had no choice but to call Starry about how to settle the matter.

Starry hardly cared about the press and public opinions. When she married Filip, she had heard that the lashing lasted for three days.

But this time it concerned Edward. She might be fine with all that, but if Edward bore the names, that would the end of his career.

"There's no need to take down the reports or make any announcement. Just send a legal letter to some leading gossip outlets and submit the indictment to the court tomorrow. When the case has been accepted, let the paper go public."

Starry was heating the milk. She was calm, very together the entire time, and even Catherine amazed by her. "You are incredible, Starry."

Starry smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just don't really care about things like this."

After thinking for a while, Catherine thought that it actually made sense for her to be so. Catherine had known Starry to be someone who's indifferent to everything, and only things related to Edward could make her seem a little interested and bother her. As for the rest, bad or good, she had never seemed to care.

Catherine signed as she thought of the divorce announcement. "Starry, are you really divorced?"

It was the fourth time she had been asked the question. She lowered her eyes and sniffed, "Yes, I am."