Yvonne Coleman’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, and Talia suddenly woke up. She opened Weibo, and the top trending search was conspicuously "Adrian Jennings’ relationship with Lana Larsen exposed." Talia saw the tag but didn’t dare click into it. Lana Larsen is a top-tier celebrity, and Talia had even watched dramas where she played the lead. Why would Adrian Jennings have a scandal with her? He had never mentioned knowing Lana Larsen before. "Hello? Talia, are you listening?" Yvonne Coleman was still on the call, angrily saying, "I really couldn’t tell Adrian was this kind of person! You said yesterday it was just a misunderstanding between you two, and today he’s photographed entering a hotel with a celebrity. It makes me so mad; what a bastard! Ugh!" Entering a hotel together? Talia’s heart tightened abruptly, and she felt as cold as if she had plunged into an icy abyss. Finally, she clicked on the trending tag. What she saw was a screen full of scandal reports. [Recently, popular actress Lana Larsen was photographed entering a hotel with a mysterious man. Their actions were intimate, suggesting a romantic relationship. Insiders claim that the mysterious man is Adrian Jennings, Crown Prince of Oakhaven and president of The Jennings Group. Currently, Lana Larsen’s studio has not issued any statements to clarify.] Beneath the text was a photo of the paparazzi-taken shot, a joint image of Lana Larsen and the man. In the picture, Lana Larsen caught in a turning glance exposing her full face, while the mysterious man only revealed a side profile. In the instant Talia saw the photo, her blood froze. That side profile; perhaps others couldn’t tell who it was, but she could recognize Adrian Jennings at a glance. In the photo, Adrian Jennings wore a black coat, walking beside Lana Larsen, their appearance attractive and pleasing, with hot comments from netizens calling them a perfect match. The next Weibo text read: [Is Lana Larsen set to join a wealthy family? According to internal sources, the mysterious man entering the hotel with Lana Larsen is the president of The Jennings Group, and the two are currently in a relationship. Lana Larsen might soon be marrying into a wealthy family.] The accompanying image was similar to the one above. Scrolling down, there were several more entries with identical content. As Talia scrolled down, she became so angry that her entire body trembled, her heart pained with each beat, making it difficult to breathe. Tears fell onto the phone screen, blurring the photos. Talia hung up Yvonne’s call and dialed Adrian Jennings. The phone rang for a long time with no answer. After it automatically disconnected, Talia immediately dialed again. Talia’s heart slowly turned cold. When she called for the fifth time, the phone finally connected. Talia asked with a sobbing tone, her voice trembling, "The trending search is fake, right? The person in the picture isn’t you, right? Adrian, as long as you say it, I’ll believe you." There was a brief silence from the other end, followed by an appealing female voice: "Um... who are you? I’m Lana Larsen. Adrian can’t answer the phone right now; he’s in the shower. Is there something you need to tell him? I can relay the message." Talia’s heart throbbed violently, and she stopped breathing. Receiving no response, Lana Larsen asked again, "Hello? Can you hear me?" "His girlfriend hung up." Lana Larsen shrugged, looking up at Adrian Jennings, "I have to say, you’re really hurting her, aren’t you? If it were me, I’d hate you for a lifetime." The woman tossed the phone back to Adrian Jennings, "I don’t mind being the scapegoat, but you better think it through. When a girl is hurt too badly, she might never come back to reconcile." Lana Larsen, to the public a popular actress, actually held another identity: the second daughter of the Larsen family from Tansworth, a genuine socialite and heiress. Adrian Jennings’ grandmother, Susan Larsen, was also born into the Larsen family of Tansworth. Lana Larsen’s grandfather and Adrian’s grandmother, Susan Larsen, were siblings, so although Lana Larsen and Adrian Jennings are relatives, their relationship is somewhat distant. As a sought-after actress, Lana Larsen’s schedule was packed daily, either joining film sets or appearing on variety shows, leaving little personal downtime. She hadn’t managed to formally meet Talia Rhodes during her return to Oakhaven. Even during the previous engagement party for Adrian Jennings and Talia Rhodes, she couldn’t attend, as she was abroad participating in a very important film festival award ceremony. This time, Adrian Jennings had reached out to his distant cousin to act alongside him in a play for the purpose of making Talia give up. When Lana Larsen heard her cousin was looking for her to act in a play, she thought he was aiming to invest in some major film, laughing gleefully, "Cousin, if you’re investing, it’s bound to be a huge production! Rest assured, I am an award-winning actress. You’ve got the right person; I’ll definitely make your film a big hit!" Adrian Jennings remained composed, his tone calm, "It’s not about acting in a film, it’s pretending with me." Lana Larsen’s mouth twitched, "What sort of thing is this?" "You’ll play my scandalous girlfriend." "You’ve got a troublesome woman on your hands? Want me to be your shield?" Lana Larsen sensed gossip, appearing mischievous, "No way, with your status as Oakhaven’s Crown Prince, which woman wouldn’t dare to pester you? Besides, don’t you already have a fiancée?" Adrian Jennings’ expression suddenly darkened, "She’s not a troublesome woman; she’s the only woman I love." Lana Larsen was stupefied, unable to respond for a moment. Rarely, Adrian endured trying to explain to Lana Larsen. After listening, Lana Larsen sighed longly, "Oh, his girlfriend is too pitiful. Can I refuse? I haven’t even met her yet, and now I have to play the third party in her relationship? How will I face her in the future?" "Here’s the payment." Adrian Jennings handed over a card. Lana Larsen snorted dismissively, turning her head, "Don’t think you can buy me off. I won’t do things that hurt beautiful women!" "Well, now that you mention it..." Lana Larsen grinned, taking the card, "We’re doing this to protect his girlfriend, and we can clear up the misunderstanding later. I’m sure she’ll understand our good intentions with her magnanimity!" Lana Larsen thought: Don’t blame me, it’s too much to resist. To film a drama, stay in the crew working tirelessly for months, and only earn five million before tax. Just by acting alongside Adrian Jennings for a few appearances and taking some photos, she would earn several months’ worth of pay. Where else could one find such a great opportunity? Adrian’s eyes were indifferent, his face expressionless, "Act convincingly, don’t let her see through it." Lana Larsen patted her chest, assuring, "You can relax; I am an award-winning actress!" After Talia hung up the call, she sat by the window, her eyes vacant, tears uncontrollably streaming down. A few minutes later, Adrian Jennings called back. Talia thought he wanted to explain, feeling a surge of hope, eagerly answering the call. Adrian Jennings maintained a facade of calm, "I heard from Lana you called earlier; is there something you need to discuss with me?" Such an affectionate nickname. Just like how he used to call her Talia. The hope that had just risen in Talia’s heart was cruelly extinguished by those two words. Talia couldn’t suppress her sobs as she asked, "You and her..." Is the scandal between you and her real? Follow current novᴇls on novèlfire.net Are you really together? Just a few words, yet Talia couldn’t continue to ask. The pain in her chest was suffocating. "Yes." Adrian Jennings’ voice was devoid of warmth, "We’ve already broken up; who I’m with has nothing to do with you anymore." Talia’s breath caught. She asked hoarsely, "You’re lying to me, aren’t you? Adrian, I don’t believe you’d be with someone else right after our breakup. Tell me the truth; is it because of Vincent Fletcher? You’re not losing feelings for me, right? You’re doing this just to protect me..." On the other side of the phone, Adrian Jennings listened to Talia’s sobs, and his heart was breaking. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke with coldness, "Don’t flatter yourself." After speaking, he could no longer maintain the act, hurriedly hanging up. One more second and he would have relented.