Alter Ego: His Sultry Lover

She understood, suddenly. Her views and followers grew since she associated with Cage and it would skyrocket once her relationship came out into the open. She would get hate comments. She had not paid much attention to any of it in comparison to Laurence because she didn't care for the man. Video making was her hobby and as long as she could work, she wouldn't pay attention to any of them. Her love for her job and Cage was solid, these trolls and jealous bitches could go to hell.

She wasn't a gold digger or riding on someone else's coat tails to fame.

She might have cared how people thought about her before, but now? Not so much. What she disliked was that those girls had been so nice to her when they met. It bothered her that all those nice people might be talking shit about her behind her back.

As she slowly walked back, she heard Ian's voice from behind her. He was talking to someone else. When he saw her, he stopped mid-sentence and spoke to her. "Katherine?" He stared at her quizzically.

"Hey," she replied, her voice sounding unused. I had to clear it before she spoke again. "Hi."

"I'll talk to you later," Ian said to his companion. The other scurried away without a second glance, leaving Ian and Katherine standing together. She didn't know when she stopped walking, but she had. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking worried.

Katherine hadn't expected this from the man, so she stared at him.

"Why are you standing here? Did you get hurt?" he asked carefully.

"Just hanging out." She waved her hand in dismissal. "Just not ready to head back."

"Are you sure?" Ian narrowed his eyes slightly. "You look a bit upset. Did something happen?"

Despite his follies, Ian was a nice change to the harshness Katherine had just experienced. The truth came tumbling out of her mouth in an instant.

"Holy shit." Ian held a hand to his temple and leaned against the wall, taking in the situation. "First of all, people are chosen based on their ability. You became popular after you showed your face and no one helped you do it. Even though they are staff, they need to be educated on the process." He paused and in a surprising moment of niceness, he continued. "I'm sorry you heard that. It's bad enough reading mean comments on the internet, to come face to face with them and hearing people say it…"

"I'm not as badly affected as I imagined," Katherine replied softly. "I just need to grow thicker skin."

"You know that none of it is true, right?" Ian urged. "Those people might think they are right but it isn't true. I can attest to the fact that it isn't."

"I didn't expect you to be so nice to me," she yelped, surprised. "Did something happen to you?" she raised a brow and stared at him curiously.

"I'm an asshole usually, but you are a nice lady. You don't deserve the hate." Ian patted her back. "Do you want me to post a strongly worded video in your defense?" he joked.

"I'd rather not attract more attention towards me. Thank you for the offer, though." She grinned. She was much happier than before and the simply words from the antagonist had cheered her up so easily. 𝘧𝓇𝗲𝑒we𝙗noѵ𝑒l.𝐜o𝘮

Her phone buzzed in her pocket suddenly. She slid her hand in and pulled out to see that it was… Cage.

[C: How is everything? Is everyone treating you nicely?] he had written.

Katherine looked up from her phone and glanced at Ian. "Hey, I'll stay out for a little longer," she informed him.

"I'll stand here with you," Ian announced. She looked at him, surprised but let it go.

"Then, I'll have to be impolite and reply to my texts." She gave him an apologetic smile and went back to her cell phone.

[K: Small road bumps aside, everything is fine. On your break? When does it get over?] She waited for him to reply and promptly started going back to their previous conversations.

"You have that lovestruck smile on your face," Ian blurted out, surprising her. She looked up and blinked at him in confusion. "You like someone," he explained, pointing at her face. She raised her hand and pressed her palm to her cheek. Indeed, she was smiling and she knew how it looked to others.

It was evident that she loved the person whom she was texting. Katherine decided not to hold back. "My boyfriend," she sighed. Her phone pinged again.

[C: Road bump? Are those dumb men giving you a hard time? Are they hitting on you?] She could imagine his urgency. She shook her head as she chuckled.

[K: Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Miss you loads.]

"I didn't know that," Ian commented silently. "You never said. I wouldn't have narrated the relationship thing if I had known. Was your boyfriend upset?" He sounded genuinely concerned. 𝒇𝐫ℯ𝑒𝒘ℯ𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝐞l.c𝗼𝗺

"No. He understood and asked me to deny the rumors. He's… good with such things." She remembered how supportive he had been and felt an ache in her heart.

"He didn't suspect you? Even for a second?" He looked genuinely perplexed.

"Why should he suspect his girlfriend?" She shrugged. "Our relationship is based on trust. We don't get to spend any time together as he is travelling and busy, but we know that there is no one else for us." She bit her lip as another message came in.

[C: Fine. Are you eating with the group?]

[K: Nope. Just standing the hallway. Went to the washroom.]

"Wow. Sounds wonderful. I'll try to reel Laurence in." Ian chuckled nervously.

"I'll have to thank you for that." She gave him a small bow. "I've been awfully nasty to you since we met. I'll apologize for that. But please, don't push the ship along. Nothing will come from it. It'll just hurt Laurence in the end." She felt mild pity for the guy.