Elise’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing after dinnertime. First she got a message from an unknown number in
WhatsApp, and she said she was on the class committee. She asked Mikayla, and Mikayla confirmed it,
so she replied to her.
The person texted, ‘Hi, I’m Mica. Due to your special circumstance, I’d like to remind you that Mr. Kamp
has added a night test. It counts toward the total score and will affect your chances of getting a slot, so
please look out for that. The class chat group is made, and I’ll add you in later.’
Elise thanked her and turned on Do Not Disturb mode. Just when she was about to write the anti-cheat
program for Arthur’s game, Tom video called her. She wore her jacket before she accepted the call.
“The jewelry competition is in two days, Miss Sinclair. Do you want to take a look at our participating
work tomorrow?” Tom looked delighted and confident.
“I don’t think I have time tomorrow. Send the designs to me.” Elise was confident in the person she
chose. The design they came up with should be decent.
“Sure.” Tom nodded. He asked, “Will you be coming on the day of the contest then?”
There might be a lot of changes during the contest. I should take a look. “Send me the time and
location.” She then told him what to look out for and hung up.
Tom had a lot to report, since he was technically an employee, so Elise had to stop him.
At the same time, the Saunders household was in a mess as usual. “Out! Out I say! You disgust me!”
And the door was slammed shut.
Edwin stood outside and sighed dejectedly. He lost count of how many times Celine had chased him out
of her room. Even the maids weren’t surprised anymore, and they didn’t even stop to look.
Ever since she met Elise and Alexander at the Civil Affairs Bureau, Celina hadn’t been the same. She
started having mood swings and developed a serious case of aggression. Fearing that she might hurt
others and herself, David kept her in the room and let her have her meals in there. He’d see her
occasionally as well. Edwin stayed in a different room ever since then, and he never went back to her
room. Celina was his wife, but they had never consummated the marriage. What a joke.
He held his head low and went through the corridor. When he came downstairs, David called out to him
from the couch, where he was sitting. “Come here, Edwin. We need to talk.”
Edwin heaved a sigh and cheered himself up, then he sat down before David. “Do you need something,
Dad?”
David nodded and pushed a leather file to him. “Take a look at this document. If it’s fine with you, please
sign it.”
Edwin gulped nervously and opened the file. When he saw what was in there, he felt a chill running down
his spine, and his face was as white as a tombstone.
He wants me to get a divorce? Aside from the divorce agreement, there was also a local bank’s card.
Edwin put the agreement down without even looking at the sum of compensation. “I won’t do it,” he said
quietly.
David shook his head and sighed. “You know I only let you two get married to shut the public up. Now
that the furore has passed, and you guys aren’t in love anyway, why don’t you two just get divorced? It’s
better for the both of you.” They lived at his house after they were married, and David was tired of seeing
them fight every day. Nobody can say a thing if they get divorced after the marriage.
“No.” Edwin wouldn’t give up. “I promised I’d take care of her my whole life. I can’t leave her like this.”
“Celina has me and the maids in the household. You’re just a failure of a man. What can you do for her?
Don’t you see that every time you get close to her, she gets more agitated? If you know what’s good for
her, then you will sign this agreement.” David’s face fell.
“I know I’m not good enough, but I’m trying. You have to give me time,” Edwin argued.
“You might have all the time in the world, but my daughter doesn’t.” David dropped the polite act. “Do you
want to drag my daughter down with you your whole life?”
“I won’t. It won’t take too long. I am—”
“Enough,” David interrupted. “You have six months. If you can’t make something of yourself by then,
you’re signing the papers whether you like it or not.”
“Alright. I’ll make something of myself in six months,” he promised.
David didn’t think it would work. He waved Edwin off, kept the agreement, and went upstairs.
Celina was in her room upstaris, watching her tablet and stuffing her mouth full of snacks. She kept
changing between variety shows to vent her anger, then a notification caught her attention. ‘The
mysterious yet popular star, Elise Sinclair, will be partnering up with Kenneth Bailey, the president of
Smith Co. Watch all of it and more tomorrow.’
Celina held her tablet and got up from her bed. When she saw that oh-so familiar face on the poster,
murder welled up in her eyes. She did this to me, and now she’s going to flirt with Kenneth on live
television? I can’t even step out of my own home, but why can she live such a glamorous life, and on
television?
And she’s wearing a mask? Probably because she’s afraid to let the audience know how ugly she is.
Fine. If that’s how you want to play, then I shall give you a nice present to complement the occasion.
…
Elise woke up late. There was only half an hour left before the livestreaming when Winona came to wake
her up. She washed herself up and went all the way to the set. While she was on the way, she texted
Alexander, ‘Not even the alarm could wake me up without you around.’
Alexander answered quickly, ‘If I’m around, you would be too tired to wake up.’
Elise blushed from the teasing.
“Talking to Mr. Griffith?” Winona huddled closer.
Elise kept her phone and shifted the topic. “It’s just school stuff. So what’s today’s itinerary?”
Winona opened her notebook and double checked with Elise. “Some usual flow in the beginning. Intros,
greeting the audience, the usual. Then the production assistant will hand you and Mr. Bailey a few
mission cards. You’ll take those cards to the barnyard and make lunch yourself. It’ll end once you finish
eating.”
“Easy enough,” Elise said.
They came to the set a while later, and everything went well. The equipment was set, the crew members
were in their positions, and Elise and Kenneth had arrived at the barnyard the production team prepared.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda