Chapter 3: The Backlash Begins
Alara woke up to her phone vibrating nonstop on the nightstand. She groggily reached for it, squinting against the bright screen. Her notifications were flooded: Instagram tags, Twitter mentions, and even texts from Jaxon.
Her heart dropped as she opened Twitter. At the top of the trending list was: #AlaraExposed.
She clicked, bracing herself. A thread from an anonymous account with 100k likes read:
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Thread: The Truth About Alara Bennett – Why She's the Villain
1/ "Let's talk about why Alara doesn't deserve Ethan Carter. A 🧵."
Post 2: "Sources say she's controlling. Remember when Ethan turned down a lead role in Starlight Serenade? Guess who was behind that? Alara didn't want him working with another actress."
(87k likes, 15k retweets)
Post 3: "Here's Alara rolling her eyes during Ethan's speech at the Golden Globes. So disrespectful."
(Video clip attached, viewed 2.4M times)
Post 4: "A waitress at The Ivy said Alara threw a fit when her order wasn't perfect. Typical diva behavior."
(Screenshot of an anonymous Reddit post)
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Alara sat up, her chest tightening. None of it was true. She had been thrilled about Ethan's Golden Globes win, but the clip showed her looking down at her phone—likely replying to a congratulatory text. And as for The Ivy? She hadn't been there in months.
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Twitter Reactions
"Alara Bennett is DONE. Cancel her already." (43.7k likes)
"I knew there was something off about her. Poor Ethan deserves better." (32k likes)
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Her hands trembled as she switched to Instagram. She checked her latest post—a casual shot of her on a balcony, gazing at the city skyline. It had 1.6 million likes but over 100,000 comments, many of them vitriolic.
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Top Comments on @AlaraBennettOfficial
"Girl, just leave Ethan. You're embarrassing yourself." (22.4k likes)
"Scarlett is right there, and we're stuck with THIS?" (18k likes)
"Imagine thinking you're the main character when Scarlett exists."
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Alara felt sick. She put her phone down and buried her face in her hands.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ethan's voice startled her. He walked into the room, his hair still damp from a shower, a towel slung over his shoulder.
"Have you seen it?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Twitter, Instagram, everything. They're tearing me apart."
Ethan frowned, grabbing his phone. His expression darkened as he scrolled. "This is ridiculous. None of this is true. Who even starts these rumors?"
"I don't know," Alara said quietly, "but it doesn't matter, does it? Once it's out there, people believe it."
Ethan sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. "We'll get through this, okay? I'll make a statement—"
"No." Alara shook her head firmly. "If you say anything, they'll just drag you into it. It'll only get worse."
Ethan hesitated, but he didn't argue.
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Enter Jaxon
Later that day, Alara called Jaxon. "You've seen the tweets, right?" she asked, pacing her living room.
"Of course I've seen them," Jaxon replied, his voice brimming with indignation. "And let me tell you, these people are unhinged. But don't worry, babe—I've got a plan."
Jaxon, a renowned fashion designer and social media savant, had always been Alara's fiercest defender. He immediately took to TikTok, posting a video titled "Clearing Alara Bennett's Name".
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TikTok by @JaxonLeeOfficial
"Alright, let's talk about the #AlaraExposed nonsense. First of all, that Ivy story? FAKE. I was with her that day at a fitting. Second, the Golden Globes clip? She was texting her mom, who was crying because she was so proud of Ethan. Y'all need to stop believing everything you see online."
He attached screenshots of their schedules, proving Alara wasn't at The Ivy, and shared a sweet text exchange between Alara and her mom from that night.
The video blew up, hitting 3.2 million views within hours. The comments were mixed:
"Finally, someone with receipts. Thank you, Jaxon!" (120k likes)
"Okay, but she still gives off bad vibes." (67k likes)
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Despite Jaxon's efforts, the tide of hate didn't fully recede. Meanwhile, Scarlett texted Alara: "I'm so sorry about all this. Do you want me to say something?"
Alara appreciated the gesture but declined. She didn't blame Scarlett; this wasn't her fault. It was the internet—a machine that thrived on chaos.
That night, as Alara scrolled through her feed, she noticed a disturbing trend: more accounts were fabricating "evidence" against her. Photoshop was a powerful tool, and it seemed like some people were determined to make her life hell.
But she wasn't ready to give up just yet. If the internet wanted a villain, they'd picked the wrong woman.