Chapter 471

Amelia looked at him, a trace of disapproval flashing across her eyes. "But she needs you. You both get what you want from each other. She just hasn't figured out her feelings yet..."

"Need isn't love. Anyone can give her what she needs." Shawn lowered his head miserably, as if trapped in his own torment. "I didn't block that acid attack to make her feel grateful. That attack wasn't an accident—someone was targeting her. I can protect her, but I can't use that favor to force her to return my feelings."

Amelia gasped.

This idiot was out of his mind!

"Can you stop overthinking? She really does like you." Amelia was frustrated by his stubbornness, but she couldn't bear to watch him torture himself like this.

Shawn shook his head. "Don't try to comfort me. I've already been through two relationships where my love wasn't returned. It's exhausting for everyone, and it hurts me too. This time, I have to set her free as quickly as possible."

Ignoring Amelia's frustrated look, he took one last glance at the sleeping Seraphina, then turned toward the door. "Amelia, don't tell her I was here."

The door closed softly. Amelia stood there, her heart a jumble of emotions.

Had he decided to end that contract?

So sudden—he made this decision just from drinking?

Amelia turned back to look at Seraphina, who had just rolled over and continued to sleep soundly.

The next morning, Amelia ran into Seraphina in the dining room, drinking milk.

Seraphina had strict requirements for herself. What she ate, what she drank, how long she exercised—it had all become a well-curated lifestyle ingrained in her bones.

At this moment, she had clearly sobered up and returned to her usual cool, glamorous image—makeup perfect, clothes impeccable, with no trace of last night's loss of composure.

"Morning." Seraphina greeted her briefly, her gaze sweeping past Amelia briefly. "Shawn's not coming for breakfast?"

Though she appeared flawless, you could still tell that she was in a bad mood—her gaze cold, her expression sour.

Amelia hesitated. "He went back to the city early this morning. Said he had something urgent to take care of."

Seraphina's hand paused mid-air, then she gave an indifferent snort. "Okay."

Amelia watched her expression. "Last night—how much do you remember?"

"Last night?" Seraphina frowned. "I got drunk after a few drinks, and you took me back. Why do you ask?"

She really didn't remember.

Amelia sighed inwardly. "Nothing much. Since you drank so much last night, I was worried that you wouldn't be feeling well today."

"I'm fine." Seraphina put down her knife and fork, and glanced at her watch. "The team building ends tomorrow, right? I need to leave early—I have an event to attend."

Amelia was lost in thought when her phone suddenly began to ring.

Chris's name appeared on the screen, so she answered it.

"Hello?"

"When are you coming back? Owen and Olivia want to play with you." Chris's voice sounded lazy and tender.

Amelia couldn't help but smile. "Bring them over. Everyone's here having fun. I'll send you the location."

As she spoke, the children's chattering voices came through the phone, and Amelia's smile grew even wider.

Seraphina watched, her gaze distant.

She'd always known Amelia was happy, but only now did she truly feel it.

"What's wrong?" Amelia waved her hand in front of her.

Seraphina thought for a moment before saying, "Ms. Tudor, you used to be a career-focused woman too, and you weren't that into your husband at first. He's been good to you, right?"

On second thought, she felt her words were a bit awkward, so she added, "Ms. Tudor, can you balance a relationship and a career?"

Amelia raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Well... it's hard to balance, but it's possible as long as you can understand each other, solve problems together, and walk forward side by side."

Seraphina stared blankly, lost in thought.

Amelia understood her thoughts better than anyone, but now, the two of them could only figure this out for themselves. No one else could help.

Time flew by, and two days passed.

One morning, Amelia had just woken up and was getting ready to go to the office when Hatty suddenly called, telling her to check the entertainment news.

A bad feeling washed over Amelia as she quickly opened her phone.

A headline stared back at her: "Supermodel Seraphina Vale's Major Runway Mishap—Career in Crisis?"

In the attached video, Seraphina had fallen on the runway, nearly tumbling into the audience, and her calf was cut open by the sharp edge of the stage.

Amelia was stunned, thinking at first that it was a fake video, but she soon discovered that every media outlet was reporting it.

"We'll split up," she told Hatty. "You get the PR team on it immediately and keep this story's impact to a minimum. I'll go find Shawn. As for Seraphina, we'll talk when she gets back."

Hatty agreed.

Meanwhile, the backstage at Pinecrest Fashion Week was in chaos.

When Amelia arrived, Seraphina had locked herself alone in the backstage dressing room, refusing to open the door no matter who knocked.

Other staff members were outside, trying to get her to open the door, but it was all in vain.

The agent said urgently, "Ms. Tudor, at a time like this, we need to get her out so we can solve the problem. Otherwise, people can say whatever they want about our company, and we'll just have to take it."

Amelia felt terrible.

She asked everyone else to leave. She alone stayed behind.

"Seraphina," Amelia called softly. "I saw the video. It was just a small mistake. It won't affect you. You're still that shining supermodel that no one else can touch."

"A small mistake?" Seraphina's voice was hoarse, coming through the door crack. "Ms. Tudor, don't comfort me. I fell on the runway in my own city. I'm an industry disgrace..."

"No!" Amelia bit her lip. "Open the door first. I'm here. Nothing bad will happen."

There was nothing but silence.

Then Seraphina finally opened the door.

She was so tall, but the spirit she never used to slack on seemed to have scattered all at once, making her whole person look defeated and her eyes lifeless.

"It's gone viral online." Seraphina gave a self-mocking smile, mechanically unlocking her phone screen. A flood of comments filled Amelia's vision.

"Supermodel myth shattered!"

"I heard Shawn dumped her and she had a breakdown?"

"Are you kidding me? Falling on the runway—is this something a supermodel does?"

The most glaring was an unsigned column article: "From Genius Supermodel to Industry Joke: On Seraphina Vale's Rapid Decline."

The article dripped with mockery—this was clearly Sandra's company's doing. She was practically gloating in this article.

Amelia grabbed the phone and locked the screen. "Don't look at these. They're just jealous of you. They've been waiting for you to finally make a mistake, and now they're swarming in for the kill. Kicking you while you're down is their style. If you believe those people and let this defeat you, they'll be even happier—probably thrilled out of their minds."