LOGIN"Who told you to do this?"The artist's face crumpled, her breathing shallow and quick."No one," she said desperately. "No one told me —""Don't lie to me," Director Joe said, his voice sharp enough to cut.The artist's eyes darted around the set as if looking for an escape.But there was none.Everyone was watching.Director Joe held the bottle up."This is evidence of sabotage. You deliberately used a different product on Miss Monroe. You knew it would cause a reaction.""I didn't —" the artist's voice cracked. "She lied.""Then explain," Director Joe demanded. "Explain why you had two bottles. Explain why you hid one. Explain why you used it on her and not on anyone else."The artist's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.Rina stepped forward, her voice low and furious."You knew," she said. "You knew it would hurt her. And you did it anyway."The artist's gaze dropped. "I didn't mean —""Yes, you did," Rina cut her off. "You meant every second of it.""Enough."Everyon
"That's not true." Everyone turned. A woman stepped forward—one of the other makeup artists. The one who had filmed the Faye incident. Isabelle's eyes lit up slightly the moment she saw her. Once filming resumed, she had looked for the artist to offer her thanks but the director said she had taken a break. Who knew she would be the one to step out at this moment? Even the makeup artist felt that she and Isabelle must have some kind of fate. Or else, she wouldn't have stumbled upon such a scheme on her first day of resumption. Their eyes met briefly. The woman gave a small nod to Isabelle before turning her gaze back to her counterpart. Her expression was uncertain, but her voice was steady. "That's not everything." The accused artist's face went pale. "What are you talking about?" she said quickly. The woman didn't look at her. She looked at Director Joe. "I saw her," she said quietly. "This morning. She had two bottles of foundation. She kept one separate from the rest
Isabelle sat in the corner of the set, away from the main activity, a cold compress pressed gently against her cheek.Director Joe had insisted she rest here rather than return to the hotel immediately. He wanted the medic nearby in case the reaction worsened, and honestly, Isabelle didn't have the energy to argue.Rina sat beside her, arms crossed tightly, her usual bright energy replaced with a simmering frustration."This is ridiculous," Rina muttered under her breath. "Absolutely ridiculous."Isabelle didn't respond, her gaze distant.Her face still burned, though the swelling had gone down slightly thanks to the medication. But the discomfort wasn't what bothered her most.It was the nagging suspicion that wouldn't leave her alone.She already suspected the artist but that squabble the other day seemed too irrelevant for her to base her accusation on. Rina shifted beside her, glancing toward the makeup station where the artist was quietly packing up her supplies. Having heard Is
The set went still.Director Joe stood quickly, his brow furrowed as he walked toward them."Isabelle, what's wrong?"Isabelle sat up slowly, her hand instinctively moving to her face.It felt wrong.Her entire face was hot, tight and swollen. Vincent shifted back slightly, his expression shifting from Aldric's grief to genuine concern."Are you okay?" he asked quietly.Isabelle opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Rina appeared in front of her. She knelt beside her, her eyes wide with alarm."Your face—"Isabelle blinked, confused. "What?"Rina's hand hovered near her cheek, not quite touching. "It's... red. Really red. And it's swelling."Isabelle's lips tightened.She touched her cheek gently, and the moment her fingers made contact, she winced.It burned.Director Joe crouched down beside her, his expression tight. "Let me see."Isabelle lowered her hand, and the moment he saw her face, his jaw clenched.Her skin was blotchy, with angry red patches spreading across
Autumn had finally begun to creep into the city.The morning air carried a crispness that hadn't been there the week before, and when Isabelle stepped out of the hotel, she noticed the shift immediately. People were wearing jackets that were a little thicker now, scarves appearing around necks, and the leaves on the trees lining the streets were starting to turn gold at the edges.It was subtle but clearly, autumn had arrived.On the bus ride to set, Rina scrolled through her phone lazily while Isabelle stared out the window, watching the city pass by in a blur of muted colors."It's getting cold," Rina said absently, pulling her cardigan tighter around herself. "I should've brought a heavier coat."Isabelle hummed in agreement. "At least we're almost done. Imagine if we had another month of outdoor shoots."Rina shuddered dramatically. "I'd freeze to death. Thank god your scenes are all indoors.""Mm." Isabelle smiled faintly. "And after today, just one more. Then we're done.""Then
The phone rang twice before he picked. "Isabelle." His familiar voice came through the line, low and steady, and something in her chest that had been wound tight all day loosened immediately. She exhaled softly, her eyes closing as she leaned back against the headboard. "Hi." She gave a brief pause when she heard the screech of chair wheels in the background. Riven had gotten up from his seat in the middle of a meeting. He was currently in a meeting with the executives and someone was presenting the expected revenues for the next quarter when her call came in. Usually, he had a rule that everyone had to put their phones on silent to avoid disruption during meetings. He rarely went against that rule himself. But today was special. Isabelle had called him. She had taken the initiative to call him. That was the first time. He'd be damned if he didn't take it. So, he stood, excused himself with a single gesture to Julien to pause the meeting, and walked out of the conference r
The man stared at her fixatedly and nodded.Isabelle fell silent. She had no idea what to say and lowered her head to look at the agreement again, wondering why he brought up such an offer. A nanny? She couldn’t understand why he would ask her. Aimee’s condition was delicate so shouldn’t he have h
Aimee’s sudden reaction startled Isabelle.The girl’s utensils clattered against the table, her usually calm eyes now glowing with a light that almost seemed too vivid for her. Her eyes widened, lips trembling as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t, her little body leaning forward unconscio
Isabelle returned to her room and sat on the edge of the bed. For a long moment, she simply stared at the agreement in her hands. How strange fate worked. A few weeks ago she was still happily Gregory’s wife and Ryan’s mother and had never met this man. But now, she has suddenly became his daughter
“What exactly happened?” Isabelle repeated contemptuously when she heard that. She didn’t bother looking at Gregory at first. Her gaze was locked on Tiffany, but her words were directed to her husband as she scoffed, “Why don’t you ask her?” Tiffany, however, only widened her eyes in feigned inno







