CHAPTER 520: CHAPTER 520: STUNNED

Last night, Aidan Sinclair was so frustrated that he suffered from insomnia. He grew up with very few things that could make him sleepless, and after finally falling asleep, he was plagued by nightmares.

In his dream, he saw himself battling a monster. Unfortunately, even though the monster had a hulking build with a tiger-like back and elephant-like legs, it had a head that looked exactly like Stella Jennings. Just as he courageously leaped to strike it down, "Stella Jennings" smiled sweetly at him, causing Aidan to hesitate and pull back his sword with all his might, only to crash down onto the ground himself.

Aidan Sinclair opened his eyes to find himself wrapped in his blanket and lying on the floor. The "thud, thud, thud" wasn’t the sound of the monster’s footsteps but someone knocking at the door.

He frowned, "Come in."

He never allowed the servants to wake him up, and they wouldn’t dare enter his room casually, not even if it was urgent.

Upon hearing his permission, the servant opened the door and stood at the entrance, saying, "Sir, a Miss Crystal Pierce is here to see you. She’s waiting in the living room."

"Got it." Faye Truman frowned as she got up from the floor, looking grumpy from waking up.

Downstairs, the servant had already brewed coffee for Crystal Pierce, serving it to her. "Sir is getting up, please wait here for a moment."

Crystal Pierce smiled and thanked them, appearing relaxed while sitting on the sofa, but she felt a bit anxious inside.

If Ellie acted with Gavin Garrison’s approval, did Aidan Sinclair know about it? The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She wanted to see Aidan Sinclair immediately, yet she was a bit scared to face him.

After waiting for over half an hour, Aidan Sinclair came downstairs in his loungewear, his eyes still half-closed and looking displeased.

Crystal Pierce smiled, but seeing his unchanged expression, her heart sank a bit.

Aidan Sinclair sat down on the single sofa, raising an eyebrow, "Is there something you wanted?"

Crystal Pierce acted as if she didn’t notice his bad mood, playfully pouting, "Can’t I visit you even if there’s nothing up?"

"Auntie Bennett, please see the guest out." Aidan Sinclair called out, standing to leave.

Crystal Pierce felt embarrassed and hurriedly stopped him, "There’s something, there is!"

Annoyed, Aidan Sinclair sat back down, "Speak." Auntie Bennett, seeing the situation, stepped back to a place out of sight.

"It seems Stella Jennings may have a small misunderstanding about me..."

"Small misunderstanding?" Aidan Sinclair interrupted rudely before she could finish, "If everything boiled down to such ’small misunderstandings,’ Morningstar would have become Crystal Pierce’s solo studio!" He stood up, "Do not let me hear any rumors about you and me again. Auntie Bennett, show the guest out!"

Aidan Sinclair strode towards the stairs, not even bothering to glance back at her.

Crystal Pierce sat frozen on the sofa, dumbfounded and pale-faced.

*

Stella Jennings had already signed a contract with Nirvana. Today, she was supposed to have her first set of styling photos taken. With a lot of makeup and hair work to be done, she arrived early in the morning and stayed busy until noon. When everyone went out for lunch, she dared only to sip a little water, afraid that eating more would make her look bad in the tight little dress she was to wear in the afternoon.

She didn’t have an assistant yet, so after the driver dropped her off, she was there waiting by herself. As she was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed, Ellie arrived.

With everyone out for lunch, the makeup room was empty. Ellie came in, closed the door, and quietly informed her about the lawsuit against Crystal Pierce.

"If this issue escalates and neither Mr. Sinclair nor President Garrison help out, then Crystal Pierce’s career as an artist would basically be over. So, I came to ask your opinion, consider settling it privately?"

Listening to the first part of her words, Stella Jennings already felt a sense of compassion. Hearing the latter part, she immediately nodded, "Let’s settle it privately. It’s not a big deal, and if it really impacts her career, it would be a loss for Morningstar too."

Ellie didn’t understand why Stella Jennings considered Morningstar’s loss, but given Stella’s unique way of thinking, it wasn’t the first time, so she didn’t dwell on it.

"Even if we settle privately, we shouldn’t let Crystal Pierce off easily. I’ve thought it over. Next month is Morningstar’s Summer Starlight Gala. At that time, basically all the artists and staff of Morningstar will participate, and Crystal Pierce will apologize to you in front of the whole company."

Stella Jennings was very nervous when she heard this, "Better not. Crystal Pierce is a proud person, and she’s the top artist at Morningstar. Asking her to apologize to me in such a setting, I can’t handle it."

Ellie looked at her timid manner with exasperation, "Then what do you have in mind? You can’t just let her whisper a ’sorry’ in private, then drop the lawsuit and forgive her, right?"

"I think this whole incident has already taught her a lesson. As long as she doesn’t trouble me in the future, that’s enough. If she bothers me again..." Stella Jennings frowned, "I’ll take it up with her."

"Wow, I’m so scared." Ellie smirked, mocking her to wake up to reality, "Is she afraid of you? If it weren’t for Wenny being Mr. Sinclair’s sister-in-law, Crystal Pierce wouldn’t even have backed down. What if Sierra Pierce marries Mr. Sinclair? Then when she troubles you, you won’t even have a place to cry."

"She won’t marry Aidan Sinclair." Stella Jennings said confidently.

"How do you know? Mr. Sinclair and she have been together not just for a day or two. It won’t go south because of your matter, not to mention, he and Ethan aren’t even real brothers—it’s mostly about saving face. If you don’t take a firm stance against Crystal Pierce this time, you’ll regret it later."

Stella Jennings pondered for a moment, hesitating, "Ellie, I want to tell you something."

"Go on." Ellie, seeing her facial expression, showed some impatience.

"My relationship with Aidan Sinclair is also quite good." She saw Ellie widening her eyes and quickly explained, "We’re not a couple. I’m only sixteen; he could almost be my dad if he tried hard enough. We’re just friends, buddies, and he only said it was for Wenny’s sake because he was worried I’d be embarrassed. But Wenny and I really are best friends."

Ellie was thoroughly shocked. No wonder Gavin Garrison specifically asked her to take care of Stella Jennings. Turns out she had a connection with the big boss.

But she quickly calmed down, speaking with an experienced tone, "Where in the world can a man and a woman have a purely platonic friendship? You’re just too young to understand it now. Regardless of what kind of relationship you and Aidan Sinclair have now, I suggest you keep some distance from him. You should be well aware of how much of a player he is."

Stella Jennings pursed her lips, hesitant to say more.

She didn’t want to discuss with Ellie whether Aidan Sinclair was a player or not, but she knew for sure that Aidan Sinclair wasn’t as terrible as she suggested.

"Ellie, please listen to me on this issue. Crystal Pierce certainly won’t dare to trouble me again."

Seeing her insistence, Ellie could only nod.

In fact, what she wanted most was for this matter to blow up since the entertainment circle never lacks a leading lady, and with her gone, it would make room for others below to rise up.

However, she also respected Stella Jennings’s choice, as there was nothing wrong with sparing others when possible.

"Then you go ahead with the shoot. Once everything is arranged, I’ll give you a call. You’ll manage fine on your own, right?"

"I will, go ahead and focus on your tasks." Stella Jennings knew what she meant and replied directly.

The private settlement was quickly arranged, with Gavin Garrison organizing a meeting at an upscale Japanese restaurant. Choosing Japanese cuisine was also to consider Stella Jennings’s preference. It was somewhat sincere. Ellie didn’t spread the word about Stella Jennings and Aidan Sinclair’s friendship. The ones who needed to know would naturally know, and making a fuss about it would only be embarrassing when it backfired.