Chapter 13
“Ismay, it never hurts to sign a contestant who can make money. Plus, bringing her on board wouldn’t change your status or anything I just didn’t think Mary would be so manipulative and actually record everything Liam explained.
“Greed could really get you into trouble. You need to go to Mary and demand she delete those recordings and stop spreading them!” Ismay snapped
Liam looked awkward. I didn’t think I could. Her backer was Callan Ridge.”
Wait, Callan Ridge The guy from the Ridge family up north? The one who went through women like he was swapping shirts?
Ismay suddenly realized why that guy next to Mary looked familiar–it was Callan.
No wonder Mary felt so confident—she had him backing her.
‘But wasn’t she being a little too bold? Callan’s reputation for flings is well–known–today, it was Mary, but who knows who it will be tomorrow? Ismay thought.
She had been worried about Mary’s weird confidence, and now she knew it was because of Callan’s support,
‘Let her enjoy her moment. Once Callan gets bored with her, I have a plan to expose her, she thought.
After sending Liam off, Ismay remembered she still needed to talk to Osric. She worried about how he would view her after the day’s awkwardness.
As she stepped out of the dressing room, she bumped right into Osric backstage. He wore a dark suit that highlighted his cold, noble vibe it was striking.
“Osric, I thought you’d already left in disappoinment, but you’re still here waiting for me,” Ismay said, her eyes starting to well up as the moment felt so overwhelming. “About today-
Osric cut her off, his expression indiderent. “Excuse me, I need to find someone”
With that, he turned and walked away without a second glance, leaving Ismay’s tears on the brink of falling.
He was heading to Mary’s dressing room. “So he saw me getting bullied and is going to stand up for me? Ismay wondered
Ismay felt a rush of joy–she knew Osric wouldn’t let her be mistreated while he was around.
Meanwhile, in Mary’s dressing room, Callan was all over Amaris, trying to charm her. “Let me take you out to celebrate at a bar tonight. What do you say?”
“Not happening.” Amaris replied, peeling off the mask she’d had on all day.
She put on makeup since she was going to be on camera, and seeing her real face made Callan’s heart race.
Amaris was everything he looked up to, and since she was new to Arborfield, he genuinely wanted to do whatever it took to make her happy. “Oh, please! My friends have been so excited to see you. They really want your autograph. Could you do it for me? Callan asked. Amaris paused for a second, then spread her hand out. “You want an autograph? Just grab me a pen, and I’ll sign it.”
“Callan couldn’t argue anymore. He quickly handed her some paper and a pen. “Amaris, you’re not really going to be seeing that fiance of yours again, right? I mean, he’s cursed, which basically means he’ll bring you nothing but bad luck. I even heard his parents died because of him–talk about a tragic backstory! If you’re not into marrying him, I could totally set him up with a few other girls. You could just go with the flow… “Wait, what? His parents died because of him? Amaris felt a jolt of concern for Osric, If that were true, how tough must that have been for him?‘ But then again, she should not be feeling sorry for him. Osric and Ismay were practically eyeing each other like they were in a movie today. “Forget it Don’t do anything Amaris brushed off Callan apain. “His grandma is really sick, so let’s not stir things up any more than necessary” No matter what troubles Osric was, the figured it was best to stick it out for a month since she’d already agreed. Besides, Osric’s life might be tough, but hers was no picnic either. Who knew who would end up being the stronger one in this situation!
Grabbing her coat and putting on her mask, Amaris was ready to leave when the staff came in to escort her to tonight’s celebration.
She was the champion, after all. It wouldn’t look good if she skipped out on that
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10:06 AM
Chapter 13
Just as she finished with Callan and stepped out of her dressing room, she heard a distant, icy voice from behind. “Wait.”
It was Osric, of course.
Still wearing her red dress from the stage. Amaris had just put her mask back on for the celebration Turning around, she shot him a haughty look. “What’s the matter!”
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