50

Eyes fixating on him, Zoe was sort of bought into it.

     However, at the thought of those sweet nothings in the study, she found it hard to let them go.

     Her face sank. She looked at Henry seriously and said, "Archie, I don't know why you married me or how long this marriage will last, but I hope that if one day, you wish to end this marriage, you'll let me know in advance. I don't mind you falling for another woman, neither do I mind a divorce, but I take offense when it comes to betrayal, no matter what kind of relation we are, as couples or business partners. Do you understand?”

     Henry 's face sank.

     He darted a cold stare at her and solemnly replied, “You don't mind me falling in love with another woman?”

     Zoe felt like she got a stab in her heart.

     Zoe could not make out why she had this feeling.

     She and Henry weren’t a real couple, and they were only together because of another reason. She had no right to stand in the way if he found his true love one day.

     Hence, she nodded.

     “And you don't mind getting divorced?”

     She nodded again.

     Henry sneered.

     Her gentle face became cold and gloomy.

     He got up and went out.

     Zoe was a little taken aback.

     Before she snapped out of her thoughts, Henry came back with two red booklets.

     These were their marriage certificates.

     Zoe's eye was twitching. She didn’t know what Henry was going to do, but, her gut was telling her that it would not be to her liking.

     He walked towards the front of a table and picked up a lighter. Suddenly the two red booklets were set ablaze.

     Zoe widened her eyes.

     “Henry Han, what are you doing?”

     She pounced, trying to snatch the ignited marriage certificates.

     Nevertheless, Henry  stopped her.

     Grabbing her by the hands, he pressed her against the wall.

     “Zoe, I’ve told you, I, Henry Han, will only have one woman and marry once in this lifetime. Since you always think I’m kidding, I will prove it to you today. Our marriage certificates are burned. From now on, don't you dare to divorce me! Never! Don't even think about it!”

     Zoe merely made a passing comment.

     Why did he make a fuss? She didn’t mean it seriously.

     She felt her wrist hurt by his strong clutch.

     She turned at the wrist with difficulty, only to find that she could not pull away from his clench. Thus, she surrendered.

     “Alright, alright, I've got it. Will you let me go first?”

     But Henry didn’t loosen his grip.

     Keeping an eagle eye on her, he said roughly, “Then, are you still thinking about divorce?”

     Zoe rolled her eyes.

     “Mr. Han, it was you who had an affair.
Who gives you the right to ask me about it?”

     Henry finally broke into laughter.

     As if he was reminded of something, Henry rubbed her hair and murmured, "Silly girl!"

     Zoe was confused and speechless.

     Fortunately, Henry finally let her go and explained, “She's an important person in my life but not the kind you're thinking of.”

     Zoe was suspicious of his words.

     Seeing her questioning look, Henry smiled again.

     “I'll take you back to Eqitin later. Then you'll know I’m telling you the truth.”

     There was a quick change in Zoe’s facial expression.

     Back to Eqitin?

     She opened her mouth, trying to say something but held her tongue.

     He came up to her, took her hands and pressed her to sit on the bed. Then, he leaned over to kiss her cheek.

     "It's getting late. Go to sleep. Good night!"

     She enjoyed sound sleep until the break of dawn.

     The next day, Zoe took Victoria to Nathan’s office as promised.

     Annie and Julia were also at Nathan's office.

     Annie was taken by surprise to see Zoe.

     “Sister, why are you here too?”

    Zoe faintly threw her a glance. Annie adorned a proud princess look today, wearing a white dress matched with a jacket of the same color.

     Following behind her was another girl.

     Zoe knew her. She was Annie'ss distant cousin, named... Marie Witt?

     Marie rose to fame as an online celebrity and signed with Annie's studio. Her relationship with Jessica and their resemblance on appearance earned her the title as Annie Jr.

     Because of this title, she was doing well in the entertainment industry.

     Annie was also glad to cultivate her. After all, nothing could highlight her beauty and excellence more than a AnnieJr.

     Zoe sneered in her heart at the thought of it, and coldly blurted. "Is this your office?"

     That meant, why couldn’t I be here?

     Annie's face froze.

     She got embarrassed by Zoe's mocking.

     But she was not in a position to take Zoe face on. After all, she had been keeping the image of a lady and socialite in the entertainment industry and there were many reporters at present. Making a scene in public would ruin her image.

     Compared to her scruples, Zoe was at ease.

     She was not a celebrity anyway, so she could do as she pleased.

     Julia came forward and stretched out her hand to Zoe.

     “Long time no see, Ms. Zoe.”

     No matter how reluctant Zoe was, she shook hands with Julia.

     Julia was a veteran in this circle. Although she was lacking in moral standing, she deserved respect due to her seniority.

     Nathan had arrived earlier. Knowing that they all arrived, he ordered his assistant to take them
to the studio at once.

     The party of five entered the studio and found the equipment set up.

     Two groups of actors were performing on a spacious stage, seemingly here for audition as well.

     Nathan, with several other staff, was sitting in the auditorium watching their performance.

     When they walked by, Annie greeted him gently, "Director Nathan, here we are."

     Nathan then looked up and swept a glance at her before his gaze fell on Zoe.

     He smiled, "Everyone is here now. Have a seat!"

     Then, he pointed to the seats around him and told the deputy director next to him to pass him several copies of the script.

     Distributing the scripts to Marie and Victoria,
he said, "Take a look at the script first. If you two have no problem, you can go for hair and makeup. Let's start with a line each and go from there."

     On hearing this, Marie's face changed.

     "Director Nathan, I thought this role was already mine? Why do I need an audi…?"

     Before she could finish, Julia shot her a cold look.

     Nathan assumed a scowling face.

     "I did promise Annie to give you a chance for audition, but I didn't say I would adopt you without an audition. Nicole Block might be a supporting role, she is critical too. Don't even think of this role if your acting isn't up to standard!"

     As Marie's face went through a series of colors, anger stirred her to clench her fist.

     By right, although Nathan never promised the role to Marie during their discussion, the situation should not be far off from it.

     After all, she was joining the cast, bringing funds along with her. It was no easy feat for Nathan in preparation of this project these past few years. Naturally, he wanted to succeed in this make-or-break moment.

     Her eyes scoured the room and finally landed on Natalia.

     She suddenly knew something.