Chapter 461 - Emotional Cards

"Roy? How come you're here?" Laila asked in surprise when she saw the figure standing at the door.

Although she wasn't too concerned about the whereabouts of other actors, she did know about Roy. They lived under the same roof, and if he was going out for work, he would usually inform her in advance to take care of his younger brother, Abel. Just two days ago, he had mentioned going to some promotional event with others.

Roy walked over to her and sat where Ovitz had been standing just moments ago. "Is it because of me?"

Another one asking the same question... Laila sighed. "No, it's not."

"Are you sure it's not?" Roy, like Ovitz, was initially skeptical.

"It's not," Laila had to reiterate the facts. "I had plans from the beginning when I heard he was leaving Disney to start his own talent agency. His CAA had already done everything a talent agency could do, and they had formed a hard shell, rejecting the entry of other talent agencies. So, I knew from the start that he couldn't make it."

"Since you knew that it couldn't be done, why didn't you acquire it at that time?" Roy looked at her doubtfully still not believing her argument.

Laila shook her head: "So what if we acquire the company at that time? Maybe we can spend less, but who can dig out a lot of resources from CAA like Ovitz?

Roy started to understand. It seemed she was waiting for Ovitz to dig up everything he could before acquiring it all for herself. If she had acquired the company from the start, Ovitz probably wouldn't have been so enthusiastic in helping her recruit stars and film-related staff.

Suddenly, he realized a more serious issue. "If you had plans to acquire his company from the beginning, what does that make me? Was I part of your plan?"

"How could that be?" Laila forced a bitter smile. "You overestimate me. How could I have predicted that you'd suddenly be persuaded to go over there? I'm not a fortune-teller. How could I have foreseen so early that you'd switch sides?"

Roy wasn't so convinced. "Are you saying that when I wanted to go there, your calm demeanor was all an act?"

At this point, Laila had to surrender. "Yes, I agreed to your departure request because I knew I would later acquire his company. In simple terms, I never thought you would leave my side. If it hadn't been Ovitz who lured you away, but CAA or any other talent agency from the beginning, I might have clashed with them."

She didn't know what Ovitz had said to persuade him, but she only knew that if he wanted to go, he could go. After all, it wouldn't be long before he returned with the company.

Roy stared at her, his teeth clenched. He felt like a fool, manipulated by her without realizing it. "Is it fun to play with me?"

Laila sensed his restrained anger and quickly stood up. "No, I didn't play with you. It's just that at that time, you insisted on leaving, and I didn't want to stifle your thoughts."

"Then, is it my fault?" Roy's heart grew colder. It felt like a crack had opened in his chest, allowing the cold wind to rush in unimpeded. He had tried, really tried, but he remained nothing more than a prop in her eyes.

Laila frowned, feeling his change. "Roy, I never thought anyone was at fault in this matter. I trusted you, so I gave you a choice, and you made your own choice, right?" He seemed to regret leaving for the other place earlier, but now he could come back. Yet, he acted as if she were the gravest sinner.

Roy looked at her, gazing at her for several minutes without saying a word. Then, he turned and left. His steps were unsteady, and the pain in his heart was indescribable.

He felt like a failure, thinking that she would try to keep him when he announced his departure, but she just smiled and pushed him away. He thought he had used all his strength to leave her, but he found that she still had everything under control.

Laila wanted to catch up with him, to explain everything between them. However, she couldn't move her feet until his figure disappeared. She didn't know what to explain to him.

"Did I do something wrong?" She sat back down, asking herself gloomily. "Knowing you'd come back, I let you go. Was that wrong?"

She hadn't thought she was wrong before, but now a voice in her heart was telling her she was. She had hurt him.

Before, she used to switch positions between herself and Roy to judge if she was wrong. Now, if she put herself in Roy's shoes, leaving for Ovitz and later discovering that her 'departure' had been under the other's control...

Wouldn't she feel like a ridiculous puppet?

Laila knew she had made a mistake, but at the time, she didn't know he liked her. If she had known... would she have done the same thing?

There are no ifs in life. No matter what that 'if' turns into, the reality is that she had hurt Roy.

She sighed lightly and dialed his phone. However, the call went straight to voicemail.

"..." He was young, but his temper was quite something.

In the end, she found Roy packing at home. He had returned for a short visit because of the rumors, but he would soon be going on a promotional tour with other members of the cast, and even the Far East would have a promotional tour shortly.

"Roy, let's talk," Laila said, watching him pack his clothes, feeling like she had gone back in time and been reborn. The last time they disagreed, wasn't it when this guy suddenly got angry while packing, then confessed, kissed her forcibly, and hurriedly left?

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but take a step back towards the door. She didn't want to experience the same embarrassment of sitting on the ground for a long time after being forcibly kissed, and it took her a long time to bury that shameful memory deep in her mind.

"You don't need to talk to me; you always have your reasons, right?" Roy replied with a cold expression, his handsome face losing its usual warmth due to the coldness, and his tone had a touch of anger and self-pity.

Laila crossed her fingers in front of her chest, feeling an instinctual resistance to what she wanted to say. Even so, she wanted to say it.

"Well, I've always lived in the hospital, had very little contact with people, and no experience interacting with people my age," she began with a card of vulnerability in her hand. Although it wasn't related to the current situation, she wanted to play her cards carefully. The girl lying in the hospital bed was little Laila, and she had no connection to her. However, her past life had been full of hardships, which could easily lead to a similar situation.