*Chapter 16: The Fallout*
As the days went by, Sophia and Alexander's relationship continued to grow stronger. But despite their happiness, the pressure from the media and the public didn't ease up.
One day, Sophia woke up to find herself trending on social media. She had been accused of being a gold-digger, and the media was having a field day.
Alexander was furious when he saw the headlines. "I'm going to take care of this," he said, his jaw clenched. "No one talks about you like that."
Sophia tried to calm him down, but she couldn't help feeling hurt. She knew that she wasn't a gold-digger, and she felt like she was being unfairly judged.
As the day went on, the media frenzy only intensified. Sophia's phone was blowing up with notifications, and she was getting bombarded with nasty comments.
Alexander's team tried to spin the story, but it wasn't working. The damage was done, and Sophia's reputation was taking a hit.
Sophia felt like she was losing control. She didn't know how to deal with the media scrutiny, and she was starting to feel like she was all alone.
But Alexander was there for her. He held her close and told her everything would be okay. "We'll get through this together," he said.
Sophia appreciated his support, but she knew that she had to find a way to deal with the media herself. She couldn't rely on Alexander to fix everything.
As she lay in bed that night, Sophia realized that she had a choice to make. She could let the media define her, or she could take control of her own story.