The mont Adelyn heard Alia shouting her na, she pulled the phone slightly away from her ear.
But when she heard the latter part of Alia’s sentence, she froze.
Man?!
How did she know about him?
"What’s wrong?" Alia sneered from the other end of the line. "Cat got your tongue?"
Adelyn quickly composed herself.
She wasn’t sure who Alia was referring to, so she decided to test how much she actually knew before revealing anything.
"What man are you talking about, Sister Alia?"
"The man who answered your phone last night," Alia said sharply, "Don’t act innocent now. He clearly sounded like soone —"
"It must be my friend."
Before Alia could speculate further, Adelyn hurriedly interrupted.
There was a pause on the other end of the line, which Adelyn allowed to stretch in her favor.
"Your friend?" Alia repeated, her voice filled with suspicion.
Adelyn didn’t falter.
She humd calmly and said, "Yes, my friend. After you left to look for the cab last night, my condition worsened. And I saw him. Since he lives near my rented place, I asked him to take back."
"Then why didn’t you inform us?"
Adelyn could almost imagine the deep frown forming between Alia’s brows.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth about what had happened that night.
Especially not to Alia, who had repeatedly warned her against getting into scandals or romantic entanglents.
"Do you even know how worried we were for the entire night?" Alia chided, though her tone still carried clear concern. "I was so anxious that I almost started blaming myself."
They had searched everywhere last night.
But not only had they failed to find Adelyn, her phone had also gone unanswered as well.
At their wits’ end, they had nearly gone to report the matter when the call finally went through.
However, even that didn’t ease their worries.
The man’s voice on the other end had filled them with all kinds of dreadful possibilities.
"If you’re so concerned about , you don’t have to hide it," Adelyn said with a soft smile, partly to change the subject and partly to reassure the girl on the other end of the line. "Just ask how I am now, and I will tell you. Who shows concern through irritation?"
"You —"
Alia was ready to snap again.
But just then —
Freya took the phone from her.
"Stop it, Alia," she said calmly, "You’ve panicked enough. Sit down and relax first."
Then she spoke into the phone.
"Adelyn, how are you feeling now? Did you visit the doctor?"
"Sister Freya," Adelyn replied, "I am feeling much better now. There’s no need to see a doctor. The allergy had subsided, and after resting today, I’ll be completely fine."
Freya humd thoughtfully from the other end.
"If that’s the case, then it’s good. Be more careful in the future. You can’t let this happen again. If anything goes wrong, the situation could beco disastrous for you."
Hadn’t it already?
If only Adelyn had known that her allergy would land her in such a complicated situation, she would have been far more careful, even about breathing.
But now, even regret wouldn’t help.
"Noted, Sister Freya," she said, "I’ll be careful from now on."
Freya paused briefly before continuing.
"Since you’re feeling better, I think it’ll be fine for you to attend the audition tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Adelyn asked in surprise.
Freya humd again.
"Yes, Alia will go with you, and I’ve already spoken to Producer Polson. As long as you perform well, it shouldn’t be difficult for you."
"I’ll do my best, Sister Freya."
A brief silence followed.
Then Freya spoke again, her voice slightly hesitant.
"Adelyn ... was the person who answered your phone last night really your friend?"
Even though she had already lied once about it, Adelyn couldn’t bring herself to lie again.
Not to Freya.
Her silence stretched long enough to beco an answer in itself.
Freya didn’t press further.
Instead, she said calmly, "As I have told you before, I don’t mind if you’re romantically involved with soone —as long as it doesn’t harm your career. I hope you understand the risk and remain careful."
"I understand, Sister Freya."
Adelyn didn’t defend herself, nor did she try to correct Freya’s assumption.
Since Freya had already guessed it, there was no point in continuing to deny it.
After all, it was no longer completely false.
After that, the call ended.
Adelyn placed her phone aside and leaned her head back against the seat, thinking about everything that had happened.
She knew lies only trapped a person deeper in their own web.
Yet she had continued lying again and again.
What was she even thinking?
How had she ended up weaving such bizarre lies?
And of all people ... with Dylan Warren?
Would she even survive when these lies eventually fell apart?
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head.
"I have to find a way to end this farce," she murmured under her breath, determination flashing in her eyes.
She couldn’t stay in a fake relationship forever.
Nor could she remain calm knowing she had lied to the one person who would make her regret it the most if he discovered the truth.
—————
anwhile, on the other side —
Inside the suite —
The air was heavy once again.
Dylan sat on the couch. He was now dressed in his formal attire, his expression cold and aloof as always. There was no trace of warmth in his eyes.
Jasper stood nearby, leaning against a side table. His expression was equally grim as he watched his younger brother kneeling on the floor, waiting for his deservable punishnt.
"Pathetic!!"
Jasper muttered under his breath.
Yet in the suffocating silence of the room, his remark was clearly audible.
Karl looked up at him, his face pale, sared with tears and snot.
His eyes pleaded desperately with his brother, begging him for help.
Even if it was just this once.
However, Jasper simply looked away, leaving him to his fate.
"Jasper ..." Karl almost cried out when he saw his brother ignore him. "Don’t be so cruel. I’m your brother. How can you ignore when I need you the most?"
"The sa way you thought it was fine to pull that stunt last night," Jasper replied coldly. "Did you forget? I told you already —you’ll face the consequences of your actions alone. None of us will help you."
Karl slumped onto the floor in despair.
If even his savior brothers refused to save him, how would he survive his Old Demon brother’s wrath?
His gaze subconsciously shifted toward Dylan.
And the mont he t those icy eyes; a cold shiver ran down his spine.
"B-Big Brother, I’m sorry!" he stamred. "I know I was wrong to plot against you. But ... but please ... please hear out first. Don’t rush to give the death sentence. Let explain."
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