She pinch her thigh hard to make sure she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating.

A new topic appeared on the trend table. In no time, it was ranked at No. 3. It was about Bennett liking the comment.

In a bid to make Patty enter the trend table, Joann tried to leverage this new development.

It turned out to be a great move. While people praised Bennett for being such a doting husband, they trashed Patty even more for being mean to Claudia.

“Okay, guys. I'm officially a shipper of this couple! This is so heartwarming to see. I have never seen a husband double down to defend his wife like Bennett is doing. Claudia is one lucky woman!"

“It's obvious these two are very much in love with each other. Bennett is a real man for standing up for his wife. We need more men like him! Friendly advice, Patty. Give up now. You accused Claudia of using her connections to sabotage you. But the way I see it, you are only projecting because you think everyone is Like you. Newsflash! Claudia is nothing like you!"

“Bennett has a good reason to support his wife. Patty, on the other hand, has no good reason to sling mud at the innocent. What a contemptible scoundrel!"

Patty had zero wriggle room now. Her situation was only getting worse.

The only way she could get out of this mess was to tender a public apology and delete all the slanderous tweets she made.

However, Patty was hell-bent on doing things her way. She scoffed at the calls for an apology. Afterward, she turned off her phone without making another tweet.

Matters Like this usually died down in a few days as long as the offending party tendered an apology. Since Patty refused to apologize, it meant that this would remain a topic for many more days. Claudia's fans and even those sitting on the fence were already urging Patty to apologize.

This matter was going to be a stain on her reputation that she would have a hard time getting rid of.

But that was a story for another day. Claudia went offline after skimming through a few comments on Twitter. She felt very guilty. People thought they were the best couple. Little did they know that they just signed a “marriage agreement".

This was the first time she was feeling this much guilt in her entire life. She couldn't even bring herself to reply to Aurora's messages.

As soon as she turned off her laptop, her phone rang.

Claudia turned her head and picked up the phone. When she saw that it was Jace calling, she quickly answered it. "Hello, Dad."

"Hello, Cece. I just found out about the performance. Are you doing all right?"

Jace was aware that Claudia was scheduled to perform at a charity function today. He wanted to be there to cheer her, but he pulled out last minute when an emergency came up at the company. He had been in a meeting since morning and was only able to take a breather thirty minutes ago. Only then did he have time to ask about his daughter's performance.

His assistant had given a brief report on what was going on online. Last he heard, Bennett had stepped in to help her. He had no idea what happened afterward.

Although he knew that Bennett had Claudia's back, as a father, he couldn't help worrying about her. He called to be sure she was doing okay.

“I'm fine, Dad. It's not a big deal. Actually, the matter has been squashed."

“It's all thanks to Bennett, right? He has already gone through a lot of trouble just for you. He's a nice guy, so you should repay him with kindness. Don't take him for granted, okay?"

“You don't have to tell me, Dad. Anyway, how have you been? Does your waist still hurt?"

Claudia quickly changed the topic for fear that she would slip up and reveal what was really going on to her father if they continued to talk about Bennett.