CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19: DADDY!

"Miss Ford, thank you for your hard work! Let’s call it a day here!"

"Okay."

Marilyn Ford changed her clothes and came out, immediately greeted by two assistants—one handed her a towel, the other gave her a cup of ginger tea to ward off the cold. A group of idle staff stood by, ready to spring into action, fearful of not taking good enough care of the celebrity, risking her catching a cold.

Marilyn only accepted the towel to dry her hair; she declined the ginger tea, as the weather had been quite warm recently, and she worried it might cause her to overheat.

Among her many assistants, competition was fierce; there was always an especially sharp one quick on the uptake. After the ginger tea was taken away, they replaced it with a cup of cooling, slimming flower tea.

This time, Marilyn accepted it and took a sip.

"Marilyn, I’ve confirmed all the shots for today. Your performance was excellent," her manager, Sharon Langley, reported to her as she approached.

The staff responsible for shooting immediately chimed in, "Mainly because Miss Ford is naturally beautiful, with features that withstand the test of the camera, and she has expressive power. I’m confident that once this commercial is released, the impact will be great."

Marilyn Ford had heard such praises numerous times. Given her status and natural charm, she was always held in high regard wherever she went.

Even the director filming the commercial dared not address her by name directly, respectfully calling her Miss Ford, showing how smoothly her path had been in the entertainment industry, thanks to Conrad Sterling and her own family background.

It was only when she stepped out of the commercial shoot and saw Conrad Sterling’s car parked outside that a genuine smile appeared on Marilyn Ford’s face.

"Conrad, why didn’t you tell me earlier you were coming to pick me up?"

Marilyn quickened her pace, opened the passenger side door, and turned to wave at her assistants and manager, signaling for them to head back.

Once Marilyn was seated in the passenger seat, she heard Conrad say, "Didn’t you have an important commercial shoot today? I didn’t want to disturb you."

"It’s an endorsement for a new line of cosmetics under my family’s brand. It’s not that important. It’s just that my dad insisted I take it. Actually, I’m a bit worried."

Marilyn was mainly worried because her current fame and status in the entertainment industry were at the top tier, and her endorsement targets were all luxury brands. She feared endorsing this less-than-luxurious cosmetic brand might lower her value.

"Your Ford Family has always been a leader in the cosmetics industry, with high national penetration for mid to low-end products and consistently good reputation for high-end products. Since your dad wants you to do this commercial, he must have confidence in this new product line."

"If you say so, then I’m confident too."

With Conrad Sterling’s reassurance, Marilyn Ford felt relieved and immediately looked down to find her phone in her bag.

She had been at the pool all day shooting the commercial and hadn’t had a chance to check her phone. When she took it out, she discovered it was out of battery.

"I was going to say you didn’t let me know in advance. Looks like even if you did call, it wouldn’t have helped—my phone’s dead."

Marilyn plugged her phone into the car charger but didn’t focus much on turning it back on. Instead, she asked Conrad, "Where are we headed now?"

"Where do you want to go?" Conrad asked in return.

"I heard my favorite brand has new products at Starlight City today."

Actually, every time the few brands that Marilyn liked had new releases, they would send them to her home first.

But she just liked having Conrad accompany her shopping.

Starlight City, like the Starlight Hotel, is an industry under the Sterling Group.

Located in the bustling area of Aethelgard, besides high-end clothing, perfumes, and jewelry, they also have cosmeceutical stores, large supermarkets, and various specialty restaurants, both Western and Chinese, essentially covering all aspects of life and consumption for the residents in the commercial circle.

After returning to the country, Anna Thornton lived in a house not far from Starlight City. At the moment, she and her manager were shopping at the supermarket with Pop.

Speaking of shopping together, the three were actually going separately.

Even though Anna Thornton was disguised, wearing a hat and mask, and wrapped up tightly, just to be safe, she still kept a distance from Mary, who was carrying Pop.

The past few days had been tense. Although she had negotiated with a media outlet not to expose pictures of her child, you never know if other media might try to dig deeper.

Anna Thornton doesn’t mind them digging into her past, but disturbing her child is her bottom line.

"Pop, look at all the toys ahead. Which one do you like? Auntie Mary will buy it for you."

These days, children’s toys are made more and more exquisitely. Even Mary, an adult, couldn’t help but feel tempted by those colorful dolls.

However, the little guy nestled in her arms didn’t spare them a glance. Suddenly, with sharp eyes, he spotted a familiar figure outside the supermarket and excitedly tugged on Auntie Mary’s shoulder, pointing with his chubby hand at Conrad Sterling walking by: "Daddy! Daddy!"