Chapter 5

Charlotte called a moving company, and by the next morning, she'd packed up all her stuff and moved out.

Then she reached out to the company, asking to end her contract.

But her manager, Emily, shot down her request.

"If you want to break the contract, come to the office," Emily said.

At 11 AM, Charlotte headed to the office.

The place looked the same. The only thing different was the poster by the entrance.

That spot used to be hers alone, an exclusive perk Richard gave her, a symbol of her place in his heart.

Sure enough, Richard was a man of words and deeds.

After he cheated, even the poster at the entrance now featured Olivia instead of Charlotte.

Charlotte let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh, then turned and headed upstairs to find Emily.

"Alright, tell me. What do I have to do to get out of this contract?" Charlotte said, her voice steady but cold.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Charlotte, you're not new to this game. The company spent a fortune on you. It's not like you can up and leave whenever you want.

"But for your sake and Mr. Ford's, I'll give you a chance. You can take on the second female lead in this film.

"Once the filming is done, you can leave."

Charlotte frowned, lowered her eyes to take a look. Sure enough, it was a terrible script.

But Olivia herself was both the female lead and the author.

No wonder no one wanted to take on this hot potato.

"Such a terrible show. Even if it airs, it'll be a money-losing venture. Does Richard really let you run wild like this?" Charlotte asked.

Emily sneered, "Charlotte, how can you still not get it? If Richard didn't give the green light, who would dare call the shots on such a huge project?"

Yeah, that's true. Aside from Richard, she couldn't think of anyone else who'd go out of their way for Olivia.

Back when her career was taking off, she'd wanted to be a producer for a show herself.

But at that time, Richard wasn't calling the shots yet and couldn't make the final decision.

Back then, his eyes were red with emotion as he promised, "Charlotte, hang in there a bit longer. Once I take over the company, I'll make sure you get to produce it yourself."

Now, he finally had that kind of power. But instead, he was using her as a stepping stone for someone else.

Emily said, "Charlotte, if you don't want to, I won't force you. But don't even think about getting out of your contract."

Charlotte smiled. "Who said I'm not agreeing? I'll do it, but I want all my scenes finished within five days."

Emily was taken aback.

Normally, Charlotte would never have accepted a trashy script like this, but now...

Emily eyed her warily. "Charlotte, you'd better not pull any tricks. If you do, it won't be me coming after you. Richard won't let you get away with it."

Charlotte let out a cold chuckle.

Back then, her best friend and Richard always had her back, warning other producers not to mess around with double-dealing contracts. Now, she was the one being threatened.

Men or women, people's hearts always turned so fast.

Since she agreed, filming kicked off that very afternoon.

Richard, who rarely ever showed up on set, made a rare appearance to support Olivia.

Richard bought drinks and snacks for the crew, and even went out of his way to say nice things to the director Sam Warren.

"Mr. Warren, Olivia's still young and her acting needs some work. If she's a bit rough around the edges, please cut her some slack for my sake," Richard said.

Sam smiled and said, "Mr. Ford, you're too generous. You even brought in the previous Best Actress winner to play a supporting role to boost a rookie. With Charlotte's help, I'm sure Olivia's acting will level up fast."

Only then, after the director's introduction, did Richard spot Charlotte lurking in the corner.

His brows furrowed as he marched over to her, his voice low and sharp. "What are you doing here, Charlotte? What kind of schemes are you trying to pull this time?

"Olivia's career is taking off. If you stir up drama here, you'll ruin everything for her."

Even though she knew he'd moved on, seeing him go out of his way to shield another woman still made her chest tighten painfully.