"Calin, you're being unreasonable," she said carefully.
Calin's eyes blazed like a rabid animal ready to sink its teeth into anything that breathed.
"Right. And when we met Yeri Zhi at the hospital, you were the one who praised her beauty. When I told you to chase after Shin Keir in the parking lot, you pretended to lose him. Bitch, did you do it on purpose?"
Manager Lyn: "…"
That happened ages ago. And who even was Yeri Zhi?
Suddenly she remembered the girl in the floral dress they passed by at the elevator. "Wait… you mean that girl we met at the hospital? Is she Yeri—"
Slap!
Without warning, Calin slapped her across the face, then lunged forward and grabbed her hair, screaming, "It was you! No wonder nothing has been going my way! You bitch! How dare you betray me!"
Manager Lyn shrieked, and only then did the staff rush forward to pull the two apart.
Calin, usually polished and elegant in public, now looked completely deranged, eyes wild, hair messy, screaming incoherently like she was ready to bite anyone she considered an enemy.
Although everyone already knew Calin had a violent temper, this was the first time they saw her truly lose control.
Manager Lyn held her swollen cheek, her hair messy from the struggle, staring at Calin as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
"What's going on here? The client just called asking why you still haven't started the commercial shoot."
Saeki's stern, questioning voice cut through the chaos, startling everyone.
He wasn't even supposed to follow up on this project, he simply passed by and overheard the commotion. He might act careless in private, but when it came to work, Saeki Jie was meticulous.
His brows knitted tightly as he took in the scene: the trembling staff, Manager Lyn's disheveled appearance, and Calin looking half-crazed.
Manager Lyn finally broke. After years of enduring Calin's outbursts, accusations, and impossible demands, this was the last straw. Being blamed for something she didn't do, she refused to be a scapegoat again.
"CEO Jie," she said, bowing deeply. "I'd like to resign as Calin's manager."
Before Saeki could reply, Calin screeched like she'd been stabbed.
"Resign? In your dreams! You think I'll let you run away after betraying me?! Don't forget your contract is with me!"
Manager Lyn scoffed. "What contract? Are you the CEO now?"
"How dare you talk back to me!" Calin shrilled. "Is it because you found a backer? You traitor!"
"Alright, that's enough." Saeki cut in sharply.
Even he was stunned. For years, Calin had maintained a flawless public persona, hardworking, polite, and clean.
What could have pushed her to this unstable, almost delusional state?
"Calin," Saeki said firmly, "do you still want this project? If you need more rest, I can push back your schedule. But the urgent endorsements… I'll have no choice but to give them to others."
Hearing that, Calin instantly deflated a little. She had been strung so tightly the past few days from resentment, paranoia, anger, everything seemed to be collapsing in on her.
Suddenly, she broke down crying, covering her face like she had just suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
But in this industry, time waited for no one.
"We'll talk to the client," Saeki continued. "If they're willing, we'll delay the shoot. If not… they'll replace you."
He sighed, then turned to Manager Lyn. "Don't make rash decisions. Let's discuss this properly."
He scheduled a meeting with both sides before heading out.
Calin immediately apologized following Saeki, crying weakly, presenting herself like a delicate, wronged porcelain doll. But her tears didn't erase the doubt already forming in Saeki's mind.
He remembered how he once tried to put in a good word about Calin to Shin Keir, only to get beaten black and blue for it.
And Tristan? It seems even Tristan disliked her?
Saeki wasn't one to let questions fester. The moment something bothered him, he confronted it head-on.
So he called Tristan.
During the call, Saeki's expression changed rapidly from shock, disbelief, disgust.
By the time the call ended, he was frozen.
Calin actually drugged his big bro?!
Saeki had always believed that Calin, despite coming from a prominent family was simply willful and spoiled. Nothing he hadn't seen from socialites before.
In the entertainment industry, the more successful and famous the celebrity, the more likely they were to have an attitude problem or a full-blown main-character syndrome. As long as they didn't damage the company's image or cause a scandal, he didn't care.
But drugging someone? What on earth had she been thinking?
As Saeki sat slumped in his office chair, Calin received a call from her father telling her to meet him at a five-star restaurant.
By the time she arrived, Master Ricci was already seated, scrolling through his phone without sparing her a glance.
"Dad, why did you suddenly invite me for dinner? Is Mom and Sergei coming too?" Calin asked, instantly perking up, her previous hysterics forgotten as if they were never hers.
"No, they're not coming." Master Ricci finally looked up. "I arranged a meeting with your future fiancé. Make sure you watch your mouth and behave."
The smile froze on her face. "Fiancé? What do you mean?"
Master Ricci gave her a sharp look. "Don't you know what's happening? Did you think that after what you did to Shin Keir he'd let you off? He pulled all investments from our company overnight. We're on the brink of bankruptcy. And your useless brother couldn't even find a solution. If you don't want to lose everything, you'd better cooperate."
Calin's mind went blanked. Was it really that bad? Even if it was… why should she be used as a tool to save the company?
"What about Sergei?" she snapped. "If a marriage alliance is so necessary, why don't you arrange one for him? He's the CEO. It makes more sense!"
"I already have someone in mind for him," Master Ricci said coolly. "But the youngest daughter of the Jie family is still studying abroad." His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you're still clinging to that ruthless tyrant?"
Calin bit her lip hard, thoughts spinning, desperately calculating a way out of this engagement trap.
Just then, the door opened and two people walked in.
"Are we late?" Elder Madam Keir entered with elegant confidence, clearly in excellent spirits.
Tristan, who had been dragged along under the excuse of "accompanying grandmother to a social dinner," looked momentarily stunned at the familiar faces, but he quickly recovered and displayed his signature easy smile.
"Not at all, we just arrived," Master Ricci said quickly, standing up to pull out a chair for the old matriarch. Then he greeted Tristan with an almost embarrassing level of enthusiasm. "Tristan, you've been away on business recently, yes? You're truly hardworking. But don't push yourself too much, take care of your health."
"Thank you, Master Ricci." Tristan nodded politely, all while noticing the calculating light in the older man's eyes.
The conversation stayed safely on business and industry events at first, Master Ricci acting like a friendly elder catching up, Elder Madam Keir chiming in with practiced social charm.
But once the food arrived, the tone shifted.
"Now that Shin is finally settling down, what about you, Tristan?" Master Ricci asked.
Tristan raised an eyebrow, smiling lightly. "With my reputation, who would dare marry me?"
Master Ricci laughed. "Nonsense. Who didn't enjoy their youth before settling down? Even I dated plenty before marriage. Only a narrow-minded woman would look at you through the lens of public gossip. Elder Madam Keir praises you endlessly."
The old matriarch nodded proudly. "Tristan has always been a filial, capable grandson. Most of the rumors about him are just jealousy and exaggeration."
Master Ricci seized the opening.
"Well, what do you think of my dear Calin?" he asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Of course, she once hoped to be engaged to Shin, but that's all in the past. She respects the elders' decisions. And really, given her reputation, I don't need to say much. Since her debut, she's been seen as the ideal daughter-in-law everywhere she goes."
Elder Madam Keir added her own embellishments, praising Calin's elegance and virtue like a sales pitch polished over weeks.
Tristan didn't interrupt. Instead, his smile grew brighter and brighter, so bright it almost looked sincere.
He genuinely admired Master Ricci's shamelessness and confidence.
Did it not occur to them that he maybe knew about Calin drugging Shin?
If anything, their boldness revealed their desperation. Whether Master Ricci understood the gravity of what they had done or not, he was clearly placing all his bets on Elder Madam Keir's influence over Tristan.
"Master Ricci, can you bear it?" Tristan asked. "Matching your precious, good daughter to a scoundrel like me?"
He deliberately emphasized good daughter.
Master Ricci choked, eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to determine if Tristan knew something. But like Shin Keir, who wore indifference like a second skin, Tristan was equally unreadable when he wished to be.
"Who are you calling a scoundrel?" Elder Madam Keir lightly slapped Tristan's arm, sounding more like a doting grandmother scolding a mischievous child. "Don't degrade yourself like that. Tristan, don't you trust Grandma? I've always wanted the best for you. Shin, that brat, doesn't know what's good for him. But look, don't you think this is fate's intervention? I truly believe you and Calin are perfect for each other."
Calin, who had been staring blankly ahead, finally snapped back into reality.
The moment Tristan walked in earlier, her mind had tangled itself into knots.
Her father wanted her, the Ricci family's treasured daughter, to be engaged to this infamous playboy?
For the sake of money and survival, he was willing to throw her future away, while Sergei got to marry the woman he loved?
Of course. She always knew who Sergei's heart belonged to. As for Marianne, she had never seen her as anything more than a tool, someone to exploit whenever it suited her. She believed her brother thought so too.
But now, with everything spiraling, was her own family really planning to betray her too?
If she married Tristan, she would be exhausted to death dealing with his endless women, scandals, and affairs.
However… the conspiracy she had pieced together earlier kept resurfacing.
If Tristan was truly plotting against Shin Keir and if he succeeded, wouldn't he become the next Keir family head? The next CEO of KGG?