Chapter 2

“Yarden!”

The loud slam of the door still echoed across the set. Whitney’s eyes were teary as she grabbed my arm.

Her voice carried a trace of anger.

“Yale, I went through all that trouble and even did it for real just to keep the shoot on schedule. Now, you’ve driven Yarden away. We can’t finish filming this scene. This will delay the wedding. And how am I supposed to spend time with you after we’re married?”

Spend time with me?

Even at this point, she was still lying to herself.

As I watched her, her eyes kept drifting toward the door. My throat suddenly felt dry.

She grabbed a piece of clothing and threw it over herself. Then, she pulled me toward the door.

“Come with me. We need to bring Yarden back.”

We had barely taken a few steps when the door opened.

Whitney’s parents walked in. They were carrying several bags of goodies. Their faces were full of excitement.

“We asked Whitney to hand these out to everyone, but she forgot to bring them. So, we had to deliver them ourselves. Oh, Yale. You’re here too.”

They sensed the awkward tension on the set. They also saw the dark looks on Whitney’s face and mine. Whitney’s mother, Natalie Bennett, slowly lowered her voice.

“What’s going on? Did you two have a fight? The wedding is tomorrow…”

“Mr. Lockwood. Mrs. Lockwood.”

I pulled my arm out of Whitney’s grip. I rubbed the spot where she had grabbed me.

“Perfect timing. I have something to tell you. The wedding tomorrow is canceled.

“From this moment on, Whitney and the Lockwood family will have nothing to do with me.”

Whitney’s father, Ivan Lockwood, stumbled back two steps. His legs seemed to give out under him.

Natalie stared at me in disbelief. She rushed over to me.

“Mr. Foster… Yale, you must be joking. We’re family. Everything was fine. What happened?”

“She hasn’t married me yet. We’re not family.”

I glanced at Whitney and let out a scornful laugh. “Besides, the Foster family has never had a wife who wasn’t chaste.”

Ivan and Natalie froze in shock. “That can’t be possible. Whitney was raised very strictly. She even had a curfew. How could this happen…”

At those words, Natalie seemed to realize something. She rushed toward Whitney in a panic.

She grabbed the coat Whitney was holding tightly and pulled it open. The marks on Whitney’s body were impossible to miss. Natalie froze immediately.

Whitney quickly wrapped the coat around herself again.

“Yale, why are you so old-fashioned? If you hadn’t set the wedding date so soon, I would never have had to do this.”

I laughed.

Over the years, I invested in more than a dozen films and gave Whitney the lead role each time. That was how she reached her current position.

Ivan and Natalie also benefited from the billions I invested in their businesses. I opened doors for them and helped them step into high society.

They understood the situation very well. Whitney’s sudden fame would fade quickly without me.

They also knew that the Lockwood family would be worth nothing without my support.

That was why they once knelt in front of me and begged me to set a wedding date with Whitney as soon as possible.

Even then, Whitney used her so-called acting career as an excuse. She kept delaying the wedding. She also tried her best to hide our relationship.

It was clear what those excuses and secrecy meant. The truth was simple. She had already fallen for someone else.

Ivan and Natalie dropped to their knees in front of me. They cried as they pleaded, “Mr. Foster, Whitney just got carried away with this scene. She wasn’t thinking clearly. We’ll make sure she learns her lesson. You’re a generous man. Please give her another chance.”

Whitney stood to the side. She was already preoccupied; her eyes kept wandering to the door.

I sneered. Of course. This family had been treating me like a fool.

They really thought that scolding Whitney could fix what we had.

“Enough. In the Foster family, one betrayal is unforgivable,” I said.

I turned and walked away resolutely.

I picked up my phone to check on the progress of blacklisting Whitney and Yarden.

Then, a trending news alert appeared.

[Whitney Lockwood, the Innocent Award-Winning Actress, Goes Too Far on Set with Rising Star, Yarden Stein.]