Chapter 1362 - 1358: Love Turned to Hate
Chloe returned to the tent looking extremely unwell. Wendy was startled, quickly helped her sit down, and upon noticing the sand all over her clothes, hurried to find some clean pajamas for her.
"Chloe, did Constantine threaten you, hit you, or curse you?" Wendy asked quickly, seeing her dazed and seemingly soulless. Over the past few days, Wendy had genuinely grown fond of Chloe, even more than Charles.
Chloe shivered as she changed into pajamas, remembering Constantine’s gloomy expression when he brought her back, leaving her with a pounding headache.
During the divorce, both appeared calm and indifferent; who would have thought that half a year later, things would rupture to this point. Despite the man’s excessive actions, for the past six years, he had taken care of her, for which she was grateful. At the time of divorce, she didn’t hate him; she just felt abandoned and somewhat hurt.
Now it seems that she did love him at some point, and it’s only been half a year that she finally realized and gradually transformed love into hatred.
The resentment was so deep that any touch from him made her feel terrible.
Chloe buried her head in Wendy’s lap, muttering, "Sister Wendy, I’m okay. I’m just a bit tired."
"If you’re tired, get some sleep. You’re still so young, yet throughout this journey, even the elder brothers and sisters leaned on you for care." Wendy stroked her head, scolding Leah and Constantine again, then comforted the young girl to sleep.
On the third day of filming, Leah’s injury and Mr. Stewart’s gloomy demeanor made things difficult for the photographers, leading the live stream to focus mostly on Chloe and Charles as a pair, occasionally capturing Desmond and Wendy, who were known for their humorous banter, thus managing to keep things barely together.
By afternoon, as everyone emerged from the desert, completing the last tasks, they felt as if they’d survived a disaster and returned to civilization.
The remaining content was no longer live, as the director, Daniel, opted for recorded segments.
Constantine’s private plane was already waiting at the finish line; once the first phase of filming concluded, he boarded the plane.
After a shower and change into clean clothes, Constantine received a report from Zhang Gu, "Mr. Stewart, only two guests boarded the plane; Miss Chloe and the others have already left."
The man glanced at the Northwest Desert, which he never wished to visit again, his gaze deep and cold, then said, "Return to Imperial City."
Chloe and her group traveled with the program crew for a two-hour drive, sleeping all the way to the nearest city, where they found the best local hotel, showered, ate, and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, the program crew returned everyone’s phones, and they gradually made their way back to Imperial City.
Upon turning on her phone, Chloe saw dozens of missed calls, all from unfamiliar numbers, which she ignored.
Desmond grabbed his phone, contacted Kyla, and came over wearing pajamas and slippers, knocking at the door.
"Chloe, Sister Kyla says she’s coming to pick us up, return to Imperial City, and sign with Delphine’s studio. You’re so popular now; let’s make money together!"
Chloe rolled her eyes at his childish Monkey D. Luffy pajamas, saying, "Hurry up and get out, or if it gets photographed, it’ll look like we’re in a scandal, and I’ll definitely get torn apart by your crazy fans."
Desmond, shut outside, rubbed his nose, aggrievedly shouting, "Chloe, did you hear what I said? Do you know how popular you are now? Constantine wants to blacklist you, but he can’t do it!"
"I know." Chloe replied calmly.
Wendy had an obligation to attend to and left ahead of time, while Chloe, Desmond, and Charles traveled together, arriving in Imperial City by afternoon.
"Here’s my private number and address; this is my manager’s contact info. Chloe, if you want to join the Entertainment Sector, feel free to contact my manager." Charles said upon disembarking, knowing they’d soon part ways, and the next shoot would be in a week, hurriedly leaving his personal info behind.
"Old Charles, we’ve been through thick and thin. You can’t snatch Chloe from me. Two years ago, my cousin, Delphine, wanted to sign Chloe." Desmond grabbed Charles’s manager’s card with a smile, saying, "Chloe already has a manager waiting for us outside."
"Delphine?" Charles burst into laughter upon hearing Delphine Carter’s name and nodded, saying, "If you can sign with Director Carter’s studio, it’s certainly better than mine."
"Either way, I must thank Mr. Taylor for his help along the way." Chloe smiled at him, her face as fair as snow with a sweet dimple, causing Charles a moment of distraction.
"Also, remember to join the WeChat group and keep in touch." Charles snapped back to reality with a smile.
Daniel created a WeChat group, consisting of one director and eight guests; now, Chloe was the only one not yet in the group.
Chloe nodded.
The three parted ways.
As Chloe and Desmond exited through a special passageway, they saw Kyla waiting outside.
After two years apart, Kyla seemed to have grown younger, still sporting a neat bob. She stepped forward to hug Chloe, patting the young girl’s back with a smile, "Come on, today I’m treating you to something delicious."
"I want crawfish." Desmond said enthusiastically.
"Desmond Wood, do you even care? Whatever Chloe wants to eat is what we’ll have. It’s not your turn, okay?"
"Waaah, I just knew, once you have Chloe, you won’t care for me." Desmond tearfully complained.
Chloe burst out laughing, feeling a warmth inside.
Once inside the car, Kyla began discussing contract matters with Chloe.
"Chloe, with gaming livestreams and this variety show boosting your popularity, it’s the perfect time to rejoin the Entertainment Sector. I heard from Desmond that Leah previously schemed against you. Her backing isn’t small, with Starshine Media’s team managing things. So right now, you need a trustworthy team." Kyla said softly, "Delphine always wanted to sign you, but worried you wouldn’t agree, delaying until today. Now that you have some fame, why not sign under our studio?"
Chloe’s eyes reddened, softly asking, "Is Sister Delphine well?"
"Doing well. Vice Admiral is about to become a father, and he treats Delphine as a treasure, fearing to let harm come her way." Kyla laughed, thinking of Delphine’s pregnancy preventing her return, thus having her friend Leah come back to look after things.
Leah is about to marry into the Imperial City Shaw Family, soon to be a Vice Admiral’s wife. With this connection, Chloe’s days in Imperial City will become easier.
But this matter isn’t urgent, so Kyla didn’t mention it.
"I’ll sign. Just that Constantine might cause some trouble. I fear dragging Sister Delphine into this." Chloe said softly.
"No worries. Even Mr. Stewart in Imperial City must act reasonably. You don’t need to worry about Constantine; we can handle it." Kyla held her hand with a smile, adding, "You have talent in acting; I’m still waiting to nurture a future Actress."
Chloe nodded, realizing she owed Delphine a great debt of gratitude, which could only be repaid slowly over time.