Clara just couldn’t take it.

Since the moment she entered the industry, this was the first time she had ever faced rejection.

And not just that—

Even her brother —who had once promised to give her everything as long as she asked —wasn’t helping her now.

Was it really because he couldn’t do it?

Or was it that he was too busy to care about her anymore?

Otherwise, how could there be no way?

"Who did they choose?" she asked, her fingers clenching tight.

Liam paused.

As he stared at her, hesitation flickered in his gaze. However, just as Clara was about to notice it, he shook his head and said,

"They haven’t announced it yet."

Clara frowned as she stared at him, her gaze turning somewhere suspicious.

After a moment, she asked, "Liam, have they really not announced it? Or is it that you don’t want to tell me?"

Even though he had hidden it quickly, she still managed to catch a glimpse of that hesitation in his eyes.

She could tell—

He was deliberately saying something he didn’t truly mean.

Or maybe ... she was overthinking.

"If there’s anything I ever hide from you, Clara," Liam said, his voice steady enough to sound like a promise, "it would only be to protect you. But right now—"

His hand slowly lifted, gently caressing her hair.

"I’m not hiding anything from you. Why would I do that?"

Clara stared at him, her eyes still misty with the tears she hadn’t let fall.

"They haven’t announced the full cast yet, and I don’t know who they’ve selected."

She nodded slowly.

Liam then patted her shoulder and said, "Don’t think too much. That wasn’t the only good script out there. I have plenty here. Choose something else and—"

Clara interrupted him by taking a step back.

"I need some time, Liam," she said, her tone edged with quiet frustration she was trying to suppress. "I’ll come and choose something when I’m ready. And right now, I’m not."

Liam looked at her, his expression tightening.

However, after a moment, he nodded.

"Fine," he said. "I’ll wait for you to come to me then."

Clara gave a small nod and then turned to leave.

Liam stood there, watching her step out of his office, his expression growing serious.

Just as she left—

His assistant, Steve, stepped into the office and walked up to him.

"Sir, why did you lie to Ms. Scott?" Steve asked, glancing toward the door. "Although there hasn’t been any official announcement yet, we already know who got the role."

Liam’s frown deepened, his expression turning complicated.

He didn’t turn toward his assistant. Still staring at the door, he said, "She is already finding it hard to accept the rejection. Telling her more details would only make it worse."

Steve didn’t quite understand that, but he didn’t press further.

"Did you find what I asked you for?" Liam asked, finally turning toward him.

Steve nodded and began reporting—

"I’ve asked around at ZX Media," he said, "but they don’t have any artist named Adelyn Grace."

Liam frowned upon hearing that.

How was that possible?

From what he had found out, Adelyn had appeared at the audition under the name of ZX Media.

So how could she not be an artist there?

Steve noticed his expression and couldn’t hold himself back from asking,

"Sir, who is this Adelyn Grace? You seem quite concerned about her. Is she your distant relative or a distant aquaintan—?"

Before he could even finish—

Liam turned to him, glaring.

Steve immediately stopped.

He didn’t dare complete the sentence.

Still, he couldn’t understand what exactly he had said wrong.

His boss had never given him that kind of look—

One that made it feel like he had committed a grave offense.

"I’m sorry, sir," he quickly apologized. "I didn’t mean to pry—"

"She is my sister," Liam said, cutting him off. "Don’t forget that next time."

Steve was taken aback.

He looked up at him, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Sister?

He repeated the word in his mind.

What sister?

Wasn’t Ms. Scott the only sister the Scott brothers had?

When did Adelyn Grace become another sister?

Liam could clearly read the confusion on his assistant’s face.

But he didn’t explain.

He simply turned away and walked back to his desk.

Sitting down in his chair, he said, "You haven’t looked into it properly. Go ... and check again."

Steve didn’t argue.

He nodded and turned to leave.

But now—

More than his boss, he was curious.

Just who exactly was Adelyn Grace?

—————

Meanwhile—

After leaving Liam’s office, Clara didn’t stop to entertain anyone anymore.

Though there were still people ready and eager to surround her, she ignored them all without a second glance.

Only after she slipped into her car did she finally let her mask fall.

Her expression changed instantly.

The calmness ...

The gentleness ...

The warmth that defined her as Clara Scott —the one adored and praised by everyone—

All of it disappeared.

And what remained—

... was something raw.

Something sharp.

Something cracking beneath the weight of her first failure.

Her fingers clenched tightly in her lap.

Liam’s words echoed in her mind, making her jaw tighten.

She wasn’t selected.

... which meant someone else was chosen over her.

Why?

"Drive to my apartment," she said coldly.

The driver nodded and immediately started the car.

Clara leaned back, her gaze turning distant as she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

The call connected after a few rings.

The moment she heard the voice on the other end—

Her expression hardened completely.

"Help me find out who got selected for Director Rhodes’s upcoming film," she said.

Her voice might have sounded calm—

But there was something cold beneath it.

A suspicion.

One she couldn’t shake off.

Liam had said he didn’t know who was selected.

But she felt—

He knew.

And was deliberately hiding it from her.

Her fingers grew tight around the frame of her phone.

"I want to know who he’s hiding."