Chapter 19 Transforming Sorrow and Anger into Strength

Stepping out of the car, a chilly breeze made Evelyn shiver. Her dress was not suited for the cold. She hurriedly went inside to buy a ticket. The earliest one was for New York, so without much consideration, she bought it.
William called, and Evelyn answered.
"Evelyn, where are you? Stand where you are, I'll come over right away."
"No need, William."
"You misunderstand, I can explain. Just wait for me..."
"There's nothing to explain. I'm hanging up." Evelyn shut off her phone. Right now, she just wanted some peace and quiet. In such a short period of time, everything had changed. She didn't know who to believe anymore. Perhaps she had asked for too much, and that was why she was being punished this way.
She wasn't bothered by his past. What she couldn't tolerate was his inability to let go.
Evelyn didn't know what William was thinking, or why he treated her this way. She left the car keys at the service counter and from that point onwards, everything became simple. She blindly followed the crowd, going through customs and boarding the plane.
William rushed to the airport with the quickest speed, but there was nobody around. Her phone was already off. There was more to be done on his end for the business dealings.
With the plan in place, Menier would undoubtedly take further actions. At this point, there was no turning back. Leo had prepared his team, waiting only for the command to take action.
William glanced at the bustling crowd. A silent sigh escaped his lips.
Evelyn arrived in New York, but she still had a connecting flight. She sat in the busy waiting area, feeling suffocated. She held her knees and buried her face in her arms.
She had a coat, but no sunglasses. She did her best to avoid the crowd, not wanting to be recognized.
Someone approached her and draped a blanket over her from behind. Startled, she shivered and straightened her back, nervously looking at the person who came closer. It was a very handsome face, as if she had seen it somewhere before, but couldn't remember.
"Why are you dressed so lightly?" the person tried to strike up a conversation in a casual tone. "Miss Bennett, hello, I'm Charles Clark. We've met before."
Evelyn couldn't recall where she had met this man before. It was just too cold due to the strong air conditioning, and Evelyn wasn't foolish enough to refuse the blanket.
Her stiff expression didn't relax at all; she just tightly held onto the edges of the blanket, wrapping herself tightly as if it could protect her.
"Go over there and sit, it's too cold with the air conditioning," he pointed in the direction he mentioned. A group of people sat together, most of them looking in their direction. Charles knew her concerns, "It's okay, they're all acquaintances of mine."
She remained silent.
Charles sat down slowly beside her, feeling that she was tense all over. "We can go together, it's warmer over there."
Before Charles could finish speaking, Evelyn suddenly stood up, took a few steps forward, then turned back and said to him, "Thank you for the blanket." She nodded as a sign of gratitude and walked straight to the restroom.
After several hours on the plane without sleep or food, Evelyn felt light and airy as she left the airport.
She returned to a familiar place, where Antonio was waiting at the airport. Seeing her exhausted appearance, he immediately approached her without asking any questions. He took the bag and the blanket from her hands.
Antonio assumed that she had gone out for work. He could sense Evelyn's excessive silence, which seemed to be even quieter than usual.
As they were leaving, they encountered Charles again. He still had that gentle appearance and casually greeted them as usual. Antonio didn't know how the two of them knew each other, but he saw Evelyn take the blanket from his hands and hand it back to Charles. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me."
Evelyn nodded and walked away, leaving Antonio and Charles standing in place. "Sorry, she's a bit tired."
"That's fine. Miss Bennett didn't eat or sleep the whole way here; I think she might not be feeling well. Since there's someone taking care of her, I'll leave first." Charles explained in detail before turning and leaving.
Antonio quickly caught up with Evelyn. "Charles has been very busy lately, with many works and high exposure. I didn't expect him to be so kind."
"Have you seen him before?"
"Well... I can't remember clearly, he's an actor, so I don't think so!" Antonio carefully thought again and finally realized something. "Oh, in 'The Arrow,' he played the male lead."
"Here he is. Yes, it's him. Have you seen him before?"
"He said he has seen me, probably referring to that gathering. I don't remember much." It wasn't a big deal to Evelyn, so she didn't pay much attention to it. She treated it like a casual encounter with a colleague, greeted him politely, and quickly forgot about it.
Only after Evelyn returned did she realize that she hadn't been working for a long time. It was true that people who didn't work tended to have more idle thoughts.
"The studio matters can start now," Evelyn said.
"Speaking of which, I remember something. I have something to discuss with you. I had a meeting with a film company recently. They are just starting out and are looking for investors. I think we should consider it," Antonio said.
"If there is such an opportunity, it wouldn't be bad. Let them contact me in the future," Evelyn said.
"What? Are you abandoning me so quickly? I am so heartbroken," Antonio said.
"I don't have many choices now, but you're different. Stardust might not have much future, but for now, it's an opportunity that you shouldn't easily give up. If you cut off this lifeline, it won't be beneficial for you. So, you need to establish yourself independently and wait for the right time," Evelyn advised.
Antonio was deeply moved. Evelyn's assertiveness was her way of protecting herself. He didn't expect her to revert back to her original self. She was analyzing the current problem like an outsider. On the contrary, he had indeed been impulsive and rash.
"Send me their contact information. What are their conditions?" Evelyn asked.
"They want you to venture into the film industry," Antonio said.
"They want money and effort. It's true that there's no such thing as a free lunch," Evelyn remarked.
"In fact, there are a few talent agencies that have approached me to discuss signing contracts. I can introduce you to them, so you don't have to work too hard," Antonio still believed that starting anew was incredibly difficult for him.
"Can it be as difficult as before? Those are just small things," Evelyn said.
When Evelyn received a call from Vivian Garcia, she was feeling frustrated with the contract sent by Silver Media. These professionally drafted contracts by lawyers were full of traps, and she couldn't afford to be careless in any aspect.
Evelyn felt dizzy reading it and didn't know where to start. Even though she recognized the individual words, their combined meaning was completely different. She didn't dare to rely on a lawyer recklessly since it was a critical moment. If it caught the attention of the media, it would become news.
"What's the matter?" Vivian was initially cheerful, but upon hearing Evelyn's tone, she knew something was wrong. "What happened? Who made our queen angry? I am ready to charge into battle, no problem at all."
"Don't joke around. I'll send you a contract, please take a look and let me know if there's anything unreasonable. Tell me," Evelyn said.
"So now you're begging me? Haha, I'm always ready. But this time, you can hand it to me in person. I am at the airport, with tickets and luggage in hand. Queen, please come to pick me up," Vivian said playfully.
"You're leaving Melbourne?" Evelyn was surprised.
Could this be an accident? Unexpectedly, she's coming back. Now everything is truly complete.
"No, I've already come back. Hurry up, I'm waiting for you," Vivian said with a smile.
Evelyn rushed to the airport and just as the car parked, the door was pulled open by someone. "Well, knowing that it's inconvenient for you, I waited by myself! You've been driving this car for so many years, isn't it scrapped? Is it safe?"
Evelyn looked at her best friend, born in the same year and month but on a different day. It had been over four years that had passed, and although Vivian's short hair had turned into long hair, the youthful charm on her face remained unchanged.
"Why are you looking at me like that?!" Vivian said, exaggeratingly crossing her arms. "Don't you miss me?"
"I don't miss the trouble you caused for me enough."
Since childhood, whenever the two of them were together, Evelyn always took care of her. Although it was a fact, she didn't want to admit it.
"Come on, let's go. I'm exhausted," Vivian held onto Evelyn.
"You can stay at my place first. The guest room is on the second floor," Evelyn said and then remembered something, picking up the contract on the table. "And also, rest well before looking at this."
"Okay." Vivian didn't ask anything, took her luggage, and went upstairs with the contract.
After getting enough sleep, Vivian took out her laptop and the contract, sitting down to study. In fact, the reason she had suddenly returned this time was partly because her studies had ended, and partly because she had been paying attention to Evelyn's recent news. There was no reason to ignore it, so she hurried back.
They ordered takeout for dinner and sat at the table, chatting casually while eating.
"I've read the contract, and I think it's worth considering. Some conditions are not so good, but I can help negotiate it for you without any problem. I just graduated and came here straightaway to submit my thesis. It's really boring," Vivian pouted.
"We have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, so be prepared."
"Mmm... Can I ask if you're officially hiring me as your legal consultant? What's the daily salary, monthly salary, yearly salary, perfect attendance bonus, performance bonus, and year-end bonus? How much are you offering me?" Vivian intentionally said.
"Dream on, I'm just testing your dad's effectiveness in sending you abroad for a golden coating," Evelyn said.
"So stingy! With you in charge, the subordinates will suffer."
Evelyn was amused, "Well, when are you going back home?"
"I'm definitely not going back now. I haven't told them yet. I'll settle down here first, then talk to them," Vivian said indifferently.
"Which means you're going to keep causing trouble for me," Evelyn said with a smile.
"That's right, I'm stuck with you. What do you say?" Vivian huffed.
"Well, that's not bad either. I can boss you around guilt-free," Evelyn said playfully.
"I really don't know how I became friends with you. It's unfortunate, oh so unfortunate."
Vivian's return finally brought a little anticipation to Evelyn for tomorrow. William had called a few times and then disappeared. If she didn't have things to keep her busy, she might have been worried for a while, but slowly she got used to it. Life just returned to how it used to be before she met him.
Busy and overwhelmed. After all, the power of the Menier family has been accumulating for many years. The two families have been competing, and their power is evenly matched. This explicit and public trap will surely anger the other side. Economic losses and reputation damage will not simply be overlooked.
Étienne was filled with ambition, and the entire Chevalier Group was encouraged by this plan. Since they had achieved great success in the business field, they would surely go all out on the other battlefield as well.
The Chevalier family was more than just the Chevalier Group. The hidden power unknown to ordinary people was truly terrifying. Therefore, Étienne, even if he liked Evelyn, couldn't say what shouldn't be said.