David sighed, “Sarah, you ran off to shoot a movie, and before you even got anywhere, Elisa’s already famous. Ugh, you can’t beat her when it comes to guys, and you’re not on her level in your career either…”
He didn’t say more, but now David was feeling a bit sorry for Sarah.
Sarah felt a pang in her heart, but she kept up her tough facade, “What do you know!”
After all, Sarah didn’t have the protagonist’s aura. For a character that all the readers hated as the pretentious supporting role in the book, she was doing pretty well for herself, okay?
Sarah was about to blow a fuse. She tossed her phone aside and buried her face in the pillow, sulking.
When Holden came out of the bathroom, he saw her in a cream-colored nightgown, angrily punching the pillow on the bed.
Holden commented dryly, “This is my bed. Are you planning on destroying it?”
Sarah quickly responded, “No, I’m just giving it a massage.”
She couldn’t mess with the boss. And she definitely couldn’t mess with the boss’s bed.
Holden got into bed and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
Sarah was about to scoot closer to the edge, knowing she had a habit of snuggling up to Holden in her sleep and wanting to give him a bit more space.
But just then, she felt his large hand suddenly grip her shoulder. Something fluttered in Sarah’s heart, like a feather gently brushing against it. Before she could react, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
Sarah, “…”
She suddenly remembered what Holden had said about “ten times.”
Sure enough, there’s no such thing as Holden taking a loss in this world.
Sarah couldn’t help but marvel at how he never took even the smallest loss-no wonder he was worth billions. If she had that kind of skill, she’d have snagged an Oscar by now.
In the darkness, Sarah inhaled the steady, crisp scent of wood from him and slowly closed her eyes.
When Sarah woke up the next day, Holden was already gone. She went downstairs and poured herself a hot cup of milk, sipping it slowly.
Just then, Merry called her, sniffling and sobbing.
Sarah got a headache trying to make out what she was saying, so she grabbed a piece of toast and headed out.
It was peak traffic time, and the map showed a two-hundred-meter stretch of gridlock ahead. Sarah rolled down the window to get a better look.
The window of a nearby Porsche rolled down too, revealing Ronald, who stared coldly at her.
“Sarah, where are you going?”
Sarah, “???”
Damn this world.
How could she forget that even in a city of thirty million people like City N, with several districts, two fresh college grads out job hunting wouldn’t have more than a 1% chance of running into each other in a year as long as they didn’t plan to meet up?
But in this story, every time the main and supporting characters step out the door, they’re guaranteed to bump into a familiar face.
Seeing Sarah’s frosty demeanor, Ronald felt a strange tightness in his chest. He couldn’t pinpoint when, but at some point, Sarah who used to do all sorts of bad things for him and constantly compared herself to Elisa suddenly stopped caring about him.
Ronald’s feelings for Sarah were no shorter than the time he’d loved Elisa. He had initially gotten together with Elisa because she resembled Sarah so much, treating Elisa as a stand-in for her.
Later, when Sarah came back, Ronald was pissed about her leaving in the first place. He threw out cold remarks again and again, but deep down, he enjoyed it when Sarah tried to please him. He even got a kick out of her clashing with Elisa.
Feeling frustrated, Ronald said, “Can we find a place to talk this out?”
Just then, the car in front of Sarah’s moved. She rolled up her window, ignored Ronald, and drove off behind the other car.
Ronald’s lane was still stuck in traffic. Watching the Lamborghini disappear up ahead, he slammed his fist on the steering wheel.
Sarah quickly made her way to Merry’s place. As soon as she opened the door, she saw the place was a mess.
Merry was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
Sarah ruffled her hair, asking, “What happened, sweetheart? Who upset you?”
Between sobs, Merry managed to say, “Oswald wants to break up with me.”
“Break up? Good! That damn boy was never good enough for you.”
“He’s asking me for a two-million breakup fee and wants my aunt to give him the lead role in one of her company’s dramas…”
Sarah scoffed, “What a greedy bastard! You should kick him to the curb and ignore his demands.”
Merry shook her head, still crying.
Sarah was stunned. “What?”
She couldn’t believe it-just when she thought they couldn’t be more love-struck, all three of them seemed to compete to fall for jerks.
In a small voice, Merry added, “He secretly took photos of me and him in bed…”
Sarah’s brow furrowed. “We need to call the police.”
Merry shook her head again. “He said if I report him, his family will release the photos. He’d rather go to jail than not get back at me.”
Merry’s parents were prominent figures and couldn’t afford to have their reputation tarnished. To them, three million was nothing.
The drama from Alice’s company was a big production meant to launch a new star, and it was sure to be a hit. If Oswald got it, he’d definitely rise to fame.
Sarah’s expression darkened. That bastard-why’d he have to mess with them?
Did he not know that in the book, she and Merry did all sorts of awful things like murder and arson? By the later part of the story, the three of them had pretty much-done everything short of dealing drugs. And yet, this small-time actor dared to try and extort them?
Merry kept sobbing, and Sarah looked at her helplessly-alright, the protagonists had their plot armor. Sarah didn’t want to go against them.
But for this minor celebrity to pick a fight with them? He must have a death wish.
Sarah’s eyes darted around as she grabbed Merry’s phone and found Oswald’s number. She dialed it.
Oswald’s smug voice came through the line, “What’s up? Change your mind? If you don’t want your parents to see those cheap photos of you online, you better do what I say.”
“Three million, but no drama role,” Sarah replied coldly. “If you’re willing, we’ll get you the money tonight. If not, you get nothing, and I’ll report you for extortion. Even if you release the photos, we’ll just tell everyone they’re AI-generated.”
Oswald sneered, “AI or not, any internet veteran can tell the difference. And hey, flies don’t land on a clean egg. Why would her AI pics be out there and no one else’s? If there’s no drama role, then I want six million.”
“Three million. Not a penny more. If you’re not happy with that, I’m calling the cops.”
“Wait-” Oswald was starting to sound a bit panicked.
He hadn’t really expected to actually get that drama role. After all, this was extortion, and he was worried Alice might retaliate against him if he joined the cast.
Getting three million dollars was already pretty good. If he pushed too hard, he might not get the money and could end up in jail. He didn’t want to risk his future.
Oswald finally said, “Alright, three million it is. Let’s meet tonight.”
Sarah gave him an address and hung up the phone.