Meanwhile, Irene was exiting an upscale restaurant. Her hair was tied up in a bun, her dimples were clearly visible on her cheeks as a faint smile played on her lips. She wore a red turtleneck gown that fully accentuated her figure, plump chest, and slightly curvy hips. Her face gleamed with confidence as she approached the Maybach parked ahead. Ethan was by her side, decked in a tailored suit which made him look smart and stylish. He elegantly opened the door to the back seat for her with a smile on his face. “Gosh, you look so much like her, even the figure looks the same,” he said in a whisper as they got into the back seat. “The resemblance is too frightening; those sets of exercises really paid off.”
Irene smiled, observing her face in a mirror she took out of her purse. “Debbie’s skills seem to be improving with each passing day.”
“Yeah, it’s so hard to tell the difference between you and Ivy,” Kate, who was seated in the back seat, chimed in as she stared at the pleased look on Irene’s face through the rear-view mirror. “But isn’t it difficult to live in someone else’s shadow…”
“Will you shut up, you fool…” Irene snapped, her face turned sour. “If you hadn’t been a bit useful to me nowadays, I would have dumped you a long time ago. Now get us out of here.”
Kate cringed and started the car. “I’m sorry…”
Irene went back to what she was doing earlier, looking at her mirror. She turned her face to the side, impressed by her looks. “Do you think this scandal will ruin Ivy’s chances of signing on with Emperor Entertainment?”
Ethan chuckled. “Trust me, they won’t. Even if her manager submits her portfolio to them, Emperor Entertainment will never consider signing her as their artist. They hate artists who are always defamed; she would be too troublesome for them to manage.”
Irene was satisfied with Ethan’s reply, her smile widened. “Good. I just want Omega Entertainment to not officially announce signing me as their new artist just yet. I want her scandal to escalate further first. I want to give her a surprise.” Then her expression turned thoughtful. “I wonder how she will react when she finds out that the same agency which blacklisted her three years ago signed in her replica…” She burst into a diabolical laughter, imagining a shocked expression on Ivy’s face.
“You seem to forget your sister has changed,” Ethan’s words interrupted her reverie. “She might be indifferent about it. All we need to do is to make sure she doesn’t get signed into any prestigious agency.”
“Irene, don’t you believe she might be sick as the director stated? It’s kind of unpleasant to put her in such a situation when she is still trying to recover…” Kate immediately pressed her lips tightly as her gaze drifted to the front-view mirror. Irene’s stare was shooting daggers at her. “I swear if you speak again, I’ll rip your tongue out,” she warned with a stern tone, her face scrunched up in annoyance.
Kate bit her lip with regret, but she couldn’t help express her thoughts. Though she was upset at Ivy for making her go bankrupt leading her to the situation she was presently in, she felt Irene was going overboard in trying to destroy her sister.
The frown on Irene’s face disappeared, replaced by a slight smile. “If I partake in one more film before the end of the year, do you think I will be a suitable candidate to win the Best Newcomer award at Supreme this year?”
“Um, certainly. I’ll make sure that happens,” Ethan assured before adding, “Just focus on improving your skills to surpass hers. I’ll get you a lead role soon. I think the boss has big plans for you. For him to personally scout you, knowing you look just like the same artist he blacklisted, I feel he wants you to replace her.”
Irene thought for a while before nodding in agreement. “I believe so. Ivy’s hiatus three years ago angered him; she was almost at the peak of reaching a new height. And worst of all, she gave no explanation, terminated the contract, and left the media pressing for answers… She was so foolish back then…” She scoffed, then her face turned serious.
‘I’ll make sure you don’t survive in this industry, Ivy…’
****
Ivy was currently scrolling through her phone, calmly skimming through the disapproving articles about her unprofessionalism. She hissed indifferently, attempting to toss her phone aside, but her phone rang. It was Susan calling.
“When will you be well enough to resume shooting? The production has been under a lot of stress lately with the media.”
“Yeah, I was informed by Anna, I’ll resume a day after tomorrow,” Ivy replied.
“Well, I’ve tried to contain the scandal, but it seems the media wants to hear from you personally. I don’t really know where they are going with this. Maybe they want to see you in your sick bed before they will finally believe what they were told,” Susan sighed. “I hope you’re strong enough to resume so soon.”
“Yes, I am,” Ivy responded, not really sure if Zack would agree with her decision to resume so early.
“What are you still doing up at this time? Get some sleep…” Zack’s voice interrupted their conversation. Ivy disconnected the call and put her phone away, then lay flat on the bed, seemingly like an obedient wife.
Zack nodded, satisfied with her immediate response. “Good. I thought you were going to argue with me.” He laid next to her and covered her with the duvet.
Ivy tossed around to face him. “I’ll be returning to set a day after tomorrow.”
Ivy held her breath, thinking he might disagree with her decision, as she knew he would want her to rest after the terrible incident.
But instead, he stared at her with a blank expression; he didn’t respond immediately. Ivy’s eyes wandered around him, trying to ascertain whatever was going on in his mind. She was expecting him to frown at her or say ‘no’… then a worrying thought struck her.
“I hope you aren’t going with the plan of hiring seven bodyguards, hubby.”
A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “I already made the phone call.”
“WHAT!” Ivy quickly sat up in the bed, her expression clearly showing she wasn’t willing to accept that. “I thought you said you were just teasing me.”
“Well, I changed my mind. Did you actually think that accident was random?”