Chapter 55: Reckoning

Chapter 55: Reckoning

Bella Rose, who had always been treated like a princess, had never endured such humiliation. However, to maintain her sweet and innocent image, she swallowed her anger, forcing an unnatural smile as she responded, "Yes, Mr. Taylor, I'll remember that. I'll go get my makeup done now." But the moment she sat down in front of the makeup mirror, her previously fresh and pure expression vanished, replaced by a twisted look of fury, with her once charming eyes now burning with anger.

D*mn him! If he weren't the director of Delar's headquarters, she would have lost her patience with him long ago. And the fact that he dared to scold her in front of everyone was something she simply couldn't tolerate. "James Taylor…" Bella Rose muttered through gritted teeth, her hands slowly clenching into fists.

"Are…are you okay?" Lydia Moore's soft voice suddenly came from behind Bella Rose. Seeing the lingering anger on Bella's face reflected in the mirror, Lydia hesitantly asked. Despite the animosity Bella had shown her over the past few days, Lydia couldn't help but feel concerned after witnessing James Taylor's harsh reprimand.

When Bella Rose realized it was Lydia Moore, she dropped her façade entirely. "You're Aaron King's assistant, right?" she asked, her lips curling into a contemptuous smile, though the question was rhetorical.

"Yes, but…there's really nothing between Aaron King and me, I…" Lydia Moore began, intending to clear up any misunderstandings, but she was abruptly cut off. "Since you're an assistant, do you know how to do makeup?" Bella Rose suddenly asked.

Lydia shook her head, answering truthfully, "I've never done makeup before, and I don't know how." Upon hearing this, Bella Rose's makeup artist sneered mockingly, "Bella Rose, you must be joking. If she knew how to do makeup, she wouldn't look so ugly and clueless right now."

A derisive laugh escaped Bella Rose's lips, and she commanded haughtily, "Hand me the eyebrow razor from my makeup bag." Lydia Moore hesitated for a moment before she started searching through the bag, her eyes downcast, unaware of the malicious gleam in Bella Rose's eyes.

"Got it," Lydia Moore said softly as she carefully removed the razor from its sheath and handed it to Bella Rose. Bella reached out to take it, "accidentally" knocking Lydia's hand. The sharp blade of the short razor immediately sliced into Lydia's thumb, causing tiny beads of blood to well up from the cut.

Bella Rose glared at her with disdain. "You're so clumsy, you've dirtied my razor! Disgusting!" she snapped. The makeup artist chimed in with an amused, condescending laugh, "Yeah, how clumsy can you get?"

Hearing her complaint, Lydia Moore hurriedly began searching her bag for tissues, ignoring the pain from her wound. "I'm sorry… I'll clean it up for you."

"There's no need. It's already dirty, so just throw it away!" Bella Rose snarled, roughly snatching the razor from Lydia's hand, causing a deeper cut on Lydia's finger in the process. As Lydia's face paled from the pain, Bella Rose felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction but maintained her innocent act, batting her dark, crystal-clear eyes as she asked with feigned concern, "Are you okay? I didn't mean to." Then, she laughed softly to herself, her smile cold and cruel.

But she hadn't expected that her actions had been witnessed by a pair of cold, piercing eyes.

If Lydia Moore was like an angel with white wings most of the time, then at this moment, Bella Rose resembled a devil straight from hell. Lydia sighed softly, pulling out a tissue to dab at the blood on her finger. Fortunately, the injury was on the same hand as before; otherwise, even cleaning the wound would have been difficult. She let out a helpless chuckle.

As she was about to leave, Aaron King's authoritative voice suddenly echoed from above her, "You big idiot, what are you doing here… Hey! What happened to your hand?"

Before Lydia could respond, Aaron King grabbed her hand firmly. "I…" Lydia stammered, unable to come up with an excuse. Bella Rose quickly hid the razor behind her back.

Sensing her attempt to pull away, Aaron King tightened his grip. "You already had an injury on your arm, and now your finger is cut too. Are you trying to ruin your hand completely?" His tone was harsh, not because he didn't care, but because her constant injuries made him inexplicably angry.

"Aaron King, you're here. I was just about to ask the staff if they had any band-aids. Lydia Moore accidentally cut herself while helping me move the makeup mirror, and I feel so guilty about it." Bella Rose's voice was soft and gentle, her eyes brimming with tears, as she slipped back into her angelic persona in Aaron's presence.

Aaron King raised an eyebrow, half-believing her story, as he studied Lydia Moore with a skeptical look. Lydia bit her lower lip and nodded woodenly.

"Is that so? Because from what I see, if you really felt guilty, why would you have cut her in the first place?" A mocking voice suddenly interjected. Bella Rose spun around, startled—it was James Taylor! Had he seen everything? Panic flickered in her eyes, but she quickly composed herself and said, "Mr. Taylor…you must be joking." She couldn't meet James Taylor's intense gaze, her eyes darting nervously as her earlier arrogance evaporated.

Even now, she refused to admit her mistake? James Taylor's expression darkened even further as he took a few steps forward, grabbing Bella Rose's wrist forcefully. She let out a cry of pain, the razor slipping from her grasp and clattering to the floor, its silver blade still smeared with Lydia's blood.

The truth was now glaringly obvious: Bella Rose had intentionally cut Lydia Moore with the razor. The makeup artist went pale with fear at the sight. Aaron King narrowed his eyes, his entire demeanor radiating danger. He couldn't understand why he felt an uncontrollable rage building inside him, but the only thought in his mind was that he would never allow anyone to hurt her.

Bella Rose struggled desperately, "Let go of me! So what if I hurt her on purpose? She's just an assistant, nothing more." The pain in her wrist was unbearable, and all she wanted was to escape his grip as quickly as possible. Her hand felt like it was about to be crushed.

"So, what you're saying is, if she weren't an assistant, you wouldn't dare act so recklessly?" James Taylor sneered, releasing her with a push. "In my eyes, your superficial purity makes you unfit to represent 'Breeze.' She, on the other hand, is my ideal choice. Therefore, I've decided to give her a chance to do the photo shoot. She'll show you what 'Breeze' is really meant to convey."

He actually said… that she would be shooting the magazine ad for "Breeze"? Lydia Moore was beyond shocked. She looked at Aaron King and saw that his eyes were filled with surprise as well, though there was also a subtle glimmer of something else.

The other crew members couldn't hear the full conversation from a distance, but James Taylor's final statement rang out loud and clear, leaving everyone stunned. The atmosphere in the studio became so tense it was almost suffocating.