Chapter 12
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Zack didn’t take the bait. He only picked up his glass after watching Yolanda finish three bottles without even flinching.
“Alright, I’ll cut to the chase,” he said. “Ian can take the supporting role.”
“Thanks,” Yolanda said softly, then grabbed her bag. “I’ll have someone come by tomorrow to sign the contract.”
With that, she pushed the door open, steadying herself against the wall as she staggered out.
Her stomach was in knots, and it was all she could do to keep herself from collapsing.
Just as she was about to leave, she unexpectedly ran into Sophie again.
But Sophie didn’t notice Yolanda. The slap mark on her cheek had already been covered with foundation, and right now she was bragging to her friend.
“Charles is spoiling me more and more. I said I wanted to go have drinks with Sean later, but he wouldn’t let me. He even said he’d make that bitch who hit me today apologize in person.” She let out a smug little laugh.
Her friend said, “Good thing you don’t have to go. Those directors and producers are all pervs. Sometimes when they put their hands on my waist, I don’t even dare push them off.
“Mr. Sinclair really does love you. I just wonder when he’s gonna get divorced. But since he’s already doing this much for you, I’d say it won’t be long.”
Sophie said, “Yeah, it’s close. Last night, while he was leaving hickeys on me, he kept complaining his wife was boring and wouldn’t let
him mark her.
“I don’t get why that woman even bothers pretending. She can’t even keep her man now. Serves her right.”
Her friend reminded her, “Sophie, I heard Charles’s wife comes from some really powerful family. You better be careful and not go too
far.”
Sophie rolled her eyes, clearly ignoring the warning. Her head was full of nothing but how to make Yolanda pay.
She was hell–bent on tossing Yolanda to a bunch of sleazy directors and letting them have their way with her.
Yolanda stood there, her stomach churning even worse. She pushed open the bathroom door and leaned over the sink, throwing up.
She looked at the lifeless woman in the mirror, her eyes rimmed red. She looked a complete mess.
She quickly turned on the faucet and splashed her face hard with cold water.
But the burning in her stomach didn’t go away. She threw up three more times before she finally felt a little better.
The women in the Grant family were never good drinkers. They were raised to be housewives, not the kind who went out drinking with business partners.
The three bottles had been strong. They burned all the way down Yolanda’s throat into her stomach, making her miserable.
She reeked of alcohol. There was no way she could go home like this.
Yolanda lowered her lashes, holding her stomach. Suddenly, in the mirror, she saw a familiar face. Ian.
She quickly pulled her hand away from her stomach, bent down, and splashed her face again before turning to him, her expression
calm.
“I got you the supporting role,” she said.
Ian stood there with his cap on, not moving. He wanted to reach out and steady her, but his hand froze midair. She’d told him before she hated being touched.
He lowered his eyes and said hoarsely, “You don’t have to do this.”
The bathroom had harsh overhead lighting, but even that couldn’t hide how pretty Yolanda looked. Her eyes were wet, and when she smiled, it was alive and bright.
“I told you, I’ll look after you,” she said. “lan, you deserve this. You’ve got talent, I’ve got the means. We’re going to make it.”
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His Adam’s apple bobbed. At last, he let his hand fall forward, taking her arm to steady her. “That’s right.”
Yolanda had always kept her distance from men other than Charles. She tried hard not to lean on Ian.
But the liquor hit her harder and her vision blurred. By the time they were leaving the bar, she nearly stumbled to the ground.
Across the street stood a luxury hotel. Max had just pulled up outside and stepped out of his car.
He was here to meet a business partner. But when he looked up, he saw a tall man with a great build walking a woman out of the bar.
Max froze. He knew the woman right away–it was Yolanda. He’d known her for years through Charles’s circle.
He frowned, pulled out his phone, and called Charles. “Charles, I think I just saw Yolanda. She’s with some guy, and they looked pretty
close.”
Charles was already back at the office. His fingers paused over the keyboard when he heard that. “You must’ve seen wrong.”
Max thought about it and nodded to himself. That made sense. The Grant family was strict, and Yolanda wasn’t the type to fool around with strangers.
Even after all these years of marriage, whenever she came to pick Charles up, she never even let the waiters get close. Everyone used to joke about how far she’d go for Charles.
Max chuckled. “Maybe I did. If Yolanda was really the type to do that, you wouldn’t have been cheating on her for two whole years.”
Charles stared at the phone after the call ended, frowning as a thought crossed his mind.
Yolanda felt her stomach twisting, her head aching.
When she got in the car, she stumbled and banged her nose right into Ian’s chest, the pain stinging all the way to her eyes.
Ian settled her into the passenger seat and adjusted it to a more comfortable angle.
Her cheeks were flushed as she reminded him, “Remember to go to Starlight tomorrow morning and sign that contract with Mr. White.”
“Got it. But first, I’m taking you to get your stomach pumped,” Ian said.
She shut her eyes, sweat breaking out all over from the pain. “Sorry to trouble you.”
At the hospital, after the procedure, Yolanda’s face turned ghostly pale. She leaned back against the bed, drained of all color.
The doctor gave her a stern warning. “Next time, don’t drink so much. If it leads to a perforated stomach, the pain will be a whole lot
worse.”
She forced a smile. “Thanks.”
The doctor sighed, thinking she must’ve been drinking that hard because of a fight with her husband.
Sitting on the bed, Yolanda caught the strong reek of alcohol clinging to her. She quickly wired money to Megan, telling her to bring fresh clothes.
There was no way she could go home reeking of booze again. Charles might not care, but the maids would gossip.
If the Grant family caught on that she’d come home smelling like liquor two nights in a row, she’d be in serious trouble.
Megan arrived with the clothes and, seeing how pale Yolanda looked, quickly guessed what had gone down.
“Charles is just shameless,” Megan snapped. “He gives his mistress a top–tier endorsement, but you–just for trying to get your actor a supporting role–you have to drink yourself half to death.
“You two have known each other fifteen years. How can he be this heartless?”
Yolanda didn’t want to get into it with lan sitting right there. She cleared her throat. “Megan, that’s enough.”
Megan took a deep breath, biting down hard. “Fine, I’ll shut up. But if you ever go soft on Charles again, I swear I’m cutting ties with you.
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“You’re a rich girl for God’s sake. Cooking for him every day, doing everything around the house–if he had even a shred of conscience, he’d never let you be treated this way.”
Yolanda rubbed her temples, her voice faint. “Stop.”
