Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“Are you unaware of what you just did?”
The director shrugged and feigned innocence.
“But Miss Lynwood, you don’t have any proof at all. If you can show me proof of a voice recording or surveillance footage, then surely, I would not be able to speak so brazenly right now.”
1
He was sure that Elspeth and Blake did not have the proof to nail him, so he showed impudence quite smugly.
At that point, she lifted her brows while displeasure was evident in her voice.
“Are you saying I’ve lodged a fake report?”.
“I’m not too sure about that. Perhaps you wish to take advantage of me and use my connections to enter the entertainment industry, so that’s why you tricked me here. Anyway, I wasn’t the one who came over intentionally to seek you. Everyone in public knows that I’ve always been a noble and prideful man. Your claim of my attempted rape would be a joke to the public if word went out.”
He lifted his chin smugly, and his eyes were full of disdain and coldness.
“What do you mean by that? How dare you make false accusations about me!”
Elspeth did not expect the man to accuse her of being the perpetrator when he was at fault. She sneered out of extreme anger.
“You’re such a renowned director, yet you’re spewing such disgusting words. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
“Miss Lynwood, from the start, I’ve never said a single derogatory word to you, but I must say that you’ve gone too far. Sir, the two of them are in cahoots while I’m up against them just by myself. They claim that I’ve attempted rape, but how can I possibly attempt raping an actor’s manager on my set?”
The director had now managed to gain the upper hand and no longer bothered to even cast eyes on Elspeth or Blake as he remained focused on refuting their words.
Due to the director’s claim, the police officers were at a loss for what to do, so they could only smile resignedly at Blake and Elspeth.
“We’re sorry, but this is entirely out of our hands, and we can’t conclude on this matter. Why don’t you lodge a report next time when you have proof…”
With empty words and no evidence on hand, the party that had a glib tongue would be the one with an advantageous position.
At that moment, Elspeth felt a burst of anger, but she could not come up with any evidence, so she silently shot a death stare at the director before escorting the officers out of the room.
Once the officers left, the director straightened his clothes and slowly revealed an arrogant sneer.
“Miss Lynwood, I don’t mean to be rude, but you should’ve just let me have my way. Is there any point in causing dispute for both sides like what’s happening right now?”
After he said that, he turned around and glanced at Blake, who was currently maintaining a stance with his wouldn’t be able to bring me down.”
With that, he finished with a final blow to Blake.
“That’s enough here. You’re no longer needed on this set. I’ll replace the second male lead with someone else. As for your career, well… You’ll find yourself worthless soon enough in this industry.”
Blake kept his head lowered and remained silent, looking as if he was defeated. At that, Elspeth inched closer to him and clutched his hand.
“Are you alright?”
He lifted his head, and there appeared to be a glisten of tears in his eyes. He took a deep breath, and his swollen red eyes finally subsided slightly.
“It’s a good thing that you’re fine.”
“I’m fine, of course! The most important thing is that you shouldn’t take his words to heart. He can’t destroy your career at all. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Blake shook his head and realized that she did not seem to understand the complexity of the situation, so he explained to her patiently,
“I’m one of the artists under Joyous Entertainment, and Mr. Thorn’s elder brother is the CEO. That’s the reason why Mr. Thorn is always so arrogant and full of himself. With this, I’d surely be put under a permanent job ban. Even if I had generated substantial income for Joyous Entertainment, I’m pretty much out of job now that I offended Mr. Thorn.”
Joyous Entertainment was indeed renowned in the entertainment industry.
Elspeth looked him squarely in the eyes and asked intently,
“Would you consider joining another company?”
“It’s not that easy to do that. I signed a three-year contract with Joyous, and it’s only been two years since then. If I approach them first to break the contract, I’d have to compensate them by paying billions as a breach of contract damage.”
He heaved a sigh.
“Besides, there wouldn’t be any difference even if I joined another company. Joyous Entertainment is too well-connected, so none of the other companies would take me in.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, a familiar voice rang out from the doorway.
“Is everyone okay?”
Callum looked slightly disheveled and must have rushed over after casting his work aside. Despite his look, the regal air he exuded shone through.
“We’re fine, Callum. It was fortunate that you informed me in time because Elspeth would’ve otherwise been assaulted by that b’stard.”
At that moment, Blake’s inadvertent words stirred Elspeth as soon as she heard him. Callum was the one who informed Blake? How did he find out, though?
Did the call that went on the air and was hung up in an instant woke him up? If that were the case, it meant that Callum was genuinely careful and considerate…
Pfft! Caring, my butt!
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
Looking at Callum’s face, Elspeth suddenly had an idea.
“Callum.”
Her clear voice swiftly pulled his gaze to her.
He didn’t say anything as he gazed at her, but his heart was already thundering away.
This was the first time in forever that she took the initiative to start a conversation with him.
Blake offended the director because of me. Things may get difficult in the future.”
Her eyes sparkled.
“Hence, that is why I would like to ask you for a favor.”
“Tell me. What is it?”
Elspeth let out a sly grin.
“You’re a wealthy and generous man, Mr. Winthrop. Surely you have a few million you can spare, right?”
Being the smart person that Callum was, he immediately understood what she meant.
“Why? Do you want me to pay for Blake’s liquidated damages?”
“A-ha! What a coincidence. Great minds do think alike.”
“What are you going to do after that, though?”
His quirked brows were enough to show how much he wanted to probe.
“Are you going to let Blake be a vagrant?”
Naturally, she was confident enough to reassure him.
“I have other ideas, of course. I want Blake to sign with Luminous instead. You don’t have to worry about this. I can help Blake with the arrangement. But before that, you need to help Blake with his so-called redemption.”
“Luminous? Are you talking about the company that has produced countless movie stars?”
Whenever there were nominations for awards, Luminous Entertainment would always have the largest number of artists nominated.
Callum couldn’t help cheering up as he looked at her. He knew that a corner of her long-frozen heart had begun to melt.
