Chapter 66
Julius straightened his shirt collar, his voice crisp and clear. “If I hadn’t shown up, I’d be in the dark about my fiancée being in danger of being taken advantage of
Quiana’s eyes narrowed slightly. With a firm grip from her slender fingers, the recording pens snapped in half with a sharp crack, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Whoa!” Zack exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.
Leo stared, clearly not expecting Quiana to have such a firm grip.
Julius felt a twitch in his left eyelid, pulling the blanket up a bit and coughing softly into his fist. “Hugo’s out of meds, so he sent me to grab some from you?
Quiana’s brow furrowed as she recalled a message from Hugo about Julius, but she hadn’t gotten around to reading it. She glanced at Julius, her expression neutral. “No hawking goods while I’m working
Julius kept his cool, speaking slowly and deliberately. “Then I’ll hang tight until you wrap things up
The makeup artist rushed over to Winona, her face pale with worry. “I’ve got no idea how Quiana got wind of it!”
If that recording got leaked, Quiana’s reputation would be in the toilet, and she’d be out of the entertainment scene for good. But it seemed like all their hard work had gone down the drain. Winona gritted her teeth, muttering a string of curses.
The makeup artist leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. “Julius just showed up.”
“What?” Winona’s eyes widened in shock.
The makeup artist quickly filled her in. “Zack was with him, and Ralph barely escaped unscathed.”
Julius, once a reclusive figure with an aura of menace, had kept a low profile. He and Winona had barely crossed paths in the past two decades, never mind him making an effort to see her.
But now, with Quiana as his fiancée, he was popping up all over the place, checking in on her and standing by her side.
‘Quiana, with her humble beginnings, how could she compare to me? What gives her the right?‘ Winona’s grip on her comb tightened, her eyes flashing with envy.
*****
The rest of the day, Julius was chilling on set, just hanging out under a big umbrella, watching the crew work their magic. He was like a big shot everyone tiptoed around, and the whole crew was on edge. No one would dare to mess with Quiana
anymore.
During a rehearsal, Ralph was swapped out for another young actor.
“I’ve got the inside scoop,” Cassie whispered, all excited and nosy. “Everyone saw him stumbling out of the makeup room, and the director gave him the boot! They got a replacement in a heartbeat.”
By 6 P.M., they wrapped up filming. Quiana saw Julius coming over and asked, “Did you have something to do with this?” She was talking about Ralph getting the boot.
Julius kept a straight face and said, “The director thought he wasn’t the right fit for the role.”
Quiana gave him a quick look, and then headed off to take off her makeup.
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Chapter 66
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Julius wheeled himself along at her pace, under the pink sunset, looking dashing and all manly. In a deep voice, he said, “I’ll get you home.”
Zack smirked, ready for Quiana’s usual rejection. But then she just said, “Sure.”
“Wait, what?” Zack, Leo, and even Julius were stunned for a second,
Zack was the quickest to react, dashing to the car and holding the door open. “Hop in, Quiana,” he said, all eager to please.
Today they were driving a Porsche, not as flashy as the other cars but still pretty eye–catching.
Quiana got in and casually said, “Take me to Riverfield.”
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