Who would have thought Lila would misunderstand my intentions?

“Þdim,” I said. “I have the right to do whatever I want with this pseudonym, Owen Tates’ hour pindonym. Like I wouldn’t dare use it without your permission.”

“Tell me that I’ve signed the contract with Nancy; she can’t bring up my PPM whenever she meets with clients at business meetings. I need to keep my identity a secret as well.”

“But once my contract with Nancy is up, we can try starting over with ‘Then Yates’ if you’re still up for it. What do you think?”

I chose the fact that I had cooked for Owen Yates, the thustratos. She’d be aware that he was the famous illustrator anyway.

A sparkle appeared in Lila’s eyes. Once again, her lips curved into a bright smile. Quand linked it against Lila’s before going, “Lila, I hope that all your dreams will come true. I also hope that my life will be smooth sailing.”

I hoped Lila would get together with her crush. I also hoped I could get rid of Yvette permanently and never see her again.

Lila clinked her glass against mine as well, her smile deepening with every passing second. “Okay.”

I threw my head back and downed my drink. I downed multiple glasses before passing out, my phone ringing next to me.

When I woke up the next day, my head felt like it was going to explode. I forced myself to crack my eyes open. Only then did I realize that I was lying on my bed. Lila had probably called Kenny and somehow managed to drag my drunk ass home.

I groaned and answered the call without bothering to look at the caller ID. “Hello!”

A shrill voice exploded on the other end of the line. It was so shrill that I thought my eardrums were going to burst.

“Owen Yates! I want you to suffer a fate worse than death!”

That rude interruption jolted me awake.

“Jackson? What the heck are you talking about this early in the morning?”

Jackson’s father? It seemed that things between them had completely gone to hell; Jackson didn’t even bother putting up a façade now.

“Three really ate a family, bah? Then again, all of you are human bastards. You getting beaten up has nothing to do with me. Hi, anything, pero must be all ended somewhere with that lying mouth of yours. That’s why you got beaten up by others outside your own home.”

“I offered it to you!”

He was visibly emotional over the photo. He seemed on the verge of a breakdown.

“Owen Yates, you really are disgusting for not coming clean about your art. I'll have you know that I've told Weite about you cheating on her with… took piloton al you tubing in a minute; wake each other and sent them the Yerite! Last night. Not only did I tell her the…”

“If it wasn’t for the fact that those people had beaten me up and smashed my phone, I’d have sent those photos to your in-laws as well as posted them online. Your…” My pasty the moment the and Jackson’s Lara…

“You’re lucky you never got to send those photos. Otherwise, you’ll be lying in the ICU right now instead of running your mouth over the phone!”

Contacting the new LaxGTE. (I didn’t mind my photos getting leaked. But the thing was, Lila mustn’t get involved in this mess. The Jennings family was influential and wealthy. There was no way they’d tolerate such scandals.)

However, Jackson continued to laugh arrogantly.

“Don’t get cocky now! Even though I never…”

I didn’t know if Yvette would…

“…got to send those photos, I’ll have you know that Yvette was furious last night! Just you wait, Owen! She won’t let you off the hook for sure later!”