Titan 194

(90)

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Charles picked up Joelle at six in the evening. Evercrest Manor was a bit of a drive from Moonbay Estate, and he figured he’d be home around midnight. So, right in front of Joelle, he called Yolanda.

Yolanda was still keeping an eye on the online buzz. She didn’t even need to answer his call to know where he was–Joelle had already posted about it on Twitter.

Charles’s expression softened as he thought about what Joelle had worn out today, his chest growing warm at the memory.

“Are you home? I’ll be working late tonight and should be back around twelve,” he said.

Yolanda gave a half–hearted “mm” in response, her attention focused on her computer as she chatted with Jason.

Jason was in charge of Sophie’s case right now, and with all the online drama blowing up, they had to calm things down ASAP–or else, even if Starlight tried to fix things later, they’d still get shut down for good.

‘Charles couldn’t help but feel uneasy–her voice was so calm, it almost sounded distant!

‘Come to think of it, Yolanda hadn’t called to ask where he was or what he was doing in forever.

‘He used to just give her half–hearted answers, but at least he’d picked up when she called.

‘Now he was the one making the effort, but she couldn’t care less.

Before Charles could get another word out, Yolanda ended the call on her end.

Joelle caught the look on his face and slowly tightened her hand by her side. “Charles, I’ve always wanted to ask… did I wait too long to come back?”

‘He only married Yolanda out of frustration with me, but now, watching him call her, I can’t help but think he still cares about her–otherwise, why bother checking in?‘ Joelle thought to herself.

Charles kept his eyes on the window, his voice gentle. “Why do you think that?”

Joelle bit her lip and let out a quiet sigh. “Just a hunch. Right now, I need to put my career first. As for us… let’s talk about it another time.”

Joelle reached for her wrist, tracing the noticeably visible scars there.

After that incident with Andrew, she faked having some serious psychological issues–and she’d carefully laid the groundwork for her trip abroad with that act.

Charles was the one she wanted, but he was always messing around; Andrew wasn’t the CEO of Sinclair Group, and Quentin didn’t quite measure up. So, Joelle took a sum of money from May and decided to try

her luck overseas.

Charles noticed those faint scars on Joelle’s wrist, and a dull ache hit his chest.

10:59 Mon, Oct 20

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Back at the welcome party, the director claimed Joelle just got a little too into her role, but Charles knew better–ever since then, her mind had never really been okay.

Still, she always acted upbeat, no matter if she was hustling for her career or dealing with people.

At least, that’s the impression she gave. As for what she was truly thinking, Charles honestly didn’t have the time or the heart to dig into a woman’s mind.

The car pulled up at the entrance of Evercrest Manor, and as Charles got out, he ran into Simone.

Next to her was Ian, and the two were deep in a conversation about acting.

Joelle had met Ian before, so she greeted him politely, “Junior Ian.”

“Junior Ian.”

“Senior Joelle,” Ian replied, giving her a respectful nod.

They exchanged nods, acknowledging each other.

Simone’s gaze settled on Joelle, then on Charles–who’d brought her along. Simone smirked. “Charles, did you forget you’re married?”

Charles rubbed his temples. “I just happened to be passing by.”

“Oh, really? So you just conveniently dropped by and ended up here?” Simone shot back, voice flat. “We booked the whole place tonight–I didn’t hear anything about anyone else coming.”

Simone didn’t bother to hide her contempt. “I thought Yolanda was finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, but looks like you haven’t changed one bit.”

No matter what it was, if Joelle was involved, Charles always put her above everything else.

Simone wasn’t your average woman–in the entertainment industry, she could sniff out tricks from a mile away. Years ago, Joelle kept a bunch of guys dangling, never saying yes, never saying no, just acting all pitiful with red eyes and bitten lips when pressed. That “poor me” routine had every dude thinking they were special, falling harder and harder until they were totally hooked.

If Charles was bad news, then Joelle was every bit as much of a player.

The difference was, Charles had the luxury of being a player, backed by his own strength and the Sinclair family name, Joelle, though, grabbed every opportunity she could, all while pretending to be some pure little angel who was above it all.

Simone was seriously annoyed, but she wasn’t about to stoop to arguing with Joelle–it wasn’t worth her dignity as the older one. Shooting Ian a look, she said, “I’m heading inside. The air out here is just unpleasant.”

With that, she sped up and strode away.

Joelle flushed in embarrassment, nearly lost her balance, and her bag tumbled from her hand to the ground.

10:59 Mon, Oct 20

Ian bent down, scooped it up, and gave it back to her.

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Joelle’s eyes suddenly sparkled. ‘Bet Ian’s got a soft spot for me. That’s just what I need–if I play it right, I can use him to mess with Charles a little,‘ she thought, plotting.

Guys can’t stand it when another man grabs the spotlight–Charles was no different.

She took the bag, softening her voice. “Thanks, Ian. So how do you feel now that the directors chose you to be the leading man this time?”

“Working with a senior like you, Joelle, honestly makes me nervous. Your acting is next level–you’re so deep in your roles, sometimes I wonder if you ever stop acting, even off–camera. You’re seriously devoted,” Ian said.

Joelle’s first reaction was that his words sounded a bit strange, but as she mulled it over, she realized he probably didn’t mean anything by it.

‘Maybe I’m just reading too much into it,‘ Joelle thought to herself.

Joelle flashed a gentle smile, putting on her classic big sister act. “Relax, I’ll make sure to look after you and show you

the ropes.”

Then, her eyes drifted down and landed on the necklace Ian was wearing.

“Hey Ian, isn’t that necklace one of those couple sets? You can’t buy them solo, right? So… do you secretly have a girlfriend?” she teased, eyebrow raised.

Joelle remembered overhearing the directors say Ian’s popularity was skyrocketing and his acting was superb. Getting involved with someone now would be totally reckless–he’d be crazy to get a girlfriend at a time like

this.

Charles’s gaze followed Joelle’s, and for a second, his eyes narrowed–something about that necklace triggered a flash of suspicion in him.

He squinted, realizing the piece looked oddly familiar, like he’d seen it not too long ago.

Then it clicked–just a couple weeks back, he’d thought about getting that exact style, but Yolanda, bless her oblivious heart, totally missed his not–so–subtle clue. ‘Sometimes, that girl is just hopeless,‘ Charles thought, resigned.

Ian looked as cool and distant as ever, even with people around. “She’s not my girlfriend—at least, not yet. We’re just talking. I honestly have no idea if she’s even interested.”

Joelle felt her cheeks heat up. ‘Wait… is he talking about me?‘

She’d had tons of guys chasing after her before, but lan was a whole different breed. No one like him had ever tried for her.

His vibe was something else–completely unique, and it definitely caught her attention.

As they chatted, they made their way inside, where a bunch of directors were already chilling on the sofas in the lobby.

10:59 Mon, Oct 20

Charles had only tagged along with Joelle, and he couldn’t care less about the script details.

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So, he headed back to his car to catch up on some work, figuring he’d just wait until everything wrapped up and then drive Joelle home.

No wonder so many women liked him–when Charles wanted to pamper someone, he could be incredibly thoughtful and gentle.

While the directors were deep in conversation, Joelle sat down next to Ian. She pretended to reach for a cup on the coffee table, her body leaning in close for a moment.

Her scent drifted over, catching Ian by surprise; his eyes grew wary as he instinctively shifted further to the right.

Joelle picked up a glass of water and smiled politely, “Could you send me the link for that necklace? I’d like to buy one as a gift–the style is pretty unique.”

Ian glanced down, pulled up his WhatsApp chat with Yolanda, and asked her for the necklace link.

“Senior Joelle, I’ll drop it in the group,” Ian said coolly.

They were both in the same WhatsApp group as all the directors. Normally, Ian should’ve just added Joelle as a direct contact, but instead, he kept his distance and shot the link straight into the group chat.

Oscar overheard their banter and let out a laugh.

“Man, Ian, you’re so clueless. Do you have any idea how many people are out there trying to get Joelle’s WhatsApp?” Oscar joked.

Oscar was the one who brought Ian to Joelle’s kick–off party last time–that’s where the whole ‘senior‘ and ‘junior‘ nickname thing got started.

The other directors joined in, egging him on.

“You can tell–still untouched by all the industry drama. Guys like you are just different,” one said with a grin.

“Ian, you can’t even look Joelle in the eye! She must really be that pretty, huh?” another teased.

Joelle laughed along, “Ian really is something else–way more genuine than most of the actors around.”

Looking confident and unbothered, Joelle scrolled through the group chat, found the link, and bought the couple’s necklace without a second thought.

This necklace only came as a pair–no singles–a high–end luxury set, running over two million RMB for both pieces.

Her plan? Give the men’s necklace to Charles and wear the women’s version herself.

‘Wonder what Yolanda’s face would look like once she saw her husband rocking a matching couple’s necklace -with someone who wasn’t her, Joelle mused to herself, smirking inside.