LOGINLen felt troubled after Paula's words, he couldn't concentrate at all. As they gathered at the dining table, he glanced at her.
With her attention fixed on the housemaids arranging the food on the dining table, Paula did not even glance in his direction. With a smile on his wrinkly face, Grandfather Bertram arrived a few minutes later. "Do you still hear from your Father, Paula?" He asked and Paula nodded her head. "I do sometimes." After getting married to Len, Paula never really heard from her Father and Family except Melissa who would do anything to get on her nerves. However, if they needed something, they'd ask her for help using the fact that she was married to Len Bertram, one of the richest men in the city. Since her mother's passing, Paula had grown accustomed to their cruel treatment and would regularly attend family get-togethers. But attending a family gathering isn't really a good thing for Paula because her stepmother and Melissa would always find a way to ridicule her and make people say how useless she was as the first child of the Maillet Family. "You should always talk to your Father, okay? Don't mind his actions" Grandfather Bertram said. "Thank you, Grandpa," Paula smiled. Len was becoming even more agitated. How could she abort her pregnancy and have the mind to smile like that? He even threatened her with a divorce, to which she replied that she no longer gave a damn. Len was irritated and exhausted. What gave Paula that confidence that he couldn't divorce her? As they were about to eat, Len's phone rang. He stood up to answer the call and two minutes later, he came back to the dining room. "Melissa is coming, I asked her to come," Len said, intending the words for his Grandfather. He glanced at Paula who didn't even spare him a glance. "Why is she coming? Did I invite her to my house?" Grandfather Bertram questioned. He didn't seem too pleased with the fact that Melissa was coming. "She's coming with my Mother" Len uttered before sitting down. "They said they had something to show us." With a sneer, Grandfather Bertram took a spoonful of food and put it in his mouth. Paula clenched her spoon as she ate. Even though she appeared unfazed, she was in fact flustered. Her mother-in-law and Melissa were coming? Great! A spiteful mother-in-law and a conceited sister-in-law who appears concerned but is really the devil dressed in sheep's clothing... God knows what they are going to talk about. While Paula ate, her heart pounded wildly against her rib cage, waiting for them to arrive. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she tightened her grip around her spoon. "You slut!" Paula closed her eyes, hearing the voice of her Mother-in-law. She turned her head, her eyes meeting with Melissa's pretentious gentle gaze. Even though her gaze was gentle, it carried a hint of mockery as if she was meaning to tell Paula, she had finally won. Paula had a bad feeling. "You still dare to eat after cheating on my Son! You shameless bitch" Anna, Len's Mother yelled. "Mother, what are you..." "Paah!!" Before Paula could say anything more, she was smacked across the cheeks. "What is the meaning of this, Anna? Why are you causing commotion in my home?!" Grandfather Bertram roared and got to his feet. His voice was filled with agitation. "Father! I'm really sorry for this" Anna collected herself. "I just found out that Paula was cheating on my Son. I couldn't control myself when I came in." "What do you mean cheating? I will never cheat on Len!" Paula cried, still feeling the impact of the slap. While saying that, Paula's gaze shifted to Len as if asking him to clarify this mess. However, Len's gaze hardened as their gaze met. "Mother, what do you mean?" Len approached his Mother but was pulled back by Melissa. "We saw it Len, we saw the video," Melissa said, her voice laced with faux sadness. "I didn't believe it at first cause I never thought my big sister would do that kind of disgusting thing but it's true. Paula, why did you do this? Why? Can you please explain this to us? I don't want to believe my big sister would do this!" Tears streamed down Melissa's face as she held Len's hand. With a sophisticated touch, she caressed his body and used his shirt to dab at her tears. Paula believed she was losing her mind. What the hell was Melissa talking about? "What do you mean? Explain so I can understand. I will never cheat on Len! Even if he's not nice to me, I will never" With a voice filled with anguish, panic, and sadness, Paula sobbed. "Explain better! You can't just accuse someone without evidence" Grandfather Bertram was getting impatient. He didn't like the commotion at all. "There's evidence" Anna uttered, reaching out to her phone. She played a video and showed it to them. In a video, Paula was seen getting intimate with another man. They were both naked in bed. Grandfather Bertram averted his gaze from the video, his expression darkening. It was unbelievable to him. Paula was having sex with another man?! "I swear this is not me! This is not me!!!" Tears were streaming down Paula's fragile cheeks as she screamed. "Len, I swear I would never do this. This video is fake." The disappointment on Grandfather Bertram's face was palpable but it can't be compared to the emotions on Len's face. Paula sensed that everything in her world was collapsing, and she felt herself collapsing along with it. Pain, sadness, fear... It looked as though Paula was going to lose her mind due to the jumble of feelings. She couldn't handle it anymore, it was too much. She could not bear the agony that made her feel like something was pressing down on her. Paula saw Melissa's lips curve into a smile but it was only for a second. Paula ran towards her frantically, "Melissa! I know you did this! I swear, I will kill you!" However, before she could reach Melissa's side. A slap landed on her cheeks and she collapsed to the floor. For a moment, Paula couldn't hear anything except the sound of bells. "You dare to touch her?" Len yelled. "You whore! I don't want to see you anywhere around us anymore. Leave now! Pack up your belongings in my home as well. I don't want to see you anymore." Paula became aware that Len was the one who had slapped her at this precise moment. "Len, did you just slap me? You slapped me?" Paula questioned breathlessly. She spoke in a tone that was both hurt and shocked. However, she received no reply. She got up off the chilly floor, turned away from everyone, and left the house without looking back. The next morning, a parcel arrived at Len's home. It contained divorce papers that had already been signed. But ever since then, Paula was never heard of.Chapter 25None of them anticipated that Paula Maillet would sue them all so quickly after she announced her intention to do so. How was it even possible to locate them?Despite the fact that most of her followers were haters, she had been enjoying some growth in popularity."Will she actually sue them?""Isn't she supposed to be begging for forgiveness? We don't even want her anymore for director David's movie. We want a new female lead."With a knowing smile on her lips, Veronica read out the comments. "These are enough for us to consider changing the female lead. Being a businesswoman, I detest losing. Although one loss is enough, it's better to prevent the root before it takes control.""Miss Veronica, we understand your concern but…" David tried to speak but was interrupted by Paula."There's no need to defend me, Mr. Alesso. I do not want my actions to cause the team to receive negative feedback. I'll step back as the female lead but not as the writer of this piece," Paula said,
The video played on the screen for the nth time. The man rewatched the video, scrutinizing it intently and narrowing his eyes as though he wished to not overlook any crucial information."Have you located the poster yet?" Len uttered, handing over the phone to Isak, who was sitting in the front seat. "Is it really someone we know, or is it Drake?"Len didn't trust that guy, especially since he declared his feelings for Paula and his desire to pursue her. Even though he and Paula were no longer together, it was strange to hear such remarks from the self-proclaimed playboy Drake."I'm sorry, but Mr. Bertram, why would Mr. Steel want to hurt the person he has feelings for? I'm not supporting him, but the perpetrator is someone who doesn't like Madam's arrival," Isak said, shaking his head. After all these years, he still remained oblivious to some things.Even though Paula isn't married to his boss anymore, Isak still referred to her as 'Madam.'"Who would not like her arrival? It's not
In the evening, Paula wore a hoodie to go grocery shopping. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she wore a face mask."Mom, why are you wearing a mask?" the little boy asked, his eyes on her. "We're just going to the grocery store, right?"Paula chuckled, pulling out a smaller mask from her bag. "You should wear one too. Mom's somewhat famous now. I don't want fans causing a scene if they see me."Winter nodded, taking the mask from her. "Then I'll wear it, Mom. It looks good on you, though."As they walked to the garage, Winter trailed behind his mother, his expression unusually serious. Once inside the car, Paula noticed her typically talkative child was unusually quiet."If there's anything on your mind, you can talk to me. Mommy's here to listen," she assured him.However, Winter simply looked away without saying a word.Winter was more mature and perceptive than boys his age. Every so often, he seemed older than his own mother."I would rather not stay here. I miss my friends and Mi
"He withdrew his investment? But filming will start next week?"The man had a worried look on his face as he rubbed his temples a few times. His eyes were glued to his phone, ever since he received the call from Mr. Bertram's assistant.David Alesso was a renowned director, and someone withdrawing their investment from his movie shouldn't have affected him, except the filming was scheduled to start next week."Why don't you try to contact Mr. Bertram for me? He should at least give a reason for such abrupt action," David told his assistant, reaching for his phone. "I'm going to talk to Paula first."As his assistant walked away, a woman entered, her heels clinking against the tiled floor."Miss Veronica, what brings you here?" David placed his phone down, unable to make a call due to his unexpected visitor."Mr. Alesso, we trusted you because you are one of the best, but frankly, I'm starting to think otherwise. Didn't you do a background check on your actors before casting them?" Ver
Seeing the annoyed face of her father, Paula let down a deep breath before standing up to her feet. She should have known that Melissa was up to no good. She knew, of course, but it would have been preferable if she had said no to their meeting."What do you think you are doing?" Gerald said, angrily infusing his words. "You disappeared without a word, and now, just as you did eight years ago, you are returning to get your sister's man."Trying to contain her rage, Paula let out a deep breath. "Mr. Astor, it appears that you are not understanding something. You should ask your daughter's man before accusing me! God!"However, Gerald wasn't having any of it. Paula, in his opinion, was a bad daughter. She was literally the child who brought shame to the entire family. He is never going to allow what happened eight years ago repeat itself.Melissa, his virtuous daughter, had given this unappreciative child more than her fair share of effort, but the child is still attempting to take her
Even though Paula really didn't want to go, Drake made sure to remind her every single day. Finally, it was Sunday evening. Paula dressed simply because she was meeting two people she was clearly not interested in.As per usual, Drake arrived for the pick-up thirty minutes early and acted like a gentleman.Drake still seemed happy to see Paula, even though they had already met this week for the script reading."You look amazing," He complimented, opening the door for her."Thank you," Paula replied, smiling and blushing.Who would not blush if a handsome and popular man like Drake opened the car door for them?As the car started, Drake was the first to break the silence in which Paula appreciated. Considering that they will be collaborating in the coming weeks, she wanted to speak with him. Stated differently, she wanted to build a comfortable relationship with her work partner."Is it really true that you were married? I sincerely looked for you after graduation" Drake said, without







