CHAPTER 181
CHAPTER 181
The afternoon sun spilled across the outdoor set of the Star Cosmetics shoot, turning every glass bottle and mirror panel into a shimmer of light. Amelia had been posing effortlessly just moments earlier, her smile soft, her movements natural, her mind still floating from the morning she’d spent wrapped in Mateo’s world. But as the photographer lifted his camera for the next shot, the quiet hum of the set was disrupted by the low growl of an engine approaching from behind the lighting rigs.
A sleek, black luxury car rolled to a deliberate stop - too polished, too dramatic to belong to anyone ordinary. Crew members paused mid-movement, glancing over curiously. Some straightened their clothes, thinking a Star Holdings executive had arrived unannounced. Others whispered excitedly, expecting Philippe Cruz himself.
But when the driver’s door opened and Adrian Reyes stepped out in a perfectly fitted suit, a strange murmur swept through the set. Amelia’s body tensed instantly, her pose faltering. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. Adrian? Here?
She barely had time to form the question before he circled to the passenger side, opened the door with exaggerated care and offered a hand to the person inside. A heel touched the ground first -elegant, expensive - followed by the smooth fall of dark hair and a familiar stunning face.
Viviana Cole emerged, radiant, poised, and smiling like a woman who had won something.
Amelia’s breath caught. The world tilted for a heartbeat. Just yesterday Viviana had been pale and shaken, barely able to hold herself together. Now she walked toward the set like she was stepping onto a red carpet, Adrian trailing beside her like a loyal shadow.
Amelia’s next pose collapsed entirely. Her fingers trembled slightly around the compact she was supposed to be holding. The photographer lowered his camera with a puzzled frown. “Amelia? You okay? Let’s… reset.”
Samantha Cruz was already watching her closely. She had noticed the exact moment Amelia’s body stiffened, the exact moment her eyes locked onto the unwelcome arrivals. She scanned the direction of Amelia’s gaze and saw Viviana and Adrian strolling toward them with practiced smiles. Samantha’s expression cooled instantly.
“Everyone, take five,” she called out, her tone crisp and controlled. When the crew dispersed, she gently touched Amelia’s arm. “Come with me, sweetheart.”
They stepped aside, behind one of the display screens blocking the glare of the sun. Amelia tried to steady her breathing. The shock pulsed through her body in waves. Samantha lowered her sunglasses slightly, eyes soft with concern.
“What’s wrong, Amelia? You were doing beautifully a moment ago.”
Amelia opened her mouth, then closed it. She felt foolish for letting Viviana and Adrian still have this kind of power over her composure. She took a slow breath, ready to explain—but a voice interrupted her.
“Amelia! Mrs Cruz! What a coincidence.”
They turned to find Viviana approaching with Adrian at her side, both smiling as if they hadn’t caused a single storm in Amelia’s life. Their footsteps were light, their expressions polished - too polished to be sincere.
Viviana placed a hand on her chest in feigned delight. “We just came to check on our trainee. She’s practically family to us at Cole Entertainment, you know.”
Adrian nodded, echoing her lie with smooth confidence. “We heard she had a big shoot today. Thought we should show our support.”
Samantha didn’t smile. She merely observed them with the sharpness of someone who had weathered too many boardrooms and too many liars to be impressed by amateur manipulation. She glanced subtly between the three of them - the stiff posture of Amelia, the predatory calm in Viviana’s expression, the calculating stillness in Adrian’s eyes. Everything made sense instantly.
“Well,” Samantha said slowly, her tone warm on the surface but edged with steel, “Amelia is under Star Cosmetics today. We appreciate the visit, but we have everything handled.”
It was a dismissal wrapped in politeness.
Viviana’s smile tightened at the edges. Adrian’s jaw pulsed once. Neither had expected Samantha Cruz, the queen of Star Holdings, to be standing here herself. Whatever petty ambush they had planned evaporated on the spot.
“We’ll just have a quick word with Amelia,” Adrian tried, reaching a step forward.
“No,” Samantha replied gently, but firmly enough to cut through the air. “She’s working. And I’m sure you both have plenty waiting for you back at Cole Entertainment.”
The way she emphasized Cole Entertainment made it clear - they were out of their territory.
Viviana’s eyes flicked toward Amelia, and the hostility simmering behind them was unmistakable. “Enjoy your little shoot,” she murmured, her voice dipped in something bitter. Then she turned sharply, her heels clicking as she walked away. Adrian followed after one last assessing look toward Amelia.
When they were out of earshot, Samantha faced Amelia fully. Her expression softened, full of maternal warmth but also quiet command.
“Start from the beginning,” she said. “I want to know everything.”
\-----------
Just a few hours earlier, Adrian had marched straight into Cole Entertainment and headed for the Trainee Affairs department, ignoring every startled glance thrown his way. Viviana had barely stepped into her office when the door flew open and he dropped to his knees in front of her - in front of her entire staff.
Gasps rippled across the room as Adrian clasped her hands and launched into a desperate apology, saying he had been confused, overwhelmed, terrified of losing her.
He said he loved her, that he couldn’t live without her, that he had only pushed her away because he was afraid of how much she meant to him. The performance was perfect - voice trembling, eyes glassy, hands shaking just enough. And Viviana, bruised in body and heart, starving for the smallest scrap of affection, absorbed every word like oxygen.
By the time he stood and pulled her into his arms, the room buzzing with whispers, she had already convinced herself that this was fate. That the pain had been a misunderstanding. That they simply couldn’t stay away from each other.
And just like that - they had slipped back into their old, toxic gravity, two people addicted to each other’s damage, bound together again.