Chapter 81 No One to me but Yourself

Stanley stormed off, seething with rage.

But Luke grabbed his arin. “Did you not hear her just now? With that kind of attitude, bhow /bbare /bbwe /bbsupposed /bto talk?b” /b

Stanley shot him a furious re, unable to suppress his temper.

Luke, however, stayed calm. He pointed toward Scarlett in the distance. “Look, she only walked a bfew /bbsteps /band then stopped. She’s waiting for you to coax her.”

Stanley frowned and turned to look.

Sure enough, Scarlett and Colt were standing in the shadows of a tree, talking on the phone.

“She overyed her hand,” Luke said in a low voice. “Now she’s trying to find a way to save face.”

“I get that you’re mad. I’m mad too. If this were under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even wait for you to speak–I’d deal with her myself.”

“But right now, we don’t have the upper hand.”

“Once your career’s back on track, once you’ve flipped the script, you can deal with her however you want.”

He patted Stanley’s shoulder.

“There’s a major awards ging up–the Startrack Awards. If yound a major role before then, you’ll move up a whole tier socially. By that point, neither Scarlett nor The Dreamer will matter iat /iall.”

Stanley had been livid, but with Luke’s words echoing in his ears, the fire in his chest began to subside.

A true man knew when to bow and when to rise.

iWhy /iiobsess /iiover /iithe /iimoment/ii? /i

He took a deep breath, calling on every ounce of acting ability he had topose himself. His expression softened, and he walked quickly toward her.

From a distance, he caught Scarlett’s voice: “Thank you, Mr. Raymond.”

He knew that name–Raymond was one of the first directors to ept a script from The Dreamer, and it had won countless awards.

Pride swelled in Stanley’s chest.

So she did care about him, after all. She was out here calling in favors–for him.

The sting of her earlier rejection faded slightly. Maybe he’de on too strong at first. Maybe he’d been too harsh. That wasn’t all her fault!

And seeing how hard she was working on his behalf… maybe he could let bygones ibe /ibygones.

He was the older one, after all. It was–only right to make the first move.

“Scarlett,” he called out softly as he approached.

Chapter b81 /bNo One to me but Yourself

She bhad /bbjust /bhung up the phone and was surprised bto /bbsee /bhe hadn’t left. bNot /bbonly /bbthat /bhe wasin btoward /bbher /bbagain/b.

iWhat /inow?

Hadn’t she been clear enough?

Was he addicted to humiliation?

Stanley caught the startled look on her face and felt even more pleased with himself.

He spoke with smug authority. “Alright, let’s stop pretending. Go get cleaned bup /band change your clothes. I’ll take you home to the Joyner family.”

Scarlett stared at him, baffled.

So that was his new tactic? Try to disgust her into handing over the rest of her unsold scripts?

“What makes you think I’m pretending? Next time, find yourself a mouth–guard demon to keep your btrash /bwords from spilling all over the ce.”

He couldn’t believe it–he’d just extended an olive branch!

Even if Scarlett ihad /ipleaded for him behind the scenes, this was too much.

“I swear, you’repletely out of line!”

“Fine! You want to burn this bridge? Go ahead!”

“Don’t think I’ll ever treat you like a sister again. Even if Reba begs me, you’ll never set foot in the Joyner house!”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Idiot.”

Then she grabbed Colt’s arm and walked off.

You couldn’t fight a curse–but you could sure as hell get away from it.

Luke ran up in a panic. “What happened? Why’d she leave? Did you settle things or not?”

Stanley, shaking with fury, mmed his fist into a nearby tree.

His hand instantly swelled red with pain.

“I’ve spoiled her too much,” he hissed. She’s forgotten her ce.”

“She actually dared to talk back to me! If I give her an inch now, she’ll be walking all over me by tomorrow!

“Forget her.”

“She’s just putting on a show in front of others.”

“I guarantee you–if we walk to the campus gate, she’lle chasing after us to apologize.”

Luke didn’t quite believe it.

????

Chapter 81 No One to me but Yourself

Finished

But seeing how confident Stanley was, he started to think it might be true. He remembered how pathetic Scarlett used to be–begging for scraps of affection from the Joyner family.

He nodded slowly. “Yeah… she used to be like a littlemb around you all.”

Stanley massaged his throbbing temples.

Luke continued, “Let’s get out of here for now. And with how tightly you’re bundled up, people are going to recognize you sooner orter.”

Stanley had wanted to stop by and see Reba, but after checking the time, he realized they’d wasted far too long outside Darian Hall.

iForget /iiit/i.

He’d have Rebae home for dinner tonight.

“Let’s go.”

He kicked a nearby trash can, then turned to leave.

They were about ten meters from the campus gate when Stanley’s phone suddenly rang.

Luke’s eyes lit up, full of admiration.

He gave Stanley a thumbs–up.

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