Two days later, after finishing up with the script on set, Nina Thorne bought a black coffee and returned to the shooting location, finally getting a call from Macy Lynch—a full two days late.
Macy Lynch sounded extrely guilty. "That night scared to death! I had no idea he was the one who would answer. He didn’t give you a hard ti afterward, did he?"
Hearing the worry in her friend’s voice, Nina Thorne chuckled softly. "No, he didn’t."
Macy was still not reassured. "Did he tell you to... stop seeing ? Did he say I’d be a bad influence and ruin your relationship?"
It was the first ti Nina had ever seen her friend so timid, which only proved how much she cared. A laugh escaped her lips. "He really scared you. This isn’t like you at all."
But Macy couldn’t be bothered with that.
"Just tell ! Did he or didn’t he?"
"He didn’t."
Hearing that, Macy finally let out a sigh of relief.
Nina Thorne glanced toward the shooting area. Everything was running as usual. She turned, walked over to the break area, and found a chair to sit in.
She thought about the "battle gear" Macy had sent her and said slyly, "He’s probably quite grateful to you."
"Grateful for what?" Macy asked, surprised. The sound of her drinking water could be heard on the other end.
Faintly, an intermittent clamor could be heard in the background.
’Sounds like she’s at an event, too.’
Nina sipped her coffee. "He saw the things you sent."
"Oh, right. And he heard you asking if he could ’rise to the occasion.’"
The other end of the line went silent for a few seconds.
"AHH!!"
Macy imdiately let out a devastated shriek, so embarrassed she wanted to die.
"Girl, the only reason I’m still breathing is because he’s got you as a hostage!"
"I thank Mr. Kane for his rcy! I thank my sister for her noble sacrifice to save my pathetic life!"
’She never would have guessed that Justin Kane knew everything.’
No wonder Justin Kane had said so ominously that night, ’It’s all thanks to you. Otherwise, our relationship wouldn’t have been so rocky...’
’I an, what kind of thing is that to say?’
’At that mont, Justin Kane probably wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her.’
Justin Kane was nothing like Cole Kane.
Compared to him, Cole was a complete amateur.
They weren’t even on the sa level.
The forr appeared elegant and composed but was actually ruthless. The latter was impulsive and brainless—all looks, no substance.
Nina didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Rembering Justin’s explanation from two days ago, she felt both pleased and content.
After reassuring Macy a little more, she hung up and got ready to head out.
A ssage from Seth Lawson popped up: "Nina, relax. I took care of that thing for you."
Nina had previously asked him for help with Misty Hughes’s situation.
A smile spread across her face as she read the ssage, and she quickly typed a reply.
"Thanks, Seth."
"Nothing to thank for. You taking my buddy Kane off my hands is the real favor here."
"Besides, this Misty Hughes’s script is good. She’s the real deal."
Nina was about to put her phone down.
But then a call ca in from Seth Lawson. "There’s sothing I need to ntion to you."
"What is it?"
"The reason Misty Hughes is having such a hard ti is that she’s been blacklisted," Seth said, dropping a bombshell.
Nina’s heart skipped a beat.
’No wonder Misty’s scripts were being rejected everywhere.’
She had a suspicion. "Who did it?"
"Zane Jarvis."
’So it was him.’
Misty really had offended Zane Jarvis that ti, and it was all because of her.
That Zane Jarvis had said plenty of nasty things to her in the past.
Among Cole Kane’s pack of scumbag friends, Zane was the most protective of Serena Kane and looked down on Nina the most.
He’d even put her down in front of Cole on several occasions.
Nina’s expression grew cold. "Thanks, Seth. I owe you one for this."
"Don’t ntion it. Just tell Kane to go a little easier on in the future. He’s always walking all over ," Seth sighed.
"?"
Nina was thoroughly taken aback by his choice of words.
Realizing how that sounded, Seth quickly corrected himself. "No, no, I an he’s always roasting , and I can never win an argunt with him."
"We’re both straight, we’re into won. Don’t get the wrong idea, Nina."
Nina chuckled. "I won’t."
After hanging up, she got ready to leave.
Just as she looked up, she saw a figure standing in the doorway.
The person was staring at her, looking completely at a loss.
It was Jessica Jenkins.
Though she was dressed in an exquisite and glamorous costu for the shoot, her eyes were filled with obvious guilt when they t Nina’s.
Nina coolly averted her gaze.
She started walking out without a second glance.
Jessica Jenkins watched her walk past and opened her mouth as if to speak, but seeing Nina’s cold indifference, she ultimately held her tongue.
Before leaving the set, Nina spoke with Director Aldridge about the scenes they would be shooting over the next two days.
A few parts needed adjustnts, but Nina considered them minor issues. She agreed to the changes and left the set.
As she walked out of the studio gates, she imdiately spotted Cole Kane leaning against a concrete pillar, smoking a cigarette.
Nina frowned and imdiately started to walk away.
She had hoped to leave unnoticed, but it was too late.
Cole Kane looked up and saw her. He hastily dropped his cigarette, stamped it out, and strode after her. "Nina, I’ve been waiting here for you for a long ti."
"I have to ask you sothing. Don’t go yet."
Before his hand could even touch Nina, she sidestepped him.
Nina looked at him coldly. She knew what he was going to ask before he even opened his mouth.
"You want to ask why Justin Kane was in my room, what our relationship is, why I’m doing this to you... Is that about right?"
Cole Kane was stunned for a mont. "Since you already know, then fine. Tell . What’s really going on between you two?"
"I recall Justin Kane already made things very clear to you," Nina said coolly.
Cole blocked her path, refusing to back down. "No. I want to hear it from you. What is your relationship?"
Even though he’d seen her and Justin acting intimately at the cetery.
He still believed Nina was only doing it to spite him, as so sort of revenge. He refused to believe they were actually married.
"Fine."
Nina looked him right in the eye, a calm, bright smile gracing her lips. "Then listen closely. I did marry Justin Kane. From now on, please stop coming to find ."
"And another thing. Don’t call Nina. Given my position in the family, you should be calling ’Sister-in-law.’"
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Cole was utterly shocked, his voice growing agitated. "Impossible. You’re lying to ."
"He already married soone else! He even posted the marriage certificate on his social dia feed..."
Nina cut him off coolly, her eyes glinting with cold mockery. "Has your brain been stuffed with cotton? He posted a marriage certificate, yes. Couldn’t the person he married be ?"
The blow hit Cole hard. He shook his head in disbelief. "No, impossible. You’re just trying to piss off."
"Justin Kane is in love with soone else! They even had a child together! She’s not just the eldest daughter of the Graham Family, she’s also a senior engineer with a brilliant career."
"And you? What are you? So what if you have the Thorne Family behind you? You’re just a good-for-nothing heiress who can’t do anything but write those crappy scripts!"
Cole held nothing back, tearing her down as if that was the only way to make her co to her senses.
To make her go back to being his humble little shadow, just like before.
Doing whatever he told her to do.
A chill washed over Nina’s heart.
She rembered when she first started writing scripts. She had sent him one and asked what he thought of it.
’What was it he’d said?’
"It’s a di-a-dozen story. What’s so great about it?"
"Besides, your parents died a long ti ago. How could you possibly write a good family drama?"
Those words had pierced Nina’s heart like needles.
Her parents were a line that should never be crossed.
She had flown into a rage and tried to break up with him.
In the end, he had shown up at her door a few days later to apologize, blaming it on drunken nonsense.
Oh, right.
The night Cole insulted her, he had been out drinking with Zane Jarvis and that pack of scumbag friends.
She later found out that Zane Jarvis had complained right to Cole’s face that, aside from her status as the Thorne Family heiress, she wasn’t even as good as a bar hostess.
The others had roared with laughter and joined in on the mockery.
And so, Cole had felt that she was an embarrassnt to him.
"But I did marry him. I did it to spite you. I am going to be your sister-in-law. What are you going to do about it?" Nina’s gaze turned icy as she stared at him.
She took a few steps closer and sneered. "The fact is, I don’t want you. I chose Justin Kane. I beca your sister-in-law."
Cole glared, his eyes bloodshot as if he’d been pushed past his limit. He roared,
"I will never believe a word you’re saying!"
"We’re supposed to be together! You only love ! You’ve loved for five years, how can you just stop loving all of a sudden!"
Nina’s gaze was placid as she coolly reiterated, "I just don’t."
She stared him straight in the eye and said, word by word, "Because... you... don’t... deserve it."
With that, Nina had no desire to argue further and turned to leave.
Cole tried to stop her again, grabbing her arm. "Nina—AGH!"
Nina suddenly spun around and drove her knee hard into his groin.
Instantly, Cole cried out in pain.
He clutched the injured spot, his face turning red with agony, completely immobilized.
Nina turned and walked away without hesitation.
She had to admit.
’That knee felt incredibly satisfying.’
She really didn’t love him anymore.
Not one bit.
It was just as Justin Kane had said: she was good enough on her own.
Her worth wasn’t defined by being the Thorne Family heiress, a star scriptwriter, or an unknown one.
It ca from being herself.
She didn’t need anyone else to define whether she was good or not.
Back at the hotel, Nina took a shower. Afterward, she noticed a ssage on her phone’s other operating system.
She leaned back on the sofa with her back to the door and read the ssage.
Mr. Locke: [Mr. Wagner’s people contacted . They said the system was sabotaged and needs to be repaired. Otherwise, all the cars they’ve already manufactured will have to be scrapped. The losses would be catastrophic...]
[The problem is, you’re the one who designed the system. I’ve studied it, and to guarantee a flawless repair, it has to be you.]
’The aning was clear: he couldn’t handle it himself.’
’It sounded like praise, but in reality, it was a prudent decision on his part.’
Nina frowned, hesitating for a mont.
TN: [I can send you the design principles and the developnt logs.]
Mr. Locke: [This is your brainchild. Are you sure you want to just hand it over to ?]
[Yes, I can fix it. But, kiddo, this involves our ntor’s legacy. If anything goes wrong, your credibility in the market will be shot.]
"..."
Nina’s eyelashes fluttered.
She typed ’Okay’ and closed the page.
She stood up and was startled to see a figure standing right behind her.
"When did you get back?" Nina asked, shocked.
’She must have been too lost in thought.’
She hadn’t even heard Justin Kane co in.
Justin Kane stood behind the sofa, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Just now."
"Then why didn’t I hear you co in?"
Nina knelt on the sofa and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his waist in an intimate gesture as she asked casually,
"Anyone who didn’t know better might think you were deliberately trying to read my ssages over my shoulder."
"Oh? And does Mrs. Kane have so secrets to hide?" An unusual glint appeared in Justin Kane’s deep eyes, his tone full of playful curiosity.
In truth, he had returned just before Nina had sent that last word.
In a quick glance, he’d seen that the interface on her phone screen looked anything but simple.
’And the person ssaging her was nad... Mr. Locke?’
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