The replies flooded in fast.
“This has to be a troll. No way this is one of Sarah’s fans-this is definitely a fan of Elisa or Grace, trying to drag Sarah down on purpose!”
Sarah, “???”
“That’s a fake fan. Everyone, ignore them-it’s gotta be one of Thief Elisa’s fans.”
“Get lost! Our girl doesn’t need to play Ms. Janice-we’re holding out for her next big role as a powerful leading lady.”
“…”
While Sarah’s fan base was large, she’d gained a lot of haters too, thanks to her rapid rise to fame.
“LMAO, this is the funniest thing I’ve read all year-Sarah as Ms. Janice? Please.”
“Casting Sarah for Ms. Janice is like asking Marilyn Monroe to play Emily Dickinson. It’s like a raccoon playing a fox.”
“The charm of Ms. Janice lies in her spirit and intellect, not just her face, okay?”
“Honestly, I admit Sarah’s good-her portrayal of Mollie was top-tier. But she’s not right for a role like Ms. Janice. A complex life like that requires depth and substance. It’s not something any random starlet can handle.”
Sarah checked her DMs.
“Try stirring up trouble again, and see what happens.”
“Don’t you dare slander Sarah. Go back to worshipping Thief Elisa.”
“[Image attached]”
The image was a meme of herself rolling her eyes.
Sarah, “…”
She was starting to question her entire existence.
Determined to prove everyone wrong, Sarah grabbed the reading list Director Colby had sent her and bought every single book on it.
From that day forward, she swore she’d become a person with depth and substance, ready to shock the world with her brilliant performance when the film came out.
Five minutes into her first book, though, Sarah draped it over her face and fell asleep, her grand ambitions of depth and intellect forgotten.
When she slowly woke up, she could hear faint voices coming from outside.
“But we had an agreement-once Old Mr. Smith passed away, Mr. Holden and Sarah’s marriage would end.”
“We’ll have to wait for Mr. Holden to return. I’ll discuss it with him, and we’ll talk then.”
“Can I meet with Mr. Holden? I need to speak with him. Or at least let me see Sarah?”
“No. Mr. Holden is busy with important work, and Mrs. Holden doesn’t have time today either.”
“…”
Sarah listened to the conversation and immediately recognized the voices-it was Butler Ted, and her so-called father, Mr. Brown.
The Brown family had always treated the original Sarah like a cash cow. She didn’t know exactly what Mr. Brown was after today, but it couldn’t be anything good.
Butler Ted, as ruthless as ever, dismissed Mr. Brown without a second thought.
But Mr. Brown wasn’t happy about it.
Back when Sarah used to get money from Holden, more than two-thirds of it ended up supporting the Brown family. Now that she was a rising star with Holden backing her, she hadn’t given the Brown family a single cent.
Even though Mr. Brown was her biological father, he’d always favored Viola, her younger sister. Sarah had been the capable one, while Viola had been a bit of a mess-plain-looking and lacking talent. Marrying into wealth seemed impossible for Viola unless Sarah made some sacrifices for her sister.
Mr. Brown’s dream was for Holden to divorce Sarah and marry Viola, so she could enjoy the same good life Sarah had.
Though the Brown family’s business was struggling, they were still far better off than most. But that didn’t stop Mr. Brown from coveting Sarah’s earnings from her acting career.
He sighed heavily, grumbling about how a married daughter was like spilled water-gone for good-while Butler Ted escorted him out.
Sarah stood by the window, watching Mr. Brown’s figure disappear down the driveway, her brows knitting together in thought. She sent David a quick message.
Since David lived close to the Browns, it’d be easier for him to keep an eye on things if trouble came up.
That evening, Holden attended a jewelry gala hosted by a friend. A few guys sat around him, chatting about various topics.
“I heard Reuben started some big new project. Sounds promising-lots of people are investing. Holden, do you know what he’s up to?”
Reuben and Nicola had stayed behind to compete with Holden in the local market. If Holden had his way, they wouldn’t walk away without paying a heavy price.
He swirled the wine in his glass nonchalantly. “Why don’t you throw a few billion at it and see how it goes?”
The men around him, all sons of wealthy families, chuckled nervously. They might have been friends, but even in their circles, there were ranks. None of them dared to claim they were on Holden’s level.
“No way, man. We wouldn’t get involved with him like that.”
One of the guys tried to steer the conversation to safer ground. “Hey, speaking of which, there’s this super popular actress. She’s gorgeous-I fell for her the moment I saw her. But I haven’t had a chance to meet her yet. Do any of you know her? If you do, hook me up.”
The guy pulled out his phone, showing them the wallpaper on his screen-a scene from Heart Throb, where the princess wandered through the night holding a lantern.
“That’s her! I’m thinking of asking my dad to hire her for an endorsement.”
The moment he said it, half the room went quiet.
The other half, unaware of the situation, leaned in to take a look.
“Oh, yeah. That’s Sarah. I heard she’s already married.”
“No way! I don’t believe she’s married. She looks way too young.”
The guy talking was Jeffrey, who’d been obsessed with Sarah for a while. Unfortunately for him, his father was still very much alive and healthy. And after Jeffrey had botched a business deal, his family hadn’t trusted him with anything important since. Now, all he had was his crush on Sarah, but no leverage to get what he wanted.
Holden gave a half-smile. “You think she’s pretty?”
Jeffrey nodded eagerly. “Of course! Holden, you’re missing out by not messing around with women. Let me show you her stills-she looks amazing in everyone.”
As he spoke, Jeffrey pulled out his phone and started flipping through photos he’d saved from Sarah’s Twitter, swiping through them one by one.
While showing them off, Jeffrey nudged another guy next to him. “Hey, Mark, isn’t your dad keeping some magazine editor as his mistress? Get her to put Sarah on the cover. Make it sexy-swimwear, bikinis! I’ve never seen her do anything remotely sexy for the cameras.”
The guy called Mark turned pale and shot Holden a nervous glance. His father had attended Old Mr. Smith’s funeral and told him some things afterward. He knew damn well that the real backer behind Sarah was Holden. If they even tried to put Holden’s wife in a swimsuit for a photoshoot, their whole family business would’ve been doomed.
Holden methodically deleted every photo of Sarah from Jeffrey’s phone.
Jeffrey stared at him. “…” What the hell?
He didn’t understand what Holden was doing, but he didn’t dare complain. “So… you don’t think she’s pretty?”
Holden’s voice was indifferent. “She’s alright.”
Mark put on a stern expression. “Jeffrey, maybe you should stop obsessing over actresses. If you don’t clean up your act, your dad’s gonna bring your half-brother home next year, and you’ll be out in the cold.”
“Get lost! Stop saying this unlucky stuff!” Jeffrey snapped.
There were quite a few people at the jewelry gala that night, but the group wasn’t really there for the gems-they were more interested in drinking and chatting. Holden, in particular, preferred collecting cars, watches, and antiques. Unless it was rare pieces at an auction, jewelry didn’t catch his eye often.
But there was one standout item tonight-a floral necklace set with round-cut diamonds and yellow sapphires, intricately designed to look elegant and ethereal. Holden glanced at it and told his assistant to buy it.
Jeffrey had originally planned to snag that necklace himself-it would’ve been perfect for wooing his latest crush-but before he knew it, Holden had already taken it.
“Holden, what do you need that for? Sell it to me at double the price. I was gonna gift it to Sarah,” Jeffrey said. “You’ve only ever bought jewelry from auctions-this one’s not even up to your usual standards.”
Holden gave him a faint smile. “You won’t be able to give it to her. She won’t be interested in you.”
Jeffrey scoffed. “What if she is?”
“Then you’re screwed,” Holden replied coolly.