Chapter 216

Mabel watched Glenda and Lanny enter the bedroom. Seeing the shopping bags on the couch, she felt a wave of depression. The butler cautiously offered her an ice pack, but Mabel, in a fit of anger, smashed it on the floor and snapped, "Just leave me alone."

Sensing her mood, the butler silently withdrew. Mabel's expression darkened. She was fed up with Lanny. He had given her and her mother money, yes, but he had become insufferably arrogant. Mabel was convinced she could make her own money.

Grabbing her phone, she marched into her bedroom. She scrolled through her contacts and dialed her agent's number—someone she hadn't contacted in a while.

The phone rang three times before her agent impatiently answered, "What's up?"

Despite her own frustration, Mabel knew she needed to appease her agent to get back into the entertainment business. "Aylin, people must have forgotten about my scandal by now, right? Can I return to work?"

Worried about Aylin Watts's refusal, she added humbly, "I'm willing to start small, even with minor gigs. I'll do anything; just give me a chance."

Aylin's response was unexpected. After a long pause, she softened her tone. "Mabel, you know how it is. Your reputation... it's not good."

Mabel's heart sank. "But how? I still have fans, don't I?"

Aylin sneered. "Fans? Those million Twitter followers? We paid for them. They're fake. You have fewer than a hundred real fans."

Mabel couldn't believe it. She collapsed onto the floor. "Fewer than a hundred? That can't be true."

Aylin, ready to end the call, was interrupted by Mabel. "Wait, Aylin. You can't just ditch me. I need to make money. Tell me what I should do to get a job. I'm willing to start over."

Aylin was reluctant. Mabel was the worst artist she'd ever worked with. She'd become famous for her songs, but she wasn't a great singer. On variety shows, she lacked humility and humor. And her acting? It was abysmal.

In short, Mabel's performance in the entertainment business left much to be desired. She wasn't blacklisted, but her reputation was severely damaged.

"If we hire Mabel, our firm will assume considerable risk," Aylin continued. "If you really want to return, you need to start writing songs again. That's how you became famous."

With that, Aylin hung up. Mabel, considering the suggestion, calmed down. She was ready to write new songs, but the truth was, the songs that made her famous weren't hers; they were Elyse's. And Elyse had moved out. How could Mabel steal her work again?

Returning home, Elyse saw a message from Tracy: Morgan had fainted from hypoglycemia and been taken to the hospital. Frowning, she quickly replied, "Is she okay?"

Tracy responded, "Yeah, it's nothing serious. After some glucose, Morgan went back to the film set. She's a hard worker."

Relieved, Elyse put away her phone. Turning, she found Jayden staring at her. Confused, she touched her face. "Is there something on my face?"

"I'm wondering when you'll stop giving me the cold shoulder," Jayden said.

Elyse sighed. "I'm not mad at you anymore."

Jayden was unconvinced. "How do I know that?"

Ignoring him, Elyse headed back to her bedroom.

"Wait! Come to the study. We need to talk," Jayden insisted.

Elyse's unhappiness was evident on her face. Jayden knew she was still upset, but couldn't understand why her anger lasted so long. It had been a while since Judy had upset her to this degree.

"I'm not going anywhere with you. We can talk here," Elyse, clearly irritated, crossed her arms.

Driscoll, grinning at the other staff in the living room, glanced at Jayden's expressionless face. They all left silently.

Elyse said unhappily, "They're all gone. Now that we're alone, you can talk."

Seeing the other servants had left, Jayden said, "Corrie Bates isn't a threat to you. I'll never be with her."