The car fell into a heavy silence, as Liesel and Jacob were the only ones left inside.Liesel closed her eyes, seemingly not intending to say anything.After a moment, she settled into the driver's seat and started the car.This was Jacob's new vehicle, a sleek black Maybach. He had replaced the blue Cayenne she had gifted him.Throughout the ride, neither of them spoke. The car continued on until they arrived at Ford Manor."Liesel," Jacob called out just as she was about to step out of the car. "What's your relationship with Xavier?"Liesel paused for a moment, then a faint smile played at the corners of her lips. "My relationship with Xavier doesn't seem to concern you, Mr. Ford. You should focus only on your girlfriend."As Liesel got out, Jacob didn't press the matter about Xavier any further and merely suggested, "Since you're here, why don't you come inside?"Liesel found his remark somewhat amusing.She opened the car door, intending to call for a ride. Just then, she
Jacob watched Liesel hurry away, and his gaze darkened.Once she was gone, Vincent immediately set down his utensils. His voice was laced with clear disapproval."Lili doesn't like eggplant. Didn't you know that?"This was news to Jacob. He had only learned this right at that moment."Lili knows everything you like. Look at how she serves you food and peels shrimp for you. Everything she puts on your plate is something you enjoy. She even dipped the peeled shrimp in your favorite sauce."But you? You only served her that one dish, and it happened to be the eggplant she can't stand. Lili has always hated braised eggplant."This was completely unexpected for Jacob.His gaze flickered. After a moment, he stood up. His expression was decidedly grim.When he returned to the room, he found Liesel in the midst of retching.He sat silently on the couch. The moment she emerged from the bathroom, he noticed her pale complexion and red eyes.She was clearly feeling sick.Jacob's gaze w
Liesel continued, "Grandpa looks strong, but his heart's been weak for a long time. He's so smart. If he realized what was really going on between us, how would we handle it? Watch as he has a heart attack and lands in the hospital?"Grandpa cares about me so much. I can't let that happen. So when it comes to things like this, I'd rather put myself through a bit of discomfort."Suddenly, she smiled wryly. "Aren't you keeping Natalie in the shadows because of this?"Out of concern that Vincent might be upset, Jacob hadn't dared to tell him about their divorce.So here he was, bringing Liesel home to keep up appearances, leaving Natalie unacknowledged and without any real title.Jacob fell silent.The name Natalie rang sharply in his ears, more unsettling than ever."I'm sorry. A lot of this is on me," he murmured.He spoke gently, but his words barely registered with Liesel.There was no future between them, so Liesel wasn't looking for any feeble excuses to justify anything an
Elijah spoke bluntly. "Jacob, you're already divorced. Why are you still trying to get Liesel to go to Ford Manor with you? Just to please Mr. Ford Senior and put on a show?"You're really possessive. You don't want her, but you don't let anyone else pursue her! Don't go too far!"He straightforwardly let Jacob know he was pursuing Liesel.Elijah was serious about Liesel. He was showering her with flowers and diamonds. Since he was rich, he had the time in the world to spend with Liesel. He was plotting his way into her life step by step.Liesel's expression darkened. She hadn't anticipated things would escalate to this point.Before she could hang up, Jacob snatched the phone from her hand. "Elijah, Liesel hasn't hit rock bottom to the point where she needs to consider you as her next partner. You aren't worthy of being her suitor."Jacob's voice was cold. His words were clearly mocking Elijah's reckless past behavior.Elijah scoffed. "No matter what, I'm still a hundred times
The past would remain in the past. Liesel already knew that Jacob was just Jacob and not her husband anymore.In response to that, Elijah cocked an eyebrow. There was a smile on his lips. It was as if he was gloating at their misery.Jacob's gaze remained detached. It merely dimmed a little when he heard Liesel say that they were in the past. However, he knew that she wasn't wrong. Ever since the day they got divorced, they were indeed in the past.Liesel was destined to start a new life with a new person of her choice."Hearing you say that, I feel much more relieved," Elijah said with amusement evident in his voice."Mr. Ford, you also heard her. You and Liesel are completely in the past now, do you understand? I also hope you will stop getting in between us," he continued. It sounded like he was trying to intentionally provoke Jacob.Jacob's gaze didn't falter, but he gave Liesel a quick glance.Liesel looked down at the injury on her palm. "Elijah, there's nothing between
In other words, the news had to be about the Sharp family.As soon as the word got out, the public dug up most of the incidents related to the Sharp family. A few children of wealthy families who had too much time on their hands even spoke up, mostly talking about how fake Jeffrey could be.Liesel counted several minutes in her head, and sure enough, Jeffrey called. She silently declined the call, put on her jacket, and left the room.Coincidentally, as soon as she left the room, Jeffrey called her again. The first thing he did was scream at her. "Were you behind what happened today? After working at Ford Corporation for so long, you must have a wide network. I'm certain that you're purposely trying to tear the Sharp family down! You little bastard, you're just like your worthless mother. You want to suck the Sharp family dry!"Liesel knew very well that the Sharp family only managed to reach where they were today because they'd drained her mother, Heather. She merely grunted coo
Liesel hated having Sharp family blood. Jeffrey and Natalie were shameless, despicable people, but ultimately, it was still the Sharp family blood that flowed through her veins.If she could survive despite having all her blood drained, she was willing to pay any price to replace all the blood in her body. That was better than gagging every time she thought about the dirty, lowly blood in her system.She didn't think there was anything wrong with her. It was the Sharp family that was problematic, so what did it have to do with her? Still, she felt that the Sharps were truly disgusting. If she wanted to sever their ties, then she'd really have to be ruthless about it. However, she wasn't an idiot. She wouldn't actually hurt herself just to cut ties with them. To her, the Sharp family was not worth her hurting herself just to break off this already weak relationship.It was the first time Jeffrey had ever heard Liesel scream at him hysterically. It left him stunned for a moment, b
Liesel lowered her voice. "If I continue to attack Sharp Group, do you think the company's stocks will continue to plummet? How many people do you think will sell their shares? The other families would also take this chance to attack Sharp Group or even acquire the company by force. "If that happened, would the company still belong to you? Perhaps, to be even more cruel, they could bankrupt Sharp Group outright."Naturally, Jeffrey believed her. She was indeed capable of destroying the entirety of Sharp Group. If this matter continued to fester, Sharp Group would really be destroyed in his hands.Still, 80 million dollars was not a small sum. Sharp Group wasn't that large of an enterprise, so how could he have that much money on hand?With a red face, he said with embarrassment, "I really don't have cash on hand. Why don't you give me some more time? I will definitely give you the money in two years."Liesel laughed coolly. "In two years? Would Sharp Group even be around in two y
While Ophelia had been quite harsh, her eyes turned red as soon as she spun on her heel. She had been Yvonne's fan for so many years and idolized her. It wasn't easy for Ophelia to simply dislike her right away.But Ophelia knew that she would really be a fool if she continued looking up to Yvonne. The snippet of the exchange ended there. After that, Ophelia and the others left the backstage area with reddened eyes. It was crowded outside the performance venue. Many held red LED boards, and some even held Chelsea's fan merchandise. One glance at them told Ophelia that they were Chelsians.While it seemed crowded, everyone was actually standing in two lines in an orderly fashion. Chelsea cheerfully handed out small gift bags to her fans. Afraid that Chelsea might exhaust herself, some fans took the initiative to help her hand out the bags. Others obediently distributed hot bubble tea Chelsea had bought as well. Since the weather was getting colder, she was worried that the fans wo
A twisted expression crossed Yvonne's face. "Your love for me has always been superficial! You supported me because of my looks!"Once better and prettier idols debut, you'll immediately switch sides and support them! Why should I give back so much to fans like you?"Yvonne pointed at the door. "Look how many people have shown support for Chelsea after she debuted? How many of my fans have turned into Chelsians and how many of them even started insulting me online?"Your support has always been ridiculous and superficial! What's wrong with me for taking advantage of people like you? "Fans who stan idols have always been childish and ridiculous! Serve all of you right for being so useless! Those in their right minds would never keep up with any idols!""Have you gone mad?" Ophelia couldn't help but push Yvonne aside. Ophelia couldn't believe that Yvonne, whom she had admired for so many years, had uttered such unkind words. Ophelia threw the LED board to the ground. The utter fo
The paparazzo burst into laughter. He held his stomach as he rolled on the couch in glee. "Oh, wow! You still invited your fans here in your current situation. They're really your diehard fans."A vein throbbed on Yvonne's forehead. She couldn't help but hiss under her breath. "Aren't you my fans? Since you are, you should be on my side and continue helping me!""We might be fans, but does that mean you can treat us as fools?"While Ophelia's eyes had gone red, she did not hold back as she lashed out at Yvonne. "You already knew that we're just useless female students. Why did you even message us privately and invite us to the performance venue?"We worried about you. We showed up with light sticks and gifts, just hoping to let you know we were still here and that we still had your back. "And what did you do? What are fans to you, Yvonne? Are we even people in your eyes? Or are we just tools—things you can use and toss aside whenever you feel like it?"Yvonne froze. Meanwhile, t
Yvonne opened the door and was startled by the sight of Ophelia and her friends. She patted her chest. "When did you guys arrive? Don't you know how to knock on the door?"Ophelia and her two friends stared at Yvonne with reddened eyes and did not respond. Yvonne recalled the public's opinions toward her as well as the online criticism toward her fans. Their expressions made Yvonne feel rather sympathetic toward them. Since their eyes had turned red, she believed they must have cried out of exasperation after learning that Yvonne was being bullied in the group. They really did seem to be her true fans. "Come in." Yvonne gestured with her chin. After the three entered the lounge, Yvonne handed them three bottles of juice. "Have something to drink for now. I'll take you out for a bite later."Ophelia held the bottle of juice but did not drink it. Finally, Yvonne noticed that each of them was holding a cat doll. "Are you giving me these cat dolls as presents?"The three did not say
Yvonne's chest ached, making it hard for her to breathe. The words Ophelia once said had left her feeling extremely miserable. Yvonne sat at the table and sobbed."Chelsea became what others have always dreamed to be because she didn't need any persona. She always shone the brightest on stage. Chelsea can lead her fans into a brighter future, and you'll only lead us into darkness and nightmares."Those were Ophelia's last words before leaving. Until now, her words haunted Yvonne like a relentless nightmare. It was like a projector that couldn't be switched off, replaying over and over that she was nothing compared to Chelsea.How did that happen? Ophelia was Yvonne's fan, and Yvonne believed Ophelia, the daughter of the Fords, should always be her fan. Yvonne wiped her tears away. As soon as she turned around, she saw the cat doll Ophelia had given her as a final gift. These days, Yvonne took the cat doll with her everywhere. She still kept it with her even while filming a self-
At Ashthorne Studios, the director announced, "Alright, cut! That's a wrap, everyone. Great work today! You can all head off to the hotel and get some rest." Crew members chuckled and began filing out. They were chatting as they made their way to their rooms.But Yvonne, who was still on set, was fuming as she clutched her phone. She had seen Ophelia's reply, and it only made her angrier.One of her assistants, who was trailing behind with genuine concern, asked, "Yvonne, are you alright? Feeling unwell?""Get lost!" Yvonne snapped, glaring. "You're an eyesore!"The assistant shrank back, clearly frightened and hurt by her harsh tone.Yvonne hurried off to her hotel room with her phone clutched tightly as she replayed a particular video over and over. There was no mistaking that the person in the video was one of her biggest fans from back in the day, the same fan who had once waited for her at the airport in Huntaria.A seething mix of jealousy, anger, and bitter resentment chur
Ophelia was done with Yvonne. Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, she took to Twitter to attack her."Did you really think that every gift I painstakingly made was worthless? After years of devotion, the person I once adored has become completely unrecognizable. When I confronted her, she acted as if nothing was wrong."She even claimed that because I was her fan, I had no right to criticize her. I find that utterly absurd."I once asked her what a fan meant to her, and she dismissed us as shallow, saying our love was something that could be discarded. I always believed an idol should be the pillar of her fans' dreams, a beacon of hope. "But the Yvonne I loved—the one who shone so brightly in pursuit of her dreams—was gone."So, from that day on, I severed all ties. The doll I once gave her on Twitter was my final farewell gift. It was a proper goodbye, not a sign of regret. I stopped logging into that account because I wanted to leave with dignity."And don't say Chels
Ophelia was utterly disgusted. She felt that any shred of loyalty she once had for Yvonne had completely vanished.She retweeted Yvonne's latest Twitter post and attached a formal statement of her own."I hereby solemnly declare that I was once a die-hard fan of Yvonne. I never betrayed her—I simply grew tired of the endless fan duties. I refuse to support an idol who is self-absorbed, caring only about herself while dismissing her fans. Today, I proudly stand as a fan of Chelsea because she is truly worth it."Honestly, when I first stopped being a fan, I never intended to expose all this. At the time, I just wanted to part ways amicably. Publicly trashing someone you once adored is downright disgusting, and I didn't want her remaining fans to follow suit. So, I swallowed my disgust."But it seems she saw me trending and thinks she can win back a fan with some influence. She even brought Chelsea into the mess and hinted that her fans should attack my current favorite idol. I simpl
Back in the day, when Ophelia first visited Huntaria, she had seen Yvonne performing at a local event and instantly became a fan. Coming from a wealthy family herself, Ophelia never hesitated to shower Yvonne with lavish gifts and even rallied her few devoted fans to support her idol.Later, when she learned that Yvonne had returned home to compete in a training camp, Ophelia was among the very first to cheer her on. But things took a bitter turn when Ophelia overheard Yvonne berating reporters backstage.Yvonne claimed that her fans were useless and couldn't secure her a center spot. She even mentioned Ophelia's name. According to Yvonne, Ophelia only sent gifts that she didn't want, and she'd be better off using her connections to get a debut instead.Ophelia finally realized what kind of person she had been supporting.Furious and heartbroken, Ophelia stormed into the backstage area and declared that she was done being a fan.Up close, she realized that Yvonne was pretty averag