Chapter 455 Family Ties and Distance

“Mr. Johnson, you’re giving me too much credit. You’ve won several international awards, and this script is outstanding. Working with you is my honor."

“You want to keep winning awards, and my goal is Best Actor. So sometimes I’ve lost my temper during filming. I hope you don’t hold it against me.”

“Of course not. Mr. Jenson, with that kind of dedication, you’ll always deliver the best to the audience."

After the talk, Darell noticed Silva sitting in the corner and walked over.

She was enjoying a slice of cake. Since it was a wrap party, she wasn’t wearing her usual dark robe. Instead, she wore something brighter and looked more relaxed.

“Ms. Silva.”

“Oh, it’s you, Darell. Congratulations.”

Because of what had happened on set that day, their relationship felt warmer now.

Still, Silva could see the shadow in Darell’s eyes. “What’s wrong, Darell? Filming is over. You don’t look happy.”

“You know why.”

Darell sipped his champagne again.

“Cetherlanders have a saying – make peace with where you are. Having your talent is not a bad thing."

Darell explained, “I called my mom. Just as I expected, while I was busy filming, my family ran into trouble. They didn’t tell me, afraid I’d worry. I was so focused on work I didn’t notice. Now I fear things may be worse than I imagined.”

Silva pressed her lips together, set down her cake, and looked straight at him.

“Darell, if you like, I can reach out to Tilda. You two could meet and figure out what’s really going on.”

“No. We’re strangers. Even if we met, I wouldn’t know what to say.”

Silva rubbed her temples and sighed.

“I don’t know what happened between Tilda and your family. But with an attitude like that, no wonder she cut ties. She’s still your sister. For Nomari, family is everything. I just don’t understand how you people think.”

Darell’s voice was flat. “My family is different. Tilda and I have never spoken. We’ve never even met.”

If not for the dream of Tilda dying in the fire and the curse, Darell would never have thought of her.

Even with Kyla, once the Jensons‘ most beloved, Darell had always been distant.

In truth, he was the odd one out at home.

If not for Russell and the others reminding him to treat Kyla better, he wouldn’t have bothered.

And for an actor like Darell, showing kindness on screen was easy enough.

But in real life, that was never his nature.

Darell couldn’t shake the thought that Kyla wasn’t as simple as she looked.

Maybe it was his instinct as an actor that made him notice.

“You handle that,” she muttered. “Why even bring this up? Let’s just eat cake instead.”

Silva realized she had slipped.

The rule everyone knew was simple – don’t interfere in someone else’s personal matters, especially the family business of strangers.

Otherwise, you only made enemies.

Maybe those words stuck in Darell’s head.

He drank more than usual.

To clear his mind, he left the ballroom and stepped outside the hotel to get some air.

At a five-star hotel, security was never an issue.

And Darell wasn’t one of those pop idols who lived off fan obsession. He had built his career on real acting skills. He rarely managed his Twitter or fan accounts himself, leaving it all to the company.

That’s why he hardly dealt with reckless fans or stalkers.

Hands in his pockets. Darell lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and slowly exhaled.

Smoke swirled in the night air as his gaze drifted.

Had he been too cold?

Maybe.

After all, this was his sister.

His blood sister. She had been missing for nineteen years.

That was different from Kyla.

No matter how long she had grown up in their house, Kyla was still an adopted daughter, not bound by blood.

Just then, Darell caught sight of something in the distance.

Tilda was walking toward the hotel entrance with Andy, carrying a big bag of chips, beef jerky, and other snacks. They were laughing as they chatted.

Earlier that evening, Una had gone out with Andy on errands. He seemed fine, but poor Una had ended up exhausted.

After dinner she crashed in her hotel room for a nap.

Tilda still had energy, so she joined Andy to hang out.

By the time she woke up, she called Tilda. She begged for beef jerky and suggested they play board games together until sunrise.

So Tilda and Andy went out to buy snacks and were just now coming back.

“Una’s still a kid,” Tilda laughed. “I thought she’d finally grown out of her fangirl days, but no. Guess not.”

Andy grinned. “Isn’t that a good thing? It’s why you two get along so well. You care about her, don’t you? She’s not like us. And, honestly, neither am I.”