Chapter 45: Filler
"Valerie, you truly surprise me," she said sincerely. "I am looking forward to seeing you on that cover. I feel very sorry for the number of times I misjudged you."
"It is fine," I told her, and I meant it. I knew how people in this business operated. Offending them rarely paid off. Winning them over almost always did. "I hope our cooperation goes smoothly."
As the meeting wrapped up and everyone filed out, Iris and the others looked at me with cold, cutting eyes before they left. The gap between the Brooks Family and me had now widened into something that could not be repaired. That was fine. If I had been afraid of consequences, I would never have spoken at all today.
Iris stopped just as we were leaving the Secret building and turned to deliver her parting words. "I do not know whether you are very clever or very foolish. Whatever fame you once had is behind you now, Valerie. You have gone up against your own company for a handful of small benefits, and you have no powerful backing to protect you. Enjoy whatever happiness this brings you, because it will not last."
"You do not need to concern yourself with that," I replied without missing a beat.
Behind me, Nicole pressed her lips together and let out a quiet, knowing laugh. I had Caspian. Even stripped of everything else, I was still the wife of Hairuit Entertainment’s CEO. The day that truth came to light, every single one of them would be left completely speechless.
Liam pulled Amara into his arms and looked at me with cold, hateful eyes as I turned to leave. "Valerie, I still remembered all the good times we once shared, but after today, all I feel towards you is disgust," he said, his voice sharp and deliberate.
Amara was quietly thrilled. This was the first time Liam had openly and seriously declared his hatred toward me, and to her, it meant one thing. No matter what happened from this point forward, there was no path back for us. In her mind, this was the final blow that would break me completely.
But I simply laughed as I walked away. "I thought you would have sensed my disgust toward you a long time ago," I said without stopping or looking back.
Nicole and Quinn both burst out laughing at that. The three of us climbed into the car and drove away without a single glance behind us.
"Ahhhh!" Nicole let out a loud, satisfied shout the moment the doors closed. "Today was so refreshing! Tonight we are drinking champagne, I am not negotiating on that. Just thinking about Iris’s face back there, I wish I had taken a photo so she could see how ugly she looked."
Quinn turned around from the front passenger seat and looked at me with a curious expression. "Was it all part of your plan from the beginning? Getting them to agree to let you have a say in your own work?"
"If I had not done that, they would have kept using me to elevate themselves until Amara no longer needed the boost," I said honestly. "I had to secure that right before anything else." I looked down at the supplementary contract Liam had written up and began reading through it carefully. There were quite a few legal terms I did not fully understand. Caspian would need to go through this properly.
"Does that mean you are planning to bring Amara down?" Quinn asked, unaware yet of Amara’s pregnancy.
"The time is not right yet," I said simply.
Quinn looked at me for a moment and then let it go. She understood that if I had something to share, I would say it when I was ready. For now, the best thing she could do was keep earning my trust, and she knew it. Nicole, meanwhile, was already moving on with her excitement.
"Amara actually thinks she can compete with you. Valerie, turn her into your backdrop!"
There was no use getting too far ahead of ourselves, though. The Secret photo shoot was what mattered right now, and everyone was waiting to see how it would unfold.
When we got back to the manor, Caspian had not yet returned. The three of us settled onto the rug in the living room with glasses of red wine, unwinding from the day. Nicole groaned and leaned back dramatically. "Valerie, please cook something for us. I cannot take another meal of American fast food."
"I do not want to do anything right now," I said, slumping lazily against the sofa.
"We still have an entire week of steak, chips and hamburgers ahead of us..."
"Ask my husband to cook," I said with a small smile. "Though I doubt he will make enough for the two of you."
Nicole snapped upright. "Wait, Big Boss can cook?" She grabbed my arm like she had just uncovered the secret of the century. "Are you serious right now?"
"He is actually quite good," I told her.
"Valerie. Valerie, please, let our mouths have the honor of tasting his cooking," Nicole pressed her palms together with exaggerated sincerity, her eyes wide and pleading. "Just one small bite. One bite is all I ask."
"That should not be too difficult." Caspian’s voice came from behind us. I looked up, and there he was, standing in the light coming through the window, his face as quietly handsome as ever. "To celebrate Valerie getting back what was always hers, I will cook tonight." He paused, letting his gaze move briefly over Nicole and Quinn. "But let me be clear. If anyone asks Valerie to go into the kitchen again after this, I will not be so pleasant about it."
Nicole did not dare say a word out loud, but I could practically hear her thinking it. Was Big Boss not being just a little overprotective? I laughed softly to myself. Caspian’s thoughtfulness wrapped around me like warmth on a cold day, and I did not mind it one bit.
