CHAPTER 219: ANNA IS ASHAMED OF EVERYTHING

Anna turned sharply, jaw tightening, while Fiona stood with crossed arms and a smug twist to her lips. The staff had already started whispering about Fiona’s increasingly pretentious behavior, but Fiona didn’t care. Not as long as her fans continued to cheer for her.

She had failed to sway Wilsmith.

But she’d made sure to use her celebrity influence elsewhere—fueling her toxic fan club and nudging them to create a petition to replace Anna.

She kept her involvement hidden, acting the innocent victim.

But the plan was working.

Her fans were loud and relentless, and the petition numbers were rising. And Fiona watched all of it unfold with a triumphant smile, convinced that soon, very soon, her dream of throwing Anna off this project would become a reality.

"Everyone here might favor you, but I’ll make sure they all see what kind of woman you truly are," Fiona spat, her voice sharp enough to slice the air. "Running after every man just to climb up in success."

Anna’s brow arched—slow, elegant, dangerous. But it wasn’t the baseless accusation that got her attention. It was the word Fiona had indirectly thrown at her.

Her eyes narrowed.

Fiona wasn’t just angry. She was accusing Anna of being a whore.

"I know you’re trying to get close to Daniel Clafford," Fiona continued, stepping in even closer, "but don’t worry—I’ll make sure he sees your true face." and that made Anna pause.

Oh? So she somehow knows that Daniel and I are together... but how?

The confusion flickered through her mind for a second—but she dismissed it, as she had no intention of wasting brain cells trying to understand Fiona’s logic.

Right now, all she wanted was to enjoy how utterly foolish Fiona looked, while she would save the investigation for later.

Anna’s lips curled into a slow, confident smile.

"Then by all means, Fiona," she said sweetly, "let’s see how you manage that. I’ll be waiting."

Fiona’s face twisted instantly, her composure cracking at Anna’s calm reaction.

She had expected tears... fear... denial... anything but this unbothered confidence.

And the fact that Anna wasn’t even taking her seriously only made Fiona fume even harder.

"You—how can you ignore me like that?!" Fiona snapped, grabbing Anna’s arm and yanking her toward herself.

Her nails dug into Anna’s skin, sharp enough to draw a hiss from her.

"Yes, like that," Fiona sneered, leaning in. "You should be scared of me."

Pain shot up Anna’s arm, her expression twisting—but Fiona only tightened her grip, enjoying every second of it.

After the humiliation she suffered that day, this was what she wanted: to prove she still had the upper hand... to make Anna feel small.

And now that she had a chance, she dug her nails even deeper until someone called her.

"Miss Fiona."

The voice was too calm, which caused both women to freeze.

They made a slow turn and saw him.

"M–Mr. Clafford!" Fiona gasped, immediately snatching her hand away from Anna as if she’d been burned. Her face drained of color.

Anna blinked, startled not because Daniel was there, but because of the expression he wore.

A cold, blank stare. One that didn’t blink but that pinned Fiona in place and drilled a hole straight through her arrogance.

The kind of stare that promised consequences.

Severe ones.

***

Silence hung heavy in Wilsmith’s room as Daniel, Fiona, and Anna settled into their respective seats.

Wilsmith still hadn’t recovered from the shock from Daniel’s unexpected visit, which he never planned on happening. But with a presence sharp enough to cut the air in half, it made him adjust uncomfortably in his seat.

Fiona, meanwhile, sat stiffly, hands trembling under the table. She had never expected to meet Daniel—not like this, not today, and certainly not while he radiated an icy aura capable of freezing a grown man alive.

But when her eyes landed on Wilsmith, fury flared inside her.

This man. Didn’t I tell him not to contact Daniel? Didn’t I stop him from taking this to the producer? How dare he go back on my words!

In her twisted logic, Fiona blamed Wilsmith for everything: for Daniel seeing her grab Anna, for being caught in her mess, and for the fear choking her right now.

"I wasn’t informed about your visit, Mr. Clafford." Wilsmith forced a smile, but the trembling corners of his lips betrayed him. No matter how composed he tried to look, Daniel’s cold gaze made the temperature in the room drop.

Fiona’s eyes on the other side widened. He... didn’t call him? and that realization crashed over her.

Daniel came on his own? He saw me. He saw everything.

Her stomach twisted painfully as she didn’t dare to look up.

Fiona had planned to ruin Anna’s reputation carefully and strategically before Daniel could ever develop any attachment. She had imagined him realizing Anna was beneath him, that she was unworthy of him.

But now? Now she doubted if he would even listen to her... Not after he saw her digging her nails into Anna’s skin like a rabid animal.

A shallow sigh rumbled her chest as she sensed her plan falling apart. And Daniel’s silence—calm, unreadable, dangerous was far more terrifying than any words she could have imagined.

"A few petitions have come to my notice, saying they want Miss Anna out of the movie."

Daniel’s cool and controlled voice broke the silence, finally bringing the real issue to the table.

On his way here, Henry had updated him on the petition to replace Anna, which was not only gaining attention but also exploding faster than expected. The numbers were rapidly increasing, prompting Daniel to personally intervene.

Fiona let out a small breath as she heard the topic for which she had been waiting. Her face lit up with a confident, phony, and completely inappropriate smile.

’Finally’

As she gazed at Anna, a cold glint appeared in her eyes.

"Mr. Clafford, I know what you’re thinking...but I can assure you, Anna is ashamed of everything."

Anna and Wilsmith both looked at her in disbelief.

’Isn’t this the same woman who wanted Anna replaced because her "image was threatened"?’ Wilsmith couldn’t help but gape at the poisonous chameleon’s quick color change.

Anna, on the other hand, fought back a laugh. So this was her way of exposing me in front of Daniel.

Knowing Fiona’s true intentions, she wasn’t even surprised anymore. The woman could act innocent faster than flipping a light switch.

’You are telling my husband that I am guilty for being clicked by him.’

However, Daniel wasn’t amused.

"And what exactly am I thinking, Miss Fiona?" he asked, instantly dropping the room’s temperature.

Anna swallowed instinctively, while Wilsmith’s shoulders twitched with nervousness.

But Fiona felt a shiver running up her spine.

Daniel finally turned his head and when his cold, dark eyes locked on hers, every ounce of false confidence drained from her face.