She didn\u2019t reply, simply relaying the message to Haskell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He seemed intrigued. \u201cWhat\u2019s your plan?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSimple,\u201d Larissa said. \u201cI\u2019ll just make sure their show is a complete disaster. They\u2019ll almost certainly cast Livia as the lead, so I\u2019ll just have to\u2026 arrange for a little sacrifice from their male lead.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a bite of specialty fried rice with fresh herbs and organic eggs, savoring the flavor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA good idea,\u201d Haskell noted. \u201cBut what if they cast a reputable actor with a clean record? Someone without any skeletons in his closet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa smiled dismissively. \u201cHow many of these young idols are truly clean? To beat us to market, Gale will rush production. They won\u2019t have time for a thorough casting process. All I need to do is give a little push from behind the scenes, and a major scandal involving their chosen lead will conveniently erupt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her confidence was radiant. The more Haskell saw of it, the deeper his admiration and fascination grew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard Gale poached quite a few people from Starlight Media. Your company must be short\u2013staffed. Do you need my help?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo need,\u201d Larissa waved a hand. \u201cI\u2019ve already arranged for a new team. They\u2019re all top\u2013tier professionals. From filming to marketing, they\u2019ll handle everything flawlessly. I can guarantee that \u2018Heaven\u2019s Will\u2018 will be the most perfectly executed hit series of the last decade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell raised an eyebrow. \u201cThat confident?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa lifted her chin, a brilliant smile spreading across her face. \u201cI never fight a battle I can\u2019t win. And I don\u2019t just win, I win beautifully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell picked up a bottle of Paddy\u2019s Home\u2019s signature house\u2013brewed wine and poured two glasses. He raised his. \u201cThen here\u2019s to your victory, Larissa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She clinked her glass against his. \u201cCheers to that!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Torrin had followed Avril to the hospital. He was at the self\u2013service kiosk about to register her when she suddenly announced, \u201cI\u2019m fine now. I don\u2019t need a check\u2013up. And you don\u2019t have to compensate me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Torrin stared at her, then his anger flared. \u201cAre you messing with me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saving you money! Isn\u2019t that a good thing?\u201d Avril retorted. \u201cHow much can a delivery\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:56\u00a0<\/p>\n
guy like y\u00a0<\/p>\n
afford to pay me anyway? You should be grateful!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gritted his teeth. \u201cWhatever. If you don\u2019t need a scan, I\u2019m leaving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could still catch Larissa if he hurried back. He turned to leave, pulling out his phone to dial her new number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, a ringtone sounded from behind him\u00a0<\/p>\n
Avril spun around, pretending to answer her phone. \u201cHello? Oh, Haskell! No, I\u2019m fine, don\u2019t worry. What? The meeting\u2019s over already? You and Larissa are heading back? Okay, sounds good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Torrin frowned. His call to Larissa went unanswered, and then, after a few rings, it was disconnected. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He lowered his phone. He had told himself he was done with her, but her image still filled his mind. He couldn\u2019t let go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, he gave in and sent a text.\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Larissa, I still can\u2019t give up on you. I\u2019ve thought it over. I don\u2019t have to be your number one. I can be your number two! You don\u2019t have to marry me. You can marry Haskell. I\u2019ll be your lover! You just have to spend one day a week with me. A woman as amazing as you shouldn\u2019t belong to just one man!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 474 She didn\u2019t reply, simply relaying the message to Haskell.\u00a0 He seemed intrigued. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30999\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}