Chapter 85
“Stop talking nonsense,” Shawn frowned and said, “You’re upset because Sharon snatched that role from you. But the most important thing right now is your career in the entertainment industry.”
Bianca’s face darkened as Shawn’s words, which were meant to comfort her, left her feeling more lost than ever. It stung, especially since the lead female role she’d fought so hard for had been taken from under her nose by Sharon. From now on, Sharon would be her true rival.
And what was with Sharon? What had she done to deserve this kind of behavior? Was she unaware that behind Bianca stood the entire Galaxy Entertainment? How dare a tiny Joy Entertainment go head–to–head with them?
“Mom, I’ll go talk to Sharon’s boss,” Bianca said, trying to maintain her composure.
“Good,” Tracy replied eagerly, then quickly moved on to another topic. “And what about Starlight Fashion? How’s it going? Have any shareholders started grumbling about Elaine yet? If the company’s not doing well, surely their interests are affected. They’re bound to complain.”
Tracy and Ella were both waiting for Elaine to mess up–so they could swoop in at the next shareholder meeting, tear her down, and convince her to return Starlight Fashion to the Yeats family. They thought they’d be able to pressure Elaine into stepping aside. After all, they had Graham backing them up.
But Shawn’s tone was flat as he responded, “Starlight Fashion’s performance this year is at the top of the city. Last Sunday, Sally hosted a performance report meeting, and Starlight Fashion broke nearly a decade’s worth of sales records, even surpassing previous market shares.
“Word is, Elaine’s planning a celebration, inviting all the other shareholders. It’s probably already the talk of the company.”
Tracy’s face froze, her eager expression shattering like cracked glass. “What?”
How could this be? Back when Elaine rejected Bianca’s offer to join the company, Tracy and Ella had been so certain Elaine would eventually fail. They’d planned to wait for her to falter, and then take advantage of the situation.
But less than six months later, Starlight Fashion had outperformed all other companies and broken past records. Clearly, Elaine wasn’t the incompetent fool they’d believed.
“Well, looks like Grandma might be disappointed. We all thought Elaine would give up Starlight Fashion soon enough. Now it seems she’s determined to go head–to–head with us,” Tracy muttered through clenched teeth, still refusing to believe in Elaine’s success.
Shawn simply sighed and turned to leave.
Bianca, watching him walk away, felt a brief flicker of something in her chest but said nothing. She was the perfect image of the kind, understanding sister they all adored–too poised to show any weakness. No matter what, she couldn’t let herself be seen as anything less than the darling of the family.
As Shawn stepped out of the room, he bumped into Tucker.
“Tucker? What are you doing here?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tucker stood just outside, lips twitching in a half–smile, eyes carrying an unreadable look. “Oh, nothing much. Just came to check things out. Since you’ve finished comforting Mom and Bianca, I’ll leave you to it.”
Shawn raised an eyebrow at Tucker’s odd behavior but didn’t comment further. He assumed it was just the lingering effects of everything with Elaine. Tucker was a smart guy, he trusted him to keep it together.
Meanwhile, Elaine had returned to the Morgan family estate with Kingsley. Their engagement was already in the works.
As soon as Elaine walked in, she was pounced on by the little cat,
Book Elf let out an excited meow, one that was almost grating to the ears. It was clearly thrilled to report something important, though a bit too worked up for its own good.
Kingsley, thinking the cat was stressed out and worried it might hurt Elaine, quickly scooped it up and cradled it in his arms.
Realizing it had ended up on the lap of the fragile, intimidating villain, Book Elf froze for a second, clearly startled. It was still scared of Kingsley, unlike Elaine, who had earned the cat’s affection and loyalty. After all, it wasn’t as though it had special privileges with Kingsley, and if it irritated him, who knew what might happen?
Book Elf turned to Elaine with a pleading look, silently begging for help.
“It’s fine, Elaine said, meeting Book Elf’s gaze. She understood what it was trying to say. She gently took the little cat from Kingsley’s arms and
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Chapter 85
explained, “It’s not stressed out. It’s just happy I’m back.”
Kingsley nodded, seeing that the cat had calmed down, its claws neatly tucked in, and remained motionless in Elaine’s arms. He didn’t press the matter any further.
Elaine carried the cat into the room.
“Elaine, you’re amazing!” As soon as they were inside, Book Elf exclaimed excitedly, “Do you realize how badass you are? You’ve somehow won over both of your brothers! You probably don’t know, but it’s Shawn and Harlan. Harlan’s emotional pain is probably just as bad as Tucker’s—so heartbreaking that I almost feel like forgiving them myself.”
“Shut up,” Elaine said coldly, cutting off Book Elf mid–sentence. “Book Elf, don’t make me slap you. Don’t forget, you’re still a cat. If I want to give you the hardest slap, I can do that anytime. Do you want to test me?”
How dare it speak as though it had the right to forgive her brothers on her behalf?
Once she’d made up her mind, she wasn’t going back.
Did they honestly think that after begging her for forgiveness, shedding tears, and pleading with her to come back, she would just fall for it? That she would still be the same girl who had given her heart to them in the past?
It was too late.
The people they once were, she could never reach them.
And now, she didn’t care about them anymore.
Elaine continued, “Do you know how mad I was when you told me to keep trying to please those brothers, to win them over? I was so angry I even wanted to smack you then.”
Book Elf shrank back a little, looking sheepish. “Alright, alright, I was just joking. I’ll call you Elaine, okay? Elaine, you’re amazing.”
It was clear Book Elf wasn’t going to challenge Elaine. After all, it still relied on her to complete its mission.
Elaine sighed. “Whatever. You’re just a robot. You’ll never understand human emotions. But let me tell you something: when they chose Bianca over me, when they showered her with all their love and attention, they should have known this would be the result.
“No matter how hard they beg, no matter how pitiful they become, I won’t turn back. There’s no way I’ll ever forgive them. Because this is what they
deserve.”
“They deserve it.”
How could her own family favor a girl who had no blood relation to them?
Elaine would never get over that betrayal in this lifetime.
Honestly, seeing them now, groveling and begging like this–it gave her a sense of satisfaction. Beyond that, she felt nothing else.
Book Elf immediately raised its little paw, like a faithful follower, and declared, “I’ll stick with you for life.”
