It should've been a beautiful, romantic scene — yet Elena was terrified out of her wits.
Her voice trembled as she stammered,
"L–Lucian? When… when did you get back?"
Lucian's gaze swept over her, calm but faintly displeased.
"This is my home," he said coldly. "Do I need to report my return to you in advance?"
"I didn't mean it that way," Elena panicked. "I just—"
"Just what?"
Elena glanced nervously at the enormous screen still playing the steamy, breathless scene.
Her throat tightened; her cheeks turned scarlet like a boiled shrimp.
What could she say?
That she felt like a kid caught watching porn by her parents?
She wished she could smash her head against the wall and die of shame.
To make matters worse, she couldn't even find the remote to turn off the projector.
Her hands fumbled all over the couch, her movements clumsy and frantic.
"Sit down."
Lucian's low voice carried an edge of impatience. "Stop flailing around in front of me."
Elena froze. Then, like a chastised student, she sat down obediently.
"I—I was just trying to find the remote," she muttered under her breath.
Lucian ignored her, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
Knowing how much he hated her presence, Elena quickly shifted a little farther away, hoping not to annoy him.
She didn't notice, however, the faint tightening of his brow at the small distance she'd put between them.
Still, she was mortified. She didn't dare look at the screen again, pretending instead to study the carpet, the walls, anything but that.
What had once been an exciting, guilty pleasure had turned into pure torture.
Lucian, on the other hand, looked utterly unfazed — like he was watching a documentary instead of a sex scene.
He even lit a cigarette, the sharp scent curling softly through the air between them.
The faint smoke mixed with the echoes of moans and whispers from the film, winding around Elena's senses until her skin prickled with heat.
She couldn't stop the memory from replaying — his hands gripping the back of her head last night, his mouth pressing hard against hers.
Her lips went dry. She instinctively wet them with the tip of her tongue—
and immediately realized what she was doing. Her eyes widened in horror, and she turned her face away, burning with shame.
When the explicit scene finally ended, she let out a shaky sigh of relief.
Then, she felt him move.
Lucian stood up — his shadow fell over her, tall and imposing, heavy with a pressure that made her chest tighten.
Without a word, he turned and began to leave.
For some reason she couldn't explain, Elena blurted,
"Wait— you're not finishing the movie?"
Lucian stopped. Slowly, he turned his head.
Elena stared straight ahead, forcing her gaze to the floor. "Um… it's just, you didn't finish it. I thought maybe you'd… want to."
He regarded her in silence for a moment, then said coolly,
"You don't have to keep your distance from me so deliberately."
A wisp of smoke trailed between his fingers as he slipped one hand into his pocket. His tone was glacial.
"Elena," he said, his eyes unreadable,
"You, of all people, should know — even if you were standing naked in front of me, I wouldn't have a single improper thought. Especially not in a situation like this."
With that, he walked out, leaving her alone in the dim light.
Elena sat frozen on the floor, hugging her pillow.
Her mind was blank — her chest hollow, like someone had scooped out a piece of her heart.
She pressed a hand over it. There was no pain, just a deep, aching emptiness.
After a long while, she lifted her head toward the screen again.
The movie had ended.
She eventually got up and walked out of the theater room.
From down the hall, Crystal spotted her and quickly hurried over, eyes sparkling.
"Madam! Was the movie good?"
Elena gave a weak, muffled response. "It was… fine."
Then she seemed to remember something. "Where's Mr. Sterling? Did he go upstairs?"
Crystal smiled. "Mr. Sterling had to step out for some business. He said you should rest early tonight."
Elena nodded. Good.
If he was gone, she could finally breathe.
Sharing the same roof with him always made her chest tighten and her heart race until she couldn't sleep.
Still… she owed him a "thank you" for what he'd done last night.
But she doubted he would care to hear it.
He hadn't saved her for her.
He'd done it because she was Mrs. Sterling.
That night, as she prepared for bed, her phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Unsurprisingly, it was the Sung family — and Felix, and Mrs. Cheng — one after another.
Sophia must have told them everything, twisting the story to make it seem like last night's disaster had been Elena's and Lucian's doing.
They wanted revenge.
Elena didn't even bother answering.
One by one, she blocked their numbers, then set her phone to reject all unknown callers.
Finally, the world went silent.
She stretched lazily, scooped up Cotton Candy — the fluffy cat that purred and rubbed against her chin — and drifted off into a deep, sweet sleep.
The days that followed passed quietly.
Lucian didn't come home once.
Elena split her time between the hospital and the villa, sometimes taking on small part-time gigs to earn extra cash.
Over a month went by.
One morning, her phone buzzed, pulling her out of sleep.
It was Ryan.
"There's a perfume endorsement audition — ten grand," he said. "I've already put your name down. Want to give it a shot?"
Ten thousand dollars. For Elena, that wasn't a small amount.
Sean's hospital bills were piling up, and his anti-rejection medication wasn't cheap.
She still owed Selene and Vivian money, too.
Without hesitation, she answered, "Yes. I'll go."
Ryan chuckled, pleased.
"Elena, you're finally back in the game. I'm proud of you. But listen, this audition's competitive — a big brand, lots of candidates. You have to nail it."
"If you don't land this contract, it's going to get even harder for you in the industry. I can't protect you forever, you understand?"
Elena bit her lip. "Don't worry, Ryan. I'll give it everything I've got."
"Good. The audition's today. I'll text you the address."
A moment later, his message arrived.
Elena took her time getting ready — makeup flawless, dress simple but elegant — and headed to the venue.
The lobby was packed with people.
The moment she stepped in, someone shouted her name.
"Elena! Elena!"
She turned and saw Yuri waving from across the room, smiling brightly.
"Over here!"
Elena smiled and walked over.
Yuri, a petite girl with a doll-like voice, threw her arms around her.
"Elena, you finally came back to work! I missed you so much!"
Like Elena, Yuri was also one of Ryan's contracted artists.
The two had always gotten along well — maybe because they shared the same scars and struggles.
In the company, only she and Yuri were still stuck playing maids after years in the business.
Not a single leading role. Not even a supporting role worth remembering.
Elena gave Yuri's back a friendly pat, half laughing, half gasping for air.
"Yuri, I know you missed me, but are you trying to strangle me to death? I can't breathe!"
For someone so petite, the girl's strength was seriously surprising.
Yuri immediately let go, sticking out her tongue in embarrassment.
"Sorry, Elena! I got a little too excited—my bad, hehe."
Then she grabbed Elena by the wrist and dragged her toward a corner seat.
Since the audition hadn't started yet, Yuri chattered non-stop, spilling all the company gossip like a little bird.
The lobby was filling fast—actors and actresses everywhere, including some familiar faces from TV.
Elena frowned slightly.
A ten-thousand-dollar endorsement wasn't exactly small money, but still, it shouldn't have attracted this much attention.
Something about this whole thing didn't add up.
Fortunately, Yuri was the kind of person who knew everything and never bothered to keep secrets.
Within minutes, she'd spilled the whole story.
Apparently, this perfume was a new charity line launched by ME Corporation.
Because it was tied to a charity campaign, the price point was deliberately affordable—something ordinary consumers could actually buy.
That meant ME didn't want to spend a fortune hiring a big-name celebrity, or people would accuse them of being hypocritical.
So they capped the endorsement fee at ten thousand.
It wasn't much, but ME's reputation was huge, and the ads would air on national TV and streaming platforms.
Naturally, even minor celebrities were eager to compete for the spotlight.
Still, it was clear no real A-lister would show up.
First, because of the pay.
And second—face.
No top star wanted to risk being publicly rejected in an open audition.
One leaked photo, one gossip article, and their "invincible" image would be ruined.
No wonder Ryan had said this audition could make or break her career.
If Elena could somehow land this endorsement, she might finally stop being cast as background filler — maybe even get her face noticed again.
She reached out and playfully pinched Yuri's chubby cheeks.
"Looks like your nickname as the company's Little Gossip Queen is well-earned."
Yuri widened her big, doe eyes and corrected her with mock offense.
"Excuse me, not Little Gossip Queen! Please call me Yuri the All-Knowing!"
Elena couldn't help laughing, her nerves easing a little.
Soon, the auditions began.
One by one, the actresses walked out—faces pale, makeup smudged, some even crying.
A few of them were semi-famous, but still looked completely defeated.
Yuri clutched her chest dramatically.
"Oh my God, I'm gonna die! I can't breathe!"
Elena had been nervous too, but Yuri's reaction made her snort out a laugh.
"You'll be fine. If you start panicking in there, just press the spot between your thumb and index finger—it helps."
As they talked, the door to the audition room opened again.
Someone walked out.
Unlike the others, she wasn't crying or slumped in despair.
Instead, her lips curved faintly upward in what looked like confidence.
But the moment her eyes met Elena's, her expression froze.
Elena blinked in surprise. Julia?
She hadn't expected to run into her here.
It had been over a month since the scandal, and the gossip around Julia's indecent video had finally died down.
She'd changed her hairstyle, her makeup, her entire wardrobe—almost enough to make her unrecognizable.
Almost.
After all, Julia was family, and she used to trail after Sophia everywhere, showing up in Elena's line of sight like an annoying shadow.
Those sharp, catlike eyes were something Elena would never mistake.
Before she could dwell on it, the staff called her name.
"It's your turn, Miss Elena Sung."
Yuri squeezed her hand and gave her a bright, encouraging smile.
"Go get 'em, girl!"