Free Web NovelChapter 222: Don’t blame me for making it even harder for you.
Adelyn paused. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Her gaze remained fixed on Charlotte, and for a moment ... she really seemed to be genuinely trying to comprehend what she had just heard.
Charlotte watched her closely and continued, as though explaining it more clearly would make it easier for Adelyn to accept.
"Clara has worked hard for this role," she said. "She dieted, practiced tirelessly, and even ended up in the hospital because of it. This role isn’t something trivial to her. Let her have it, Adelyn. She really wants it."
Adelyn let out a soft chuckle ...
"Just because she wants it, so I should give it to her?" she asked, her tone light, almost amused. Beneath the table, however, her fingers tightened slightly. "Doesn’t that sound absurd to you, Madam Scott?"
Charlotte frowned the moment she heard her put it like that.
"It’s just a role in a movie," she replied, her voice only came more firm. "How can it be more important than Clara? Or than our family?"
This time, Adelyn didn’t hold back.
A quiet laugh escaped her lips —low, controlled, yet laced with unmistakable mockery.
Charlotte’s expression darkened as she stared at her.
"Adelyn, what exactly are you implying?"
"Madam Scott," Adelyn began calmly, meeting her gaze without hesitation, "neither your family nor your precious Clara is the center of this world. Why should I sacrifice something I earned fairly for them?"
"That is your family, Adelyn," Charlotte reminded her, her tone sharpening slightly. "Clara is your sister."
But she hadn’t expected what came next.
"Correction, Madam Scott," Adelyn interjected smoothly. "The Scotts are no longer my family. I’ve made that clear—not once, but several times."
She paused for a brief moment before continuing, a faint, self-mocking curve tugging at her lips.
"As for Clara being my sister..." she let out a quiet scoff. "I don’t even know the woman who gave birth to me. How could I recklessly accept just anyone as my sister?" freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"You—!"
Her words struck deep.
Sharp. Painful.
But more than the pain, Charlotte felt something else rising within her—
Offense.
This was the girl she had raised with her own hands. The one she had treated as her own daughter for years.
How could she speak like this now?
Charlotte looked at her, her disappointment no longer concealed.
But Adelyn didn’t waver under that gaze.
Not anymore.
"What will it take for you to give up this role?" Charlotte asked at last.
She had initially believed that Adelyn would agree as long as she explained things properly.
But, now—
She had no choice but to take another way.
"I’ll make it up to you," she added. "As long as you let Clara have this role."
Adelyn’s lips curved slowly into a smile.
"Make it up to me?" she echoed. "How?"
Her gaze remained steady.
"You know your daughter worked hard for this role. But do you know how much I worked for it?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"What makes you think you can compensate for it?"
Charlotte opened her mouth to respond —but no words came out.
Adelyn continued, her tone calm yet cutting.
"You must have forgotten ... but this isn’t the first time you’ve asked me to give up something I earned on my own merit."
Charlotte’s pupils widened slightly, as if the accusation had caught her off guard.
But the unwavering firmness in Adelyn’s gaze forced her to pause.
To think.
Adelyn gave a faint nod, as though confirming her own words.
"You have. Several times. Every single time —for Clara. To keep her content. To make her feel equal to me."
She paused again before continuing—
"I was chosen to debut in the entertainment industry much earlier. And yet, you asked me to give it up ... because your daughter felt pressured. Because she believed she couldn’t match me."
A faint smile returned to her lips —cold, distant.
"So you decided that I should step back ... to give her time to catch up."
Charlotte’s chest tightened.
Guilt crept in silently, wrapping around her heart.
Back then, she had believed she was doing the right thing.
But hearing it now—
It sounded different.
"I agreed at that time," Adelyn continued, "because I thought I owed you. And her."
Her smile deepened slightly.
"But now ... I don’t. I have already paid every bit of what I owed you."
Charlotte stared at her, unable to respond.
So instead, she tried something else.
"Liam can get you a better script than this," she said quickly. "I had promised you back then that I would make it up to you. You can have that now."
She leaned forward slightly.
"Clara only wants this role. She’s being stubborn about it. So just let her have it this once, and—"
Before she could finish—
Adelyn pushed her chair back and stood up.
Charlotte’s brows drew together immediately.
"Madam Scott," Adelyn said calmly, her tone polite yet firm, "your daughter’s stubbornness has nothing to do with me."
She paused briefly.
"I’ve already tried explaining it to you. Since that didn’t work, I don’t see any point in continuing this conversation."
A faint, courteous smile appeared on her lips.
"If CEO Scott can find a better script for me, then he can do the same for his own sister. Let his network support her."
Her gaze remained steady.
"I don’t share that fortune to deserve it anyway."
She gave a small, polite nod—
And turned to leave.
The sight of her walking away stirred something desperate within Charlotte.
Before she could stop herself, she spoke again—
"Adelyn, it’s just a role," she said, her brows knitting together, her voice turning strained. "Do you really have to make things this difficult?"
Adelyn didn’t stop.
She had already said everything she needed to.
There was no point repeating it.
Charlotte’s fingers clenched at her indifference.
"Fine," she said sharply. "If you insist on taking the difficult path, then don’t blame me for making it even harder for you."
There was a brief pause.
And then—
She added, her voice lowering, carrying something far more dangerous beneath it—
"If you can’t give Clara a simple role ... then how about giving us to her completely?"
And at that—
Adelyn’s steps halted.
