Chapter 44: Five Years Ago

Five years before, when Ethan had first come home, Aiden's mother had visited Toprak Mansion with gifts, only to be chased away and bitten by Ethan's dog.

Ethan had never explained himself. It was the butler who had finally gone out and clarified that Lord Ethan forbade any woman from approaching Toprak Mansion.

"Director Johnson, someone's here for you," a staff member called in a strange voice. All of a sudden, everyone was focused. There was a van parked by the roadside.

Two movers were taking out boxes. One of them said something to the director. Director Johnson nodded and allowed staff to distribute the things in the boxes.

The makeup artist held a cup of coffee, and approached Kylie with a smile, offering to touch up her face. "Thank you for inviting us to have iced coffee."

"Iced coffee?" Kylie didn't understand. She hadn't sipped water yet, herself. How could she invite others to have iced coffee? Moreover, this was a mountain area, and it was impossible to find a nearby cafe.

Just as Kylie was about to clarify, her phone beeped. It was a Facebook message.

"A little treat," it read, followed by a coffee emoji. Kylie knew that it was from Star, as soon as she read the message.

She wore a faint smile and replied: "Thank you. The coffee is delicious, but please don't do that again. It costs too much."

Then her eyes fell on the coffee cup left behind by the makeup artist. She knew the logo; it was from a very famous shop in Seattle. How could he send coffee all that way without the ice melting?

"Coffee is way cheaper than five million dollars." Kylie didn't know what to say to that. It was true, that if she'd borrowed five million from him, to fix that dress, she probably wouldn't have been able to pay it back during this lifetime.

The hot shooting location seemed a lot cooler after the iced coffee. On the contrary, the fruit juice that Aiden had brought was now mostly water, with fruit pulp on top, and juice on the bottom—since it had been left aside for a while, now that there was coffee.

"See, I told you. That coffee must have come from the big boss." Khloe's eyes were now green with envy. Aiden unconsciously clenched his fist and walked towards a quiet place to make a call.

"Find out who the boss is behind Peak Pictures..." Before he could finish, the set was in action again. A man came straight to Kylie and handed her a box. "Miss Kylie, please sign for this parcel."

Kylie didn't know what had happened. Who had sent this?

She opened it. There was a rose inside. The makeup artist standing beside her yelled out in surprise, "Oh my! Is this an ice sculpture?"

In the gold, velvety box, there lay a crystal-clear rose, shining brightly under the sun. Even the thorns on the stem were super sharp. Kylie's hands were shaking slightly, not because the rose inside the box froze her, but because a piece of paper stuck in the corner read: "My arms are always open to you."

She took a deep breath and looked up at the delivery man. "Please take this away," she said.

"Sorry, I'm only responsible for the delivery." The man looked uneasy. Kylie smiled mildly and said: "Even though you're just responsible for delivering, you still need to choose an appropriate place. Do you think this place is good?"

"Right," the makeup artist nodded. "We work late, and the weather is so hot. It would be a shame if it melted."

"Well..."

"Please just help me find a safe place for it," Kylie said, stopping the man. She was probably the only one who realized that this rose was made of diamond, and not a block of ice. The man looked around. It's true, and there were so many people... It would be a shame if such a valuable rose was lost.

"Then, we can help you store it in Citibank for now, and you can pick it up when you return to Seattle."

"Thank you so much." Kylie returned the box to the delivery man. The makeup artist was a little confused. Citibank was a famous international bank, but since when did it provide ice storage service?

Kylie had calmed herself down before approaching Director Johnson. "I'm so sorry for causing any trouble," she said.

"You're a good girl, and it's quite normal for men to chase the actresses," Julian replied with a smile. He continued: "But gossip can easily bring publicity for a new film, and sometimes it can develop in the wrong way. You need to be cautious."

Kylie nodded. "Thank you for your advice."

Khloe, who had been sitting in the distance, now sneered. Indeed, Kylie had affairs with men. "Dear Aiden, do you believe in my words now?"

Aiden was so irritated that he almost broke his phone in half.

"I thought she was in love with you since she publicly chased you for five years... But now, it appears that she only loved you because you ignored her." Khloe snorted with indifference. "How did I not realize it earlier? How could she have such an affluent lifestyle by herself, without a man's help!"

The shell of Aiden's phone cracked with a snap.

Kylie walked to the side to make a call before the beginning of her next scene.

"Honey, do you like the gift?" The voice on the other end was at ease.

"Fuck! I could ruin you!" Kylie swears back like a firework.

"You finally want to fuck me. I really should have sent you a rose every day, and our child would be running by now."

"Forget it! What do you mean by doing this?"

"I mean what I said, but you can save the hard work for a man, and just wait to be fucked," said the voice on the other end.

"How dare you! Aren't you afraid I'll cut your manhood off!" Kylie clenched her teeth in anger.

He continued: "Anyway, the man you love doesn't love you. The woman I love doesn't love me. Why don't we just give this a try?"

"If you dare approach me again, I'll fuck with your whole family!"

The man, on the other end, suddenly smiled. "I know that you want to fuck me. I'm the only one in my family that you haven't fucked yet. When do you plan to fuck me then?"

"What?" Kylie was surprised this time.

"My mom said that if I can't have you as my wife as soon as possible, she'd die before my eyes..." the man added, sadly.

Kylie hung up the phone with a snap. That asshole! A big-sized dog abruptly rushed towards her, nearly knocking over a few actors on the way. The dog ran straight to Kylie, with something in his mouth.

"Pupu!" Kylie squatted with a grin and took the package from him. "You're my favorite."

The makeup artist's jaw fell open with amazement. No matter how expensive the iced coffee had been, or how shiny the rose had been, Kylie was now at her happiest, eating the bread that Pupu had brought. This born foodie had been starving to death.

She took several bites, then shared a piece with Pupu, who stayed by her feet.

Aiden stared at the dog and evilly glared.