Chapter 2345


    Chapter 2345


    Mara’s cryptic text,plete with a selfie, buzzed on Ivy’s phone just as she was engrossed in


    reviewing the next day’s script sent by Colton..


    Sometimes, Ivy had to hash out plot points with Colton, and had she decided to go to bed. early that


    evening, she would have missed Mara’s bombshell photo. But as fate would have it, she was in the


    midst of ate-night chat with Colton.


    Curious about what Mara could possibly have sent her, Ivy tapped into the conversation thread only to


    find a selfie of Mara and Balfour!


    Disbelief washed over her as she zoomed in on the photo. It was unmistakably Balfour, and there was


    Mara, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.


    Why on earth would Mara send her such a picture?


    Exiting the chat, Ivy attempted to open the message again, only to discover Mara had retracted the


    previous texts.


    [Oops, sent that to the wrong person] came Mara’s nonchnt follow-up.


    With a smug smile, Mara powered off her phone, content in the knowledge that she wouldn’t be the one


    losing sleep that night.


    The thought of Ivy’s shock and rage upon seeing the photo and message filled Mara with an


    unspeakable glee, a rush more intoxicating than the moment the picture was taken. Tossing and


    turning in her bed, excitement kept her awake for hours.


    “That poor girl must be sulking in her shabby dorm on set by now. Oh, Ivy, my dear, Balfour is mine. I’m


    just giving you a heads-up to face the music sooner rather thanter. Bail out now, and you might spare


    yourself some misery, or stick around and watch the show,” Mara mused before drifting off, lost in her


    fantasy of Ivy’s despair.


    And Mara was right about one thing: Ivy had been staring nkly at her conversation with Mara for a


    solid half-hour, reeling from the shock.


    The unexpected twist left her grappling for answers. She didn’t understand how it had happened, and


    Balfour was even angry when she made a scene about moving out alone. He was concerned that she


    wasn’t taking her well-being seriously. As an actress, she prided herself on seeing through facades,


    discerning genuine emotion from performance. Yet how could Balfour, within mere days, be so


    intimately cozy with another woman? Could it be that even she, the actress, had been fooled by


    Balfour’s act? Had his pleas for her to stay been nothing but a charade? Was he, in fact, eagerly


    awaiting her departure so he could be with Mara?


    Ivy shuddered at the thought, feeling the chill of the solitary room seep into her bones. Mara’s so-called


    ‘mistake’ message seemed almostical now. Was it truly a slip of the finger, or had it been


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    intentional?


    Hugging herself in anguish, Ivy flung her phone aside, no longer inclined to respond to Mara’s half-


    hearted exnation. Letting Mara know she’d seen the photo would only make her appear more pitiful,


    clinging to Balfour’s side.


    How she loathed the ludicrous contract she had signed with Balfour. If only she weren’t bound by it, she


    would have walked away without a second nce.


    And to think it was her own family that had driven her to such desperation.


    In the end, the only sounds that filled the room were Ivy’s soft sobs.