Chapter 6

"Wife?!" "Wait… isn't this Elsie’s dressing room?" "I—I—you guys..." The makeup artist stood there, mouth wide open, struggling to form a proper sentence. William glanced at the vague silhouette behind the dressing room door. He was obviously in a great mood, grinned, and started walking toward the door. Just as his hand touched the handle, the door was pulled open from the other side. Olivia walked in, arms full of clothes, but the smile on her face instantly vanished when she saw him. "William? What are you doing here?!" William didn’t even blink at Olivia’s shock. Instead, he squinted his eyes in mild annoyance. "Your brain’s just as useless as Elsie's. "Honestly, if you weren't her best friend, the company would’ve fired you like, ages ago." That set Olivia off real fast. "William! Say whatever you want about me, but if you talk trash about Elsie again, I swear I’ll punch you right in that smug face!" William let out a lazy snort and raised his brow as he turned to leave, voice carrying just enough to be heard clearly. "Yeah, I meant you." Olivia clenched her fists. She was this close to actually throwing hands. The makeup artist, sensing danger, nervously tugged her sleeve and whispered, "He’s one of the investors. Just don’t, okay?" "And so what if he’s an investor?" Olivia was still fuming, but then the words clicked—her eyes widened. "Wait a minute. Investor...? Are you saying William invested in Elsie's show?" The makeup artist nodded. "Aren’t they… married? Isn’t that normal?" That made Olivia even more pissed off. She didn’t even bother putting the clothes down, leaned over and muttered to the makeup artist, "Do yourself a favor and don’t go telling people about William and Elsie's secret marriage. William's petty as hell. If he sues you, you'd be broke in a heartbeat, got it?" Recalling William’s intimidating vibe, the makeup artist nodded hastily. "But like..." But—didn’t he just call her “wife” without even blinking? Shouldn’t he be super into Elsie then? So what’s with all those headlines about Grace? She peeked at the dressing room but thought better of saying it out loud. Instead, she asked, "Then why hide the marriage? Why not go public with Elsie?" "Well, obviously because—" Olivia didn’t finish. A flat voice suddenly came from the dressing room. "Because it won’t last much longer anyway." Elsie stepped out looking pale and expressionless. Honestly, the countdown had already begun. It wasn’t even a full month anymore—22 days to be exact—until she and William officially ended things. She had been too full of herself. She thought just because they slept together and got married, that meant they loved each other. She thought three years would be enough to melt that cold, unreachable heart of William. The makeup artist, still lost in confusion and overwhelmed, quietly slipped away. Olivia’s chest tightened watching Elsie’s drained face. She looked so... worn out. Olivia was so mad she could explode. "Old Mr. Harding said he’d leave everything to you, but in the end it’s all some crappy trust fund! And you have to be married for three damn years to even touch it! “He never intended to give you that money! I remember it clearly—if you divorce before three years, the whole inheritance goes to you, right? Honestly, I think you should just divorce William now and get it all for yourself!” Elsie shook her head. “Liv, Grandpa wasn’t like that.” “After my parents died, he didn’t have to take me back, but he still brought me into the Harding family and raised me. He even saw I liked William. He set up the trust so William would take care of me, give me a stable future.” As she said that, Elsie gave a bitter smile. “Otherwise, as an orphan, even if I did inherit the Harding fortune, I probably wouldn’t live long enough to spend it.” Olivia pouted in frustration and hugged her tightly, looking ready to cry. “It’s all William’s fault, the jerk roped you in, made you think he liked you, then turned into Mr. Cold the second you got married! Elsie, don’t be scared. Even if you end things with him, you still have me.” Elsie was just getting touched when Olivia added, “I’ll give you the full list of hot guys I know. One per night, seriously!” “By the way, I saw your male lead just now. Damn, he’s hot. Total baby-faced eye candy. You might wanna think about trying a younger guy. He said he’s your fan, too.” “His pants were super tight, and I swear I saw a whole situation going on down there. No clue how he is in bed, though... you should try and see if he’s better than William.” Olivia always ran her mouth like she was on a different wavelength. Seeing the nonsense get wilder by the second, Elsie flushed and grabbed a shirt to shove in Olivia’s face. But after all the banter, she really did feel a lot lighter inside. After a week of intense, closed training, the crew officially kicked off shooting. Right after changing into costume and entering the set, Elsie spotted the trailer parked close by. Through its open window, she could clearly see William watching Grace get her makeup done. That feeling in her chest was hard to name—wasn’t quite jealousy, but definitely stung a little. In the last three years, he’d been so “busy” that she could count the times she’d seen him on both hands. But now that Grace was back in the country, he suddenly had all the time in the world. No matter where she went or what she did, he was always right next to her. Guess this is what it looks like when someone actually cares. Elsie was just about to turn away when a voice called out, “Elsie!” ... William had already signed over a dozen documents on his tablet. Grace, lips puckered as she put on lipstick, mumbled, “You’re working so much, Will. You didn’t have to clear your schedule just to be here with me.” Holding his phone loosely, William replied flatly, “It’s fine. You focus on your makeup.” Watching his boss glance out the window every few seconds, Eric kept a straight face but couldn’t help smirking inside: Yeah right, here to support Miss Howard? More like couldn’t go a week without seeing his wife and had to cook up an excuse to show up on set. The phone spun impatiently in William’s hand, clearly betraying his restlessness. When Grace finally got up to change outfits in the fitting room, William couldn’t hold back anymore. “You said today’s all Elsie’s scenes. Why isn’t she here yet? Thinks she’s that important now?” Before Grace could reply, Eric squinted and pointed out the window. “Mr. Harding… look, isn’t that your wife? And… that guy next to her…” William turned his head quickly—his face dropped cold in a heartbeat. “Who's the guy with her?” Grace poked her head out of the fitting room too, glanced, then slipped back in like nothing. “Oh, that’s Aiden Grant, the lead actor. Pretty good-looking. I heard he’s kind of a fan of Elsie. Yesterday he kept dragging her to rehearse the romantic scenes.” Eric’s heart skipped a beat hearing that. He stole a glance at his boss, silently praying for divine intervention. William didn’t say another word, but the storm on his face said plenty. His eyes locked on the scene outside the window, cold and unreadable. Elsie had been called over and turned around, surprised to see Aiden. “I thought you didn’t have a scene today. Why are you here?” “To observe the pros and learn from the best.” Aiden, with his bold, striking features, looked like the kind of guy who never backs down—but he smiled so gently, dimples dipping into his cheeks. He handed her an apple. “Saw you were feeling under the weather yesterday. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?” Elsie paused, touched by the gesture. Even the fact that she’d had a cold hadn’t slipped by him. She took the apple and just opened her mouth to thank him when— “Bang!” Something hit the ground nearby. Startled, Elsie looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of William’s rigid back. He was walking away fast, the tension in his shoulders fully visible, rage practically trailing after him. He disappeared in seconds. It felt like that loud noise was the echo of something snapping inside him, hitting the floor like it couldn’t be held in anymore. A staff member's voice shouted across the set through a loudspeaker, “How many times have I said it? Don’t leave props there! She could’ve tripped during her mark. Move them now!” Elsie’s fingers tightened slightly around the apple. So that’s how much he cared about Grace. Made time to do her makeup with her, watch her act, even went over the props himself? She thought back to what he’d said in the fitting room a week ago—that Grace was “just like a sister.” She chuckled to herself, bitterly. Good thing she hadn’t believed a word of that.