Chapter 205 Setting up a Trap at the Banquet
Amelia looked at Faith's face and smiled gently.
The makeup Faith wore to Lakeside Hotel that day hadn't suited her at all.
On the way back, Amelia had told her what kind of makeup would suit her, and sure enough, she had done her makeup that way today.
Faith had a cute, round little face, as radiant and lovely as a full moon.
Her eyes were equally round, her nose tip rounded and delicate - she just looked delightful.
Her makeup today was on the lighter side, but she'd applied plenty of blush. From a distance, she looked like a doll in a shop window that could blink.
Although oval faces were fashionable these days, Faith's look was a different kind of beauty with its own unique charm.
"You look beautiful today, you're getting better and better at doing your makeup," Amelia praised.
Faith blushed.
She'd practiced this makeup for many days - her effort hadn't been wasted.
When she left the house, Byron had also said it "looked pretty good."
Amelia said no more. After saying goodbye to Natalie and her brothers, she bent down to get in the car.
The Richardson family would handle the discharge procedures. Once she was done here, she just needed to go straight home.
The driver wasn't Byron, but another person from Shadow Operations Division named Louis Fields.
"Blaze, you're okay now, right? That day we couldn't reach you, Byron was scared to death."
Amelia said, "I'm fine now."
Then she added, "When you get back, make sure to remind Byron that if something really happens to me one day, he needs to be strong. He can't fall apart just because I'm gone."
This incident was also a wake-up call.
Byron relied on her too much, and that wasn't a good thing.
As long as you're alive, accidents can happen. If she encountered an accident someday, Shadow Operations Division still needed someone to hold things together.
That person had to be Byron.
Amelia had high hopes for him, so she didn't want him to continue depending on her so much.
"Yes." Louis agreed, though he felt a bit upset inside.
Amelia was their pillar of strength. If that day really came, forget Byron - even someone like him who wasn't that close to Amelia would fall apart too.
The car soon arrived at its destination - Luminance Art Gallery.
Aurevia Studio's charity reception today was being held right here.
The previous exhibition items had been removed early and the space set up for the reception.
Reporters were camped out on the red carpet, waiting for the celebrities to arrive.
Amelia wasn't a celebrity, so she went straight in through the west side entrance.
Waiting at the west entrance was Max's assistant, who respectfully ushered them inside.
"You can move around freely. If you need any help, just let me know anytime."
This assistant didn't know her identity.
But knowing that Max was very respectful toward her, the assistant was naturally respectful too.
Amelia waved her hand, signaling him to go about his business.
After the assistant left, Amelia took two glasses of champagne from a server's tray and gave one to Faith.
"Will Julie come?" Faith looked around and asked somewhat uncertainly.
They were among the earliest to arrive.
The reception hall was still quite empty, with only a few scattered people.
Amelia swirled her champagne glass, only smelling the aroma without drinking.
She couldn't hold her liquor well, but Julie had an amazing tolerance.
"She will," Amelia said with certainty.
York had followed her instructions and given Julie an ultimatum.
After today, Julie had to leave Goldenvale.
If Julie wanted to make a move, it had to happen today.
And she had deliberately provoked Julie with Faith a week in advance.
Based on her understanding of Julie's temper, Julie definitely couldn't sit still.
Gradually, people started entering.
Max sent Amelia a message that Lucas would be the grand finale.
—Aurevia Studio's emphasis on Lucas was unprecedented.
Several big-name stars at the company had complained at first, until they saw Lucas act, and then they stopped saying anything.
Lucas was talented. He was going to be famous.
Maybe they'd need Lucas's help in the future, so everyone had no objections to the company's emphasis on Lucas.
More friends meant more opportunities.
Smart people didn't like making enemies.
Except for Orval.
He had a pent-up frustration inside.
At Aurora Media, he'd gotten good resources, but coming to Aurevia Studio, his treatment in every way was worse than Lucas's.
At an event like today's, back at Aurora Media, he would most likely be the one making the grand entrance.
But now, he was one of the first to walk the red carpet, and with several newly debuted newcomers at that.
Once Orval entered the venue, the smile on his face immediately disappeared.
He was very unhappy.
Not just because of today, but because of the future.
If today's plan succeeded, Lucas would only rise higher, while he still didn't know where his future lay.
But if he didn't do this, his future would be completely gone.
Orval had had smooth sailing since his debut. This period was the first time he'd felt the road ahead was difficult.
Just then, Orval saw Amelia.
Like the first time he saw her, Orval was stunned for a few seconds.
But it was only a few seconds.
There were plenty of beautiful people in the entertainment industry - he wasn't that easily dazzled.
Amelia saw him too.
Their eyes met, and Orval looked away first.
He always felt Amelia was dangerous - her eyes seemed able to see through people's hearts.
But while Orval deliberately avoided her, Amelia took the initiative to approach him.
"Mr. Montes, long time no see. Have you seen Lucas?"
Orval forced a smile.
"Ms. Richardson, hello. Just call me Orval. Lucas is the grand finale today, he'll be the last one to come in."
Amelia showed a very surprised expression.
"Lucas gets to be the grand finale now? Looks like he's really going to be famous."
Orval's smile became even more forced.
Amelia looked at him with confusion.
"You're much more famous than Lucas, why did you come in so early?"
Orval found it even harder to smile.
But today he didn't want to cause trouble - he just wanted to quietly follow Julie's plan.
He was a popular celebrity, but in the face of capital's power, he was nothing.
So he put on a smile that looked worse than crying and said, "Lucas has talent, he'll be more famous than me sooner or later. I'm going to find my agent. Please enjoy yourself, Ms. Richardson."
With that, he was about to leave.
Amelia didn't stop him, just kept staring at his retreating back.
She could only see that Orval's facial muscles were very stiff, like he was about to lose control of his expression.
Her words had indeed planted a thorn in Orval's heart.
Before long, celebrities started coming in one after another.
Max attended in person today. After giving his opening remarks, he got straight to the point: "The charity auction will begin in one hour. For now, please enjoy yourselves."
He stepped down from the stage and soon went to the lounge.
With Max gone, the atmosphere quickly became lively.
Lucas also came over to Amelia, both surprised and concerned.
"Amelia, why are you here? I was planning to visit you at the hospital after this ended. Are you feeling better?"
Amelia said, "It's just a cold, I've already been discharged. I heard there was something fun happening here, so I came to join in."
"Then don't drink alcohol - you can't drink when you have a cold," Lucas carefully reminded her.
But soon several celebrities came over to greet Lucas.
Amelia told him not to worry about her and to go enjoy himself, then went to find Faith at the dessert area.
Faith was eating a piece of mousse cake.
You could tell she was very nervous - the perfectly good mousse cake had been mashed into a mess by her fork.
Seeing Amelia approach, she immediately asked, "All the celebrities are here, why hasn't Julie come yet? She's not really going to skip it, is she?"
"She'll come."
Amelia was still very certain.
Her gaze had been fixed on Orval.
She happened to see Orval take a phone call, looking very serious, then quickly heading toward the west entrance.
"She's here," Amelia said.
Faith followed her line of sight and indeed saw Orval appearing with Julie.
Julie was dressed very low-key today.
In a dark-colored evening gown, among all the stars, she looked like part of the background.
Behind her was a tall man with ordinary features, but clearly a bodyguard.
Amelia had learned from York early on that after York stopped following Julie, Julie had transferred two bodyguards from Thornfield.
This man was one of them.
York had shown her photos.
Orval led Julie to the lounge where Max was.
Amelia timed it perfectly, having Faith find Lucas two minutes before Julie came out.
"Lucas," Faith took the initiative to greet him.
Lucas looked at Faith with the same affection he showed Amelia.
Faith was Amelia's friend, so naturally he considered her a friend too.
"Faith, you came too?"
"Yes, I like a certain celebrity and asked Amelia to bring me. But I'm too shy to ask for an autograph myself. Could you take me over?"
"Of course. Who do you like?"
Faith pointed to a female celebrity.
The actress was known for her excellent acting skills and had striking, elegant features. She had just done an advertisement shoot with Lucas.
"Come on, I'll take you over."
"Thank you, Lucas."
"No need to be polite." Lucas smiled and led her to meet the actress.
This scene happened to be witnessed by Julie as she walked out of the lounge.
She gripped her dress tightly.
If it were her, Lucas would never lead her to meet anyone.
When he saw her, he avoided her like a snake.
"Ms. Crawford, stay calm," Orval beside her reminded her in time, afraid Julie's temper would flare up and she'd rush over and slap Faith.
"I know."
Julie slowly released her dress, smoothed out the wrinkles, and walked toward Lucas.
When Lucas saw her, obvious surprise appeared on his face, immediately followed by a furrowed brow.
Julie saw it and felt the hatred in her heart.
She couldn't even tell anymore whether what she felt for Lucas was more love or more obsession over not being able to have him.
"You don't mind having a private word with me, do you?" Julie asked.
Lucas didn't speak, trying to refuse with silence.
Julie was a girl after all - he didn't like making things too awkward with her in this kind of setting.
But Julie acted as if she didn't understand, just standing there, quietly looking at him.
Faith beside them tugged on Lucas's sleeve, her innocent big eyes blinking twice as she asked, "Lucas, who is this?"
Lucas met Faith's gaze, and the distance in his eyes faded.
"A manager from my former company."