Chapter 112: Chapter 99: Engagement

Isla Prescott’s arm was severely injured. She had initially planned to just ask the production team for a leave of absence, but after considering the show’s competitive format and how taking time off would disrupt the entire schedule, she discussed it with the director and withdrew from filming.

The director, Evan Shaw, felt he was cursed with bad luck. First, there was the incident with the sponsor, Genevieve Quincy, and now the immensely popular Isla Prescott was leaving. Filming had barely started, and he could already see the show was doomed to fail.

Isla Prescott was not one to sit idle. After withdrawing from the variety show, she rested at home for only a day before returning to her studio to work.

Justin Wyatt hung around her every day, bringing her three meals a day.

The few new young women at the studio at one point thought Justin Wyatt was her boyfriend, which scared him into quickly explaining, “No, no, no, I’m just an errand boy.”

Isla Prescott also found Justin Wyatt’s behavior strange. “Assistant Vaughn, what are you doing here every day? Don’t you have to work?”

Justin Wyatt looked aggrieved. “Young Mr. Shaw said he doesn’t want to see me for the time being. He told me to wait until your hand is healed before I go back.”

In other words, Justin Wyatt had been exiled for failing to protect Isla Prescott properly.

Seeing that the highly capable Justin Wyatt was now reduced to delivering meals every day, Isla Prescott felt it was a great waste of his talents. So, she quietly asked him, “How much does Shane Sterling pay you a month?”

Justin Wyatt laughed. “Why? Is Miss Prescott thinking of hiring me?”

“I’m trying to see if I can afford you.”

“I’ll say this much, Young Mr. Shaw is quite generous with his salaries.” Justin Wyatt casually made a number with his hand.

“In tens of thousands?”

“Yes.”

“Do me a favor and ask Young Mr. Shaw if he’s still looking for an assistant?”

“Miss Prescott, if you go and apply, what will be left for me?” Justin Wyatt gave Isla Prescott a mock bow. “Please, Miss Prescott, let me keep my job. You can make money by dancing, but I certainly can’t.”

Isla Prescott laughed, amused by him.

“By the way, has he been busy these past few days?” Isla Prescott asked, feigning casualness.

Isla Prescott hadn’t seen Shane Sterling since the day he had lulled her to sleep and left.

“You mean Young Mr. Shaw?” Justin Wyatt’s gaze seemed to shift away for a moment. “He’s… quite busy.”

Isla Prescott nodded and didn’t press him further.

Counting the days, she realized the week Shane Sterling had promised was almost over. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that their relationship could have a fresh start—a start without a third person involved.

After lunch, Isla Prescott went to the airport.

Annabelle Leighton had finished filming her variety show and was coming back today. Isla Prescott was there to pick her up.

The two hadn’t seen each other in over a month. The moment they met, Annabelle Leighton rushed over and hugged Isla Prescott.

“Isabelle, I missed you like crazy!”

“I missed you a lot, too.” Isla Prescott looked Annabelle Leighton over. “You’ve gotten thinner.”

“Yeah. With how poorly I was eating and sleeping, I’d say I deserved to lose some weight.”

Annabelle Leighton began to rant endlessly about the oddballs she met while filming. “I thought I was going there to make friends, but it turned out I was there for some backstabbing palace drama. With my blunt personality, it’s sheer luck I even managed to last until the end of filming.”

“My luck was a bit worse than yours, then.” Isla Prescott gently rolled up her sleeve to show Annabelle Leighton the wound on her arm. “I didn’t make it to the end.”

Annabelle Leighton was shocked. “How did you get hurt?”

Isla Prescott was just about to explain the details to Annabelle Leighton when she suddenly heard someone call her name.

“Isabelle!”

Isla Prescott turned around and was surprised to see Genevieve Quincy standing behind her.

Genevieve Quincy was holding a bouquet of pale flowers; it looked like she was also here to pick someone up.

“What a coincidence.” Genevieve Quincy smiled as she walked toward Isla Prescott. “I heard you hurt your hand?”

Isla Prescott already suspected Genevieve Quincy was involved in what happened with Damian Prescott. Hearing her words, she was instantly on edge.

“You heard? Who did you hear it from?”

“Director Sheffield told me yesterday when I went to give him an engagement invitation. What a shame. You went to all that trouble to get rid of me, but you didn’t end up gaining anything from it yourself. Tsk, tsk.”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” Although Annabelle Leighton didn’t know what had happened between them, she couldn’t stand hearing Genevieve Quincy’s passive-aggressive tone toward Isla Prescott.

Isla Prescott grabbed Annabelle Leighton’s hand and looked at Genevieve Quincy. “You just mentioned an engagement invitation? Who’s getting engaged?”

It seemed Genevieve Quincy had been waiting for this exact moment. She raised an eyebrow and said smugly, “Sean and I, of course. We’re getting engaged tomorrow!”

—

Isla Prescott walked out of the airport on unsteady legs.

Upon hearing the news of Shane Sterling’s engagement, her emotions had instantly shattered. But to avoid losing her composure in front of Genevieve Quincy, she had to force herself to stay calm.

“Isabelle, are you okay?” Annabelle Leighton asked with concern.

“I’m fine. Wait for me a second, I need to make a call,” Isla Prescott said.

“Okay.”

Annabelle Leighton got into the car first. Isla Prescott walked to the front of the car and dialed Shane Sterling’s number. The line was busy. Her mind was in such chaos that she couldn’t bear to wait another moment, so she immediately dialed Justin Wyatt’s number instead.

Justin Wyatt, on the other hand, picked up instantly.

“Miss Prescott, what can I do for you?”

“Assistant Vaughn, I have a question for you, and I need you to answer me truthfully.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Is Shane Sterling getting engaged?”

Justin Wyatt fell silent on the other end.

Isla Prescott wasn’t a fool. “Alright, you don’t have to answer. I already know.”

“Miss Prescott…”

Isla Prescott hung up the phone, feeling as if her soul was dissolving out of her body after such a brutal deception.

Shane Sterling had clearly told her that he would break things off with Genevieve Quincy after a week, but what she got instead was the news of their engagement.

’Why? Why would he lie to me?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep