"What? I thought Light Shade Entertainment was going to sign me after the New Year. Why did they decide against it all of a sudden? Who replaced me?" Portia yelled into her phone.
"What? Don't tell me you don't know! Mr. Zhong? Emmett Zhong! Could he be behind this?" Portia suddenly stopped shouting when the person on the other end of the line said something. "I didn't expect a little assistant to be so resourceful…" she murmured in disbelief.
All her commercials and modeling contracts had been cancelled. What was more, Light Shade Entertainment also decided not to sign her.
After hanging up, Portia went back into the living room and threw her phone onto the couch. It bounced obligingly among the cushions before landing again, finally still.
Hayden had just come back from New York and entered the house, overcoat in hand. Portia trotted up to him and asked anxiously, "Hayden, you're friends with the CEO of Light Shade Entertainment, right?"
Hayden was about to take a warm bath after a long journey. He didn't miss a beat and asked in reply, "Yeah, I am. What's up?"
"Then call your friend and ask him why he didn't sign me." Light Shade Entertainment was the leading international company in the entertainment industry in Y City. It was Portia's dream to be an entertainer of that company.
With Hayden's help, the CEO of Light Shade Entertainment had agreed to sign Portia after the New Year celebrations were done. But Portia's assistant had just called, and told her that all her commercials and modeling contracts had been cancelled and Light Shade Entertainment had decided not to sign her.
"Really?" Hayden asked, as he stopped and turned to look at Portia. "But why?"
Portia's eyes reddened. She took a deep breath and said in a choked voice, "I don't know either."
"Don't worry. I'm calling my friend now." Hayden took out his phone and dialed a number.
He hung up inside two minutes. He stared at his sister and was lost in his own thoughts, saying nothing.
Portia was impatient. "Hayden, what did he say?"
"Have you seen Debbie recently?" he asked.
Before Portia could respond, a sharp voice chipped in, "Hayden, why talk about that bitch? Are you really that hung up on her? You want to piss me off, don't you? Why did you suddenly go to New York? You should've stayed and celebrated the New Year with us."
Hayden turned around to see Blanche walking down the stairs, clad in a night gown. Fury was written all over her face.
Ignoring her questions, Hayden repeated his question. "Have you seen her?"
"Yes," Portia nodded, and wondered whether it had something to do with Emmett.
Hayden had long known that Portia couldn't stand Debbie, but he hadn't taken it seriously before. He didn't want to be caught between his sister and his beloved woman. But maybe he should have. A niggling doubt tickled the back of his brain. He wondered if it wasn't so much about Portia, but instead his last liaison with Debbie. Carlos seemed like he was okay with it, but what if he wasn't?
Now that Hayden knew that Debbie was Carlos' wife, he thought he'd better remind his sister. "Portia, Debbie isn't a doormat now. Don't mess with her. Just be nice to her for my sake, okay?"
Of course, Portia would not listen—there was no way she'd buy this. "Why should I be nice to her? Hayden, I don't care if you still like her or not. You've gone too far," she said in a cold voice.
'Yes, her husband is Carlos' assistant. So what? I don't give a damn about that, ' she thought.
Blanche pointed at Hayden and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Debbie Nian! Debbie Nian! What's so good about her that you've carried a torch for her for so many years? Hayden, you are now the CEO of the Gu Group. You need to marry a woman from a family of equal status. That bitch doesn't deserve you!"
"Mom is right, Hayden. Just forget that woman," Portia echoed. She never liked Debbie, and she would do everything to make Hayden hate her. Her efforts came to naught, of course. While Debbie was a perfect vision, the woman of his dreams, these women just came off as hateful and wrong. They just didn't know Debbie like he did. She was a delicate flower, a gleaming jewel to be plucked, and the best thing that ever happened to him. They just couldn't accept that.
Unable to stand it anymore, Hayden said to Portia, "You pissed Debbie off the last time you saw her, and now her husband is avenging her." After saying that, he turned around and walked up the stairs.
Although Portia had thought of this possibility before, she still couldn't believe her ears. 'Emmett is just an assistant. How was he able to do that to me? Ah, I see. Maybe he mentioned this to Mr. Huo, and Mr. Huo did all of this…'
Blanche then noticed something was not right with her daughter. She held Portia's hands and asked anxiously, "What happened? Your face is so pale."
After a long time, Portia finally came back to her senses. She looked at Blanche in the eye and murmured, "Mom, all my commercials and modeling contracts have been cancelled. And Light Shade Entertainment decided not to sign me…"
"Why?" Blanche raised her voice, and her face changed dramatically. The commercials and modeling contracts were very important to Portia, and determined her future in the entertainment circle. Blanche had even flaunted her daughter's achievements before other rich ladies at a tea party the other day.
If Portia was unable to sign with Light Shade Entertainment, Blanche would have made a fool of herself.
"Emmett Zhong is avenging Debbie Nian," Portia said through gritted teeth. 'Debbie Nian! You thought you were something after marrying Emmett Zhong, huh? How could you do this to me?' Portia cursed inwardly.
Blanche's face twitched with anger. "What?! That bitch again? How dare she! She thinks she can do anything she wants just because of Emmett Zhong?! He's only an assistant! Bah! I swear I will beat her to a pulp."
A light bulb went off in Portia's head. "Mom, please get me in touch with Carlos Huo," she said.
"What for?" Blanche asked in confusion.
Looking Blanche in the eye, Portia said with determination, "I'm going to be his woman." That was the only way she could step on Debbie and teach her a hard lesson that she would never forget.
"NO! Don't you know Mr. Huo is married? You're not going to be anyone's mistress," Blanche snapped. There was no way that would end well. Men made endless promises to their mistresses about how they'd divorce their wives and marry them. They rarely did, and if the mistresses got pregnant, well, that was all over.
Portia was not willing to be an ordinary man's mistress. However, Carlos Huo was not an ordinary man. Being his mistress was much better than being an ordinary man's wife. Portia said in a calm voice, "Mom, I don't think Carlos Huo loves his wife. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept her a secret from the public. He has gone to parties with Olga a couple times. Besides, he walked out of the hotel with a college girl last time, and I'm sure that wasn't Olga. See? He has so many women. Men are all unfaithful. And Carlos is no exception. Have you ever heard of the daughters of the prominent families in Y City getting married? No! Of course, Carlos' wife is not from a powerful family. Do you think I can't drive Mrs. Huo out of the Huo family and replace her?"
"Um…" Blanche hesitated. She had to admit that Portia had a point, but she was afraid that people might gossip behind her back. After all, it would be disgraceful if Portia was a mistress.
Portia knew what was on her mother's mind. "Mom, don't worry. I don't think people would gossip about me. Carlos is so rich and powerful, nobody will trash talk him or his woman. After I become his woman, our family will be more respected."
'After I become Mrs. Huo, I'll ask him to fire Emmett Zhong!' she swore to herself.
Blanche had been thinking of marrying her daughter to Carlos instead of Lewis. Despite being the general manager of ZL Group's New York branch, Lewis wielded little power in the company. But the truth was, Carlos had turned this offer down without hesitation. Left with no other option, she then decided to marry Portia to Lewis. After all, Lewis was Carlos' cousin. The Gu family could still benefit from an association with Carlos.
