Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Tell Me Where She Is
Always one to listen to her sister, Lily Sterling immediately understood.
"I get it, Sis. I’m not upset anymore, just a little hurt."
Hearing this, Cecilia Sterling smiled. "Since you like this industry, you need to be prepared for anything. Don’t cry so easily. The entertainment world is constantly changing. One second, you might not have even wiped away your tears of frustration, and the next, a better role could come looking for you."
Lily Sterling smiled and nodded. Beside her, Nina Zimmer added, "Your sister is right. Besides, our professor said in our very first class, ’There are no small roles, only small actors.’ Lily, you’re so beautiful, you’ll definitely be remembered even if you’re just playing a background character."
"Exactly."
Her roommates nodded in agreement.
Having such supportive roommates with her sister put Cecilia Sterling’s mind at ease, even if she couldn’t be there herself.
The next day, however, Suzanne Sawyer deliberately sat near Lily Sterling in the cafeteria to show off.
"Isolde, you’re incredible! You quietly landed such an ’important’ role."
"Totally. ’Jade’ had the most screen time out of all the roles at the audition, right?"
"In the original novel, that character has the most scenes of all the maids. She’s not written out until late in the story."
Several classmates from Class 8 crowded around Suzanne Sawyer, showering her with compliments. Everyone knew privately that her father had invested money in the production.
Her family was influential, so she was bound to be the first among her peers to make a name for herself. So, even though they all knew she only got the part because her family paid for it, they still wanted to get on her good side.
Suzanne Sawyer glanced at Lily Sterling, her voice full of unconcealed smugness. "I guess the director just felt I had more potential. In any case, it doesn’t matter to me who I play. I’m fine with whatever."
After speaking, she even gave a small, innocent nod, as if to affirm her own words.
Lily Sterling and her friends were sitting at the next table and naturally heard all of this. Hannah Warner rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "She paid her way into the cast and still wants to show it off to the world. Shameless."
"Seriously," Anna Sanders said with a pout, placing a pork rib on Lily Sterling’s tray. "Lily, just ignore her. People like that are just bad news for anyone who gets near them."
If it weren’t for her sister’s words yesterday, Lily Sterling would surely still be stewing in her own misery.
But after listening to her sister’s analysis yesterday, she had given it some thought. Playing a villain in her debut work as a newcomer wasn’t exactly a good move. Moreover, the character "Jade" was treacherous and ungrateful—a truly vile and ugly persona. She had only performed a short scene for the audition; if she had really joined the production, she might not have been able to fully immerse herself in such a malicious role.
Getting replaced might not have been a bad thing after all.
Seeing that her expression was back to normal, her friends exchanged a glance, knowing she truly wasn’t bothered anymore. Nina Zimmer smiled and said, "Her sister’s advice really works."
That evening, Cecilia Sterling was in her dorm, pulling out all the designer clothes she had recently bought. She figured she should wear something more formal to the cocktail party.
But after trying them all on, she realized that while she had bought a pile of designer clothes, not a single piece was suitable for a cocktail party. After all, she had never imagined she would be invited to an investors’ reception.
"I have a Dolce & Gabbana dress. It’s new. Why don’t you try it on?" Estelle Goodman suggested, leaning against the nearby bed frame as she watched Cecilia Sterling.
Cecilia Sterling glanced up and down at Estelle Goodman’s slender, supermodel-like figure, a troubled look on her face. "I don’t think I can fit into your dress, can I?"
"I bought a looser style. You should be able to wear it."
As she spoke, Estelle Goodman pulled out her suitcase and began to rummage through it. A moment later, she yanked a dress in a garment bag out from the very bottom.
Cecilia Sterling tried it on and, to her surprise, it was a perfect fit.
At the very least, it looked far more suitable than any of her own clothes.
Estelle Goodman patted a chair. "Sit down. I’ll give you some big waves."
Cecilia Sterling looked at the curling iron in Estelle Goodman’s hand and subconsciously touched her own right forearm. Forcing down the discomfort rising within her, she shook her head. "No, it’s okay. I don’t like curly hair."
Estelle Goodman didn’t notice anything amiss and just nodded. "You’re so pretty, you look good in anything."
At seven o’clock that evening, Cecilia Sterling arrived at Apex Starlight Tower as scheduled.
"Miss Sterling, right on time."
James Lockwood had rushed out to greet her the moment he received the message. Even though Cecilia Sterling was wearing a borrowed dress and hadn’t specially styled her hair, James Lockwood couldn’t hide the look of stunned admiration in his eyes.
It was a casual yet understated beauty.
He extended his arm like a gentleman, and Cecilia Sterling gracefully took it. It was just social etiquette between men and women at a high-society reception, nothing to be shy about.
But unbeknownst to them, the moment they disappeared into the banquet hall, their figures, looking for all the world like a couple, were captured by the click of a shutter.
"Beatrice, what are you taking a picture of? Do you know them?"
Down the hall, Beatrice Lynn let out a smug scoff. "Hmph. That girl was Cecilia Sterling, the one I told you about who seduced Shawn Lane. I asked around—the rumor at school is that she dumped him completely out of the blue. A situation like that has to be fishy. Shawn Lane must have suspected she’d already lined up her next guy. I can’t believe I actually caught her red-handed today."
With that, she sent the photo to Shawn Lane.
"Shawn Lane, are you really still hung up on a woman like this?"
Shawn Lane had waited outside the west campus women’s dorm for three days without seeing Cecilia Sterling. He happened to go home today, only to receive a photo like this.
In the photo, Cecilia Sterling was wearing a black dress that exposed nearly half of her fair back. The contrast with the black fabric created a powerful visual impact. It was a wild, uninhibited beauty that, to Shawn Lane, was a jarring sight.
’She’d always been so conservative. He had begged her to wear black stockings just once, and she’d refused. But now she was dressing this seductively for another man?’
"Where is this?"
Shawn Lane’s fingers trembled uncontrollably as he typed. His eyes were fixed on the photo, looking as if they could shoot fire.
At the dinner table, Mr. and Mrs. Lane noticed their son’s strange behavior and instinctively exchanged a look.
Mrs. Lane asked with concern, "Son, what’s wrong?"
Clutching his phone, Shawn Lane seemed not to have heard his mother at all.
Meanwhile, Beatrice Lynn didn’t reply immediately after receiving Shawn Lane’s message. She knew he must be absolutely furious right now.
’But it wasn’t enough. She wanted to make Shawn Lane agitated, even violent. Once his anger reached its peak, she would make sure that Cecilia Sterling paid the price!’
Just as Mrs. Lane, still worried, was about to approach him, Shawn Lane, who had been waiting impatiently for a reply, suddenly grabbed the wine glass in front of him and smashed it to smithereens!
"AH—"
Mrs. Lane cried out in alarm. Only then did Mr. Lane speak, scolding, "Shawn! What the hell has gotten into you?"
"Mom, Dad, I’m sorry." Shawn Lane took a deep, forceful breath, struggling to suppress the rage surging in his chest. He sent another message to Beatrice Lynn, demanding, "Tell me where she is right now, or don’t ever show your face in front of me again."
Looking at the message, Beatrice Lynn’s lips curled into a triumphant smile. She could feel Shawn Lane’s fury even through the screen.
She replied unhurriedly: "Apex Starlight Tower, top floor, V8 Banquet Hall."
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