Returning to the Position of Top Model

Of course not, the timing isn't right!

Mason knew what she was thinking, so he grabbed the phone and handed it to her. But Lila did not step aside to take the phone call. Instead, she confidently pressed the answer button right in front of him.

"Lila, where are you right now?"

"I was afraid the reporters would find me, so I found a place to hide," Lila replied calmly.

"So, you're saying you aren't aware of the incident with Mandy Long?" Ethan asked in a patient tone.

"What's wrong with Mandy? The place I have hidden in is quite remote, so I haven't kept up to date with what's happening on the outside. What happened?" Lila tried her best to sound curious.

"Thanks to your manager, Heaven Entertainment is now in a mess. Return to the office first, I'm going to arrange for you to hold a press conference. Lila, I am depending on you to clear the agency's name."

Press conference? It was more like another opportunity for him to throw the blame on her...

Did he really think she was still that naive?

Lila hung up the phone in disgust, when suddenly Mason began to speak, "I've already saved my number in your phone. Anytime you need me, give me a call and let me know what you want to do."

"Thank you, Mason..."

"You shouldn't be calling me that..." Mason unfolded his legs and pulled Lila to his side, "Call me something else...or I won't let you go."

Lila blushed as she whispered shyly, "H...hubby..." A rare smile appeared on Mason's face.

"Come on, I'll drop you off at work. Remember what you promised... Don't get too close to another man."

Lila knew exactly what Mason was referring to. She responded with a reassuring smile, hoping that he would trust her. Mason's heart skipped a beat. Between the two of them, there was nothing more to say.

...

In just 40 minutes, Mason had successfully driven Lila to a location close to Heaven Entertainment. As the King of Entertainment, he knew all the deepest, darkest secrets of the industry. Thus, he was curious as to how Lila intended on turning the tables to retrieve her position as the top model.

Lila knew what she was getting herself into. It was clear that this was a game where she had to keep her cards hidden, whilst her enemies laid their cards on the table. If she couldn't change the outcome even after swapping out her entire hand, then she would have to admit defeat.

After stepping out of Mason's car, she accessed the building through a secret walkway. As soon as the staff spotted Lila, the room was filled with mixed reactions of disgust, hate, and mockery. It was as though they were sure that Mandy's revelations were all under Lila's direction.

Lila pretended not to notice. She walked over to Ethan Han's room, pushed open the door, and her gaze met the back of the man's head.

"You're back..." Ethan turned around holding back his anger.

"Tell me, what happened?"

"Lila, are you certain that you don't know about the incident with Mandy?" Ethan threw the newspaper reports in front of Lila and questioned her angrily, "If she didn't receive orders from you, how would she be brave enough to do this?"

"Ethan, we are about to get married, why would I do something like this? Wouldn't that be pushing you away?" Lila choked on her words as she looked at him innocently.

"Then, how do you explain why you placed the Crown's Star on your ankle at the show? You know very well that the biggest difference between you and Rainy are your legs..."

Lila looked at Ethan as he interrogated her. She thought back on the multiple times that he had protected Rainy in the same way. She once thought it was all because he was trying to protect his own growing career, so she was willing to endure being wronged and allowed him to stick up for another person. But from the looks of it now, the only person he wanted to protect all along had solely been Rainy Mo.

"At that time, I had no way of wearing the Crown's Star on anywhere but my ankles. Rainy's assistant was also present, you can ask him."

"I asked him already and he said you made the decision yourself..." Ethan pressed on.

"Ethan, I am your fiancee. Yet, you choose to believe an outsider?" Lila faked a look of disappointment as she continued to observe Ethan's reactions. "Yesterday...we were supposed to be signing our wedding papers."

"It's too late to say anything now, the damage is done. hf has already notified the court of their intention to sue Heaven Entertainment for breach of contract and, thanks to your manager, the public's negativity toward the agency has worsened. You need to take responsibility for this." Ethan looked down at Lila condescendingly. He gave off the aura of an almighty god passing judgment.

"You will be my wife soon, I don't want my wife to hurt my career. That's why...Lila, for the sake of Heaven Entertainment, you have the responsibility to step out and explain to the public that the entire mess was created by your manager for hype and that it has nothing to do with us..."

"Admitting that my manager was responsible is equivalent to admitting I was responsible! Weren't you the one who called me to hastily substitute Rainy?" Lila cried, "Ethan, am I being sacrificed because I'm about to marry you?"

"I don't care. Being recognized was your fault." As soon as these words left his lips, Ethan seemed to notice that he had gone too far. He quickly calmed down and reached out his arms to give Lila a hug, however, she retaliated by pushing him away. "Lila, I was just getting a bit impatient. Just this once... After we are married, I promise to treat you well..."

Of course, Lila held back her tears and nodded, "I am doing this, not because I admit to creating this mess, but because I want to protect your career. However, there will be no next time!"

"Yes...I promise, there will be no next time!"

The truth was, Ethan was confident that Lila would fall for it again next time, especially after they were married. According to Lila's character, she would be easily controlled by him.

"The press conference will be this afternoon at 3pm. We will have a meeting in a minute to go over your script."

"Okay!"

Lila stopped crying and forced herself to look into Ethan's eyes like she always did. But, as soon as she left the room, her eyes swept over with a cold gaze.

She couldn't immediately forget the jerk, but, she was going to stick by her decisions.

There was no way she was going to take on the blame for Ethan's wrongdoings again.

After thinking carefully, she returned to her own room and phoned her manager, "Mandy, Ethan is trying to use me as a shield."

"Haha! Lila, tell me what you want me to do." Her manager was full of fighting spirit.

"3pm, I will announce that I created the mess and apologize. Afterwards...I want you to anonymously release photos of Ethan and Rainy being affectionate in the hospital..."

"Haha, sure! I've even thought of a great headline: 'Exposed! Heaven Entertainment's Boss Has Multiple Affairs: The Biggest Cheating Scum!'"

Lila couldn't help but respond with a laugh before she began to apologize, "Sorry for dragging you into all this."

"Lila, as long as you have made the decision to start afresh, I will help you return to being the top model. In fact, not only that, I will help you become...an international supermodel!"