Titan 179

Chapter 179

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Yolanda didn’t get a reply from lan, so she teased, her tone laid–back, “What, are you scared?”

Are you afraid of actually getting mixed up with me and having Charles come after you down the line? Yolanda mused to herself. ‘Honestly, in Charles‘ eyes, just us being together like this probably looks like we’re already a thing.

To him, it’s basically like we’ve already crossed the line, Yolanda thought.

“Yolanda, you don’t really know me,” Ian said, his tone suddenly turning distant.

They switched positions, and Yolanda ended up lying back on the lounge chair.

Ian lifted her legs onto his shoulders. “Let me clean you up,” he said.

Yolanda was about to ask how he planned to do that when, in the next second, he leaned down.

Before she could even react, Ian moved closer, making her breath catch for a moment.

Ten minutes later, Ian heard Yolanda’s quiet sobs and instantly stopped, wrapping her tightly in his arms and softly patting her back as if to shield her from the world.

“The more I try to clean, the messier you get. Seriously, Yolanda, are you made out of water or something?” Ian joked, unable to resist teasing her.

With his fingertip, he brushed away the tears at the corner of her eyes, his heart aching. “See? I haven’t even done anything, and you’re already fighting me off.”

Yolanda nestled in his arms, breathing heavily. Her forehead pressed to his shoulder, and she said nothing.

Ian had a clean, fresh scent–something she couldn’t quite describe, but it was strangely invigorating.

Yolanda closed her eyes for a few minutes to catch her breath. Then she pressed her lips together and said, “I’m leaving.”

“Mm–hmm,” Ian murmured.

He gently helped her up, straightened her out, then spun her around right there, admiring her like she was his masterpiece.

“It’s perfect,” he said with a satisfied grin.

Ian never held back when it came to compliments, and as he spoke, his eyes sparkled with genuine admiration.

Yolanda stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Ian looked genuinely stunned for a split second, then his whole face seemed to light up, like a flower bursting into bloom. “Wow, you actually kissed me? You don’t mind me at all today!”

Yolanda didn’t say a word. She just walked around him and left.

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Ian insisted on seeing her to the car. His fingertips brushed the corner of her lips before he handed her a tube of ointment. “Here, dab some on. If you show up like this again, I might just pretend not to care,” he teased.

Saying that, he went ahead and twisted the cap off, dabbing the ointment gently onto her lips himself.

The cool touch of the ointment was oddly comforting.

Standing outside the car window, Ian made sure he’d smoothed it on just right before pressing the tube back into her hand.

“You know, I’m only letting you off easy tonight because you gave me that matching necklace. Otherwise, I’d seriously be pissed,” Yolanda teased.

Ian always talked big about getting mad, but he never really did.

But if he ever truly lost it… that’d be scary as hell.

Yolanda understood that perfectly.

Yolanda reached up, caught hold of the chain around Ian’s neck, and tugged him closer. She placed a soft kiss on the pendant. “You know, I’ve got my name engraved on the back of your necklace–and yours is on mine.”

Ian dropped his gaze, meeting her eyes with surprise. “You actually engraved my name?”

“Yeah, just ‘Ian,” Yolanda said, her voice tender. “That’s my favorite part of your name.”

Ian didn’t say a word, just stood there, frozen.

Yolanda hadn’t realized that the single character she’d chosen for his necklace had struck a nerve. She gently nudged him away and said, “I’m heading out.”

Ian’s Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed hard, his voice hoarse and barely audible. “Yolanda… you always say things that just about kill me inside.”

Yolanda raised an eyebrow but said nothing, stepped on the gas, and sped away.

Ian stood outside for a good ten minutes, unmoving. Only then did he glance up at the villa across the street.

He turned and headed inside.

Yolanda drove to the hospital, and it wasn’t until she got to the hallway that she realized Ken Ford and Wayne Ford were actually here too. Now that was unexpected.

Those two can’t usually stand Mary Hall–so what on earth brought them over tonight, suddenly playing

nice?

Ken sneered, “We just happened to be here when she got pushed. Yolanda, Starlight’s in this mess because of you. Mary’s just caught in the crossfire.”

13:58 Thu, Oct 9

Chapter 179.

Yolanda’s expression turned icy, the warmth she’d shown with tan completely gone.

“What are you two doing here?” she asked, her voice sharp.

There was just something unsettling about Ken and Wayne–being around them put anyone on edge.

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Ken let out a cold chuckle. “We’re out of here. Take care of yourself, Yolanda–whatever happens next, that’s on you.”

Yolanda took a seat by the door, her eyes fixed on the glowing surgery light as doctors bustled in and out. Not able to stay calm, she hurriedly flagged down one of them to ask how things were going.

Once she was told it wasn’t that serious, Yolanda finally breathed easier and let herself wait outside in peace.

Two hours later, Mary Hall was brought out of surgery.

Her eyes were shut, and the nurse reminded Yolanda, “The anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet. Be sure to call her name every once in a while so she doesn’t sleep too deeply.“–

Yolanda nodded and settled into the chair beside the bed.

After Ken Ford left, he immediately ratted Yolanda out to Eric Long–not just sending her exact location, but spilling every single detail about her look: denim jeans, hair pulled into a low ponytail, a soft beige top, sitting in room 306 on the third floor. Nothing left out.

Eric Long had spent the whole night waiting for a call from Mark Long. He didn’t have the slightest intention of sleeping with a woman Mark had already been with, but he was damn curious–what kind of woman could have an old man like Mark hung up on her for all these years?

But Mark still hadn’t called.

So when Eric got a message from Ken Ford, he didn’t hesitate for a second–he jumped in his car and headed straight to the hospital.

From a distance, Eric caught sight of Yolanda in the hospital room–and for a moment, he was totally blown away by how gorgeous she was.

‘Damn, this one’s actually a knockout,’ Eric thought, his mind reeling.

He could feel his heart pounding, blood running hot all over.

Even though it was way past midnight, you could still spot the occasional nurse making rounds in the hallway.

Eric lingered in the distance, leaning back with a faint smirk. ‘That bitch won’t stay holed up in there forever. She’s bound to come out sooner or later,’ he thought.

Four hours passed, and by five in the morning, the anesthesia wore off. Mary slowly fluttered her eyes open under the dim hospital lights.

“Ms. Grant,” she whispered, her voice weak.

13:58 Thu, Oct 9

Yolanda finally let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you’re alright. This whole mess was on me—I’m so sorry you got caught up in it.”

Mary braced herself to sit up, but Yolanda caught her shoulders and held her gently down. “No rushing. Rest up, okay?”

Mary didn’t hold back–she just nodded, her face pale. “Sophie’s still running her livestream, and it’s causing chaos for the company. I’ve been checking the stock, and it keeps sinking… I’m really worried.”

“Ms. Hall, you’re supposed to be recovering right now. Don’t let yourself stress out over work–your health comes first, okay?” Yolanda said softly.

Mary bit her lip, eyes rimmed red. She’d always been the cool–headed powerhouse, never one to lose her composure—yet right now, she just felt gutted for Yolanda.

Yolanda had already gone above and beyond–those exploitative contracts weren’t her doing, and she’d even kicked out two executives who’d been squeezing the female talent. But here she was, shouldering all the backlash from the talent who’d gotten riled up.

Funny how everyone acts terrified of the real bad guys and lets them off easy, but turns around and blames the one person actually trying to fix things. This world really is a joke sometimes.

Mary closed her eyes and struggled to swallow. “Ms. Grant, I don’t know what kind of background you really have, but Starlight isn’t worth all that you’re suffering for it. Honestly, you should just walk away—this place doesn’t deserve you.”

Yolanda could guess that some of Starlight’s talent had honestly broken Mary’s heart.

“Ms. Hall, I mean, sure, some of these talents are just straight up dumb,” Yolanda told her, voice soft but real. “But if you scroll through the employee group chat, you’ll see that plenty of people are still rooting for us–we can’t just let a bunch of idiots ruin it for all the folks who actually care about us, right?”

Mary lay on the hospital bed, silent tears soaking into her hair.

Her throat was burning and sore. Ever since Starlight got hit hard, she’d barely slept a wink–totally exhausted, basically running on empty.

Yolanda took a deep breath. Mary might run the show at work like a true boss, but deep down, she was all heart–soft, loyal, and way more emotional than anyone realized.

“Just focus on getting better, okay? Don’t worry about Starlight–it’s not going anywhere. Right now, Sophie’s cashing in on everything I’ve built for myself, but give me a few days and I’ll make her cough it all up, every last bit, just the way she took it,” Yolanda said, her voice steady and unwavering.