"The caption wasn't helpful," she reminded him politely. "I'm alright. This is the first time something like this has happened to me. Can't say it is pleasant." She heaved a breath and waited for him to respond.

  "I'll talk to Ian in a while, don't worry." Laurence sounded sincere. "I am kind of used to the craziness. Followers can get really crazy." There was shuffling in the background but Katherine wasn't interested in finding out what it was.

  "Yeah, all fanbases are like that." She didn't want to make a mountain out of the situation. This was her first collaboration and she didn't want a bad name in the industry from the very start.

  "I don't mind being shipped with you," Laurence said confidently. While someone else might have been flattered, Katherine was mildly scared. Was it like the entertainment industry, where people acted like they were together to get more publicity? It seemed that way. She looked down at her lap as she constructed the next sentences.

  "I am not a fan of gossip and shipping," she admitted firmly. This was her saying 'hey, I don't want any part of this.'

  "I understand." His voice sounded lower and disappointed but Katherine didn't notice the change. "There was something else I wanted to ask you, actually." He was back to normal.

  "What is it?" Katherine asked cautiously.

  "I was wondering if we could do another video together, this time showing off our photoshop skills. A competition," he told her. He wanted to make it sound more enticing so he continued to make the deal sweeter. "You'll get your foot into varied content and more followers. I think it is a good deal. As per my norms, you'll get fifty percent of the revenue generated from the video, of course. What do you think?"

  She gulped as she thought it over. The video would make people look deeper into the issue and solidify their belief that Katherine and Laurence were dating. On the other hand, popularity would be a huge factor in how far she got in the championship. In that case, she should focus on the long-term implications.

  So, why was she hesitating? Her integrity hurt. She felt like she was betraying Cage's trust by not posting the truth.

  "It sounds like a lot of fun. Can you give me some time to think about it?" she asked. She tried to sound positive and hoped that he got the same impression.

  "Awesome. Let me know," he replied, relief obvious. "If you do say yes, when will you be available?" Laurence asked after a moment of silence.

  "Same time as yesterday. How long are you in town?"

  "Day after tomorrow, I am going back. If tomorrow is not too soon for you…" he trailed off.

  "I'll let you know soon," she reassured.

  "I'll ask my followers to send pictures they want edited. I think we will get enough to make a good video out of it." He chuckled.

  "That sounds great. I'm okay with whatever." She remained relatively silent and let him talk for a couple of minutes before he remembered that he had something to tend to and hung up after bidding farewell.

  Katherine stared at her phone for a really long time before giving up and sliding back into bed.

  [K: What should I do?] The desperation was evident in those words.

  'Cage, I hope you are just busy. I hope you aren't too angry. I hope I didn't screw up.'——

  Cage had finally gotten rid of the protective gear and seen through the various takes to pin point the ones that looked the best. He had conversed with the director and discussed the next couple of scenes inside the building which they had booked for the day.

  It would be another long day.

  Finally getting some reprieve, he took a seat and received his phone from Stephen. His face looked dismayed, so Cage couldn't help but ask him what was wrong.

  "Katherine texted you multiple times," he informed. Cage looked at him curiously, wondering why that was a bad thing. "There has been a rumor online, so she must be freaking out. I just found out myself," Stephen said with a sigh. He apologized before giving Cage privacy.

  Cage unlocked the screen and was confronted with several desperate and scared messages from Katherine ranging from fearing that he would break up with her to asking him to help her with what to do next to solve the situation.

  He smiled as he put in the name of the hashtags and looked through the posts. His smile dropped when he saw the comments and then clicked on the link to the picture. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the happy expression on the man's face and then looked at himself in the mirror.

  After a little thought, he let the matter go and looked at Katherine's bewildered expression. He smiled sweetly as he caressed her face on the screen. How did she look like a couple with this guy? Clearly these people on the internet knew nothing about how two people in love looked at one another.

  Also, falling in love within the day? Was this a joke? He huffed in indignation and scrolled to see if the male culprit of this gossip had commented on the rumor. So far, the man hadn't but his friend had already done the damage.

  He started to type his response before stopping and dialing her number. She picked up instantly, sounding panicked.

  "Cage," she m.o.a.ned. She was on the verge of tears and he felt terrible for not replying earlier.

  "Don't cry. I just finished shooting and am on a break. I saw your messages… What's wrong?" He wanted to hear it from her first hand. When she wrote, her meaning was clear, but if she didn't say it out loud, she wouldn't be able to cleanse her worries.

  "You saw the posts, right?" she inspected. He hummed in response, urging her to keep speaking. "I really didn't know that this guy was going to post with such a statement. I don't know what to do. I really didn't say anything to lead them on or anything. I don't understand why this happened…"