"Earlier —when you went to make the call," Adelyn answered.
The crew mber left without lingering for longer since his job was already done.
Alia was left stunned.
It took her a long mont to process everything, and when she did, she asked almost urgently. "What role are you going to audition for?"
"For one of the lead roles," Adelyn paused a second, but replied smoothly.
Her expression remained calm, her deanour still composed —as if the sudden change hadn’t affected her at all.
But Alia was the complete opposite.
The mont she heard Adelyn; she was almost ready to break into panic mode.
"For one of the lead roles?" she repeated, her voice rising slightly. She quickly took the script from Adelyn’s hand to check —only to realize it wasn’t just any lead role ...
But rather the female lead.
Her eyes widened as she shook her head, not ready to accept it.
"No ... no, they must be doing this deliberately," she said, looking up at Adelyn, almost frantic. "They’re trying to disqualify you one way or another. Making you stand among the top players. How could they do this?"
If not, then why would there be a last-minute change like this?
It was clearly to make things difficult for Adelyn. But why?
Hadn’t they promised a fair chance?"
Now they were going back on their words.
The more Alia thought about it, the more furious she beca.
Just as she was about to lose her composure, Adelyn stood up.
"Whether they’re doing it deliberately or not —it doesn’t matter," she said evenly. Then, after a brief pause, she continued, "It doesn’t change the fact that I still have a chance to give my best ... and make them choose ."
It sounded like the perfect optimistic response.
But it did little to ease Alia’s worry.
Her brows furrowed deeply as she looked at Adelyn. "Do you really think it’ll be that easy? If they’ve already decided to eliminate you, nothing you do will change their minds."
And that was exactly what frustrated her the most.
If they weren’t willing to give Adelyn a fair chance, why give her hope at all?
Adelyn’s expression turned slightly solemn.
She knew Alia’s words made sense.
Yet, sothing told her this wasn’t entirely staged just to eliminate her.
Just then —
Alia’s phone rang, pulling Adelyn’s attention back to her.
Alia glanced at her phone screen. Seeing Freya’s na flashing, she looked at Adelyn and said, "We need to tell her everything."
With that, she didn’t wait before answering the call and quickly explaining the situation to Freya.
Freya didn’t interrupt her. She just listened quietly, taking everything in.
But her silence didn’t an she wasn’t affected.
It simply ant she was thinking.
"Where is Adelyn?" Freya finally asked.
Alia glanced at Adelyn. "She’s right here —trying to act tough. But I’m sure she’s nervous too."
Then, lowering her voice slightly, she added, "We can’t let her be bullied like this, Freya. We need to stand by her."
She tried to keep it quiet —
But Adelyn still heard it.
She raised a brow faintly, though Alia deliberately avoided her gaze.
Whether she admitted it or not, Alia had long started to see Adelyn as her own.
And now, seeing her at such a clear disadvantage—how could she simply accept it?
Freya, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised.
She had expected this much from Alia.
"Pass the phone to her," she said.
Alia nodded and handed the phone to Adelyn.
Adelyn took it and brought it to her ear. "Sister Freya," she greeted softly.
"What do you think? Do you still want to give the audition?"
Freya’s voice carried a quiet reassurance —as if telling Adelyn that whatever decision she made, she would support her in that.
Adelyn understood that clearly.
"Sister Freya, if I don’t go through with this audition, wouldn’t that an wasting all your efforts?"
Freya paused.
With no company resources, Freya had secured this opportunity on her own.
Even though Producer Polson had made it sound effortless at the Imperial View dinner —saying he simply trusted Freya’s capabilities —Adelyn knew it couldn’t have been that simple.
Jas Polson wouldn’t hand out opportunities so easily on a silver platter.
If he did, that only ant Freya had put more than enough effort to make him willing.
"It’s alright," Freya said calmly, unbothered about what’s going to waste. "If you don’t feel like doing this, withdraw and co back. I’ll handle things with Producer Polson."
"There’s no need for that, Sister Freya," Adelyn replied, her voice steady. "Since we’re already here, the right thing to do is to give it a try. If we don’t gain anything, at least we won’t be losing anything either."
Freya paused on the other end of the call, considering her words. And she realized Adelyn was right.
"If that’s what you’ve decided, then go ahead and do your best," she said.
Adelyn smiled faintly.
After a m mont, Freya added. "From what I know of Producer Polson and Director Rhode, I still cannot bring myself to believe they would go back on their word just to target you."
She paused again before continuing, "Either soone else is interfering behind the scenes ... or there’s a genuine reason for this change. The only way to know it is to face it."
Adelyn humd softly in acknowledgent. "I’ll do my best," she said.
After exchanging a few more words, they ended the call.
Adelyn handed the phone back to Alia.
sharing a few more words, they finally hung up the call, and Adelyn returned the phone to Alia.
"You’re really going to go through with this?" Alia asked.
Adelyn nodded, lightly waving the script in her hand. "I’ve already read it. The scene isn’t difficult —I think I can manage."
Alia pressed her lips together. She didn’t take her words seriously.
To her, it sounded more like Adelyn trying to make light of the situation.
"Fine," she said at last. "If you want to do it so badly, go ahead. I won’t complain —even if it turns out to be a complete disaster."
Before Adelyn could respond —
A voice made her pause.
"Adelyn ..."
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