Reborn as Mr.CEO’s Fat Wife
Chapter 893: Who is Behind the Hype?

Chapter 893: Chapter 893: Who is Behind the Hype?

Mary Scott booked a car via her phone, but Rose Valley had strict security regulations; without proper clearance, outside vehicles couldn’t enter. Mary braved the biting wind, walking about ten minutes to the neighborhood gate before she finally boarded the car. By then, she was frozen stiff and sneezed several times while sitting in the heated vehicle.

At this hour, it wasn’t appropriate to go to her brother’s place, so she found a nearby three-star hotel, deciding to make do for the night.

Upon arrival, Mary bundled herself tightly with a mask and hat. Thankfully, her real name wasn’t the same as her stage name, so the front desk didn’t take notice.

She had an ad shoot tomorrow and couldn’t afford delays. After pulling herself together, she went into the bathroom.

A hot shower revived her completely. Curled up on the bed, however, chaotic emotions surged in her heart. She couldn’t sleep, and Dobbin Locke’s distant and superior face kept resurfacing in her mind. Frustrated, she sat up and called the hotel front desk, ordering a pitcher of beer.

Wrapped in her pajamas, Mary drank half a pitcher of beer before finally succumbing to drowsiness. She stumbled to the bed and collapsed into a deep sleep.

She slept through the night, completely oblivious to her phone’s incessant vibrations. Ultimately, it was thirst that woke her up.

Mary’s eyes opened to the sight of the white hotel walls, taking a while to register where she was. She reached for her phone to check the time, only to find it powered off. Glancing at the clock on the hotel wall, she confirmed it was still early before dragging herself out of bed. She twisted open a bottle of water and downed half in one gulp, finally soothing her parched throat, though the headache remained. A sniff of her stuffed nose told her she had indeed caught a cold from last night’s chill.

Looking at her sickly reflection in the mirror, Mary dug through her bag and applied an emergency face mask before powering up her phone.

As soon as the phone turned on, dozens of missed calls flashed on the screen. Mary froze for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly. Did that man care enough to call her this many times?

With that thought, Mary opened her call log, only to see that most missed calls came from her assistant, while others were from the production crew and business contacts. Puzzled, she wondered why everyone was frantically calling her when the ad shoot was scheduled for eleven and it was only nine o’clock. Should she call back? As she hesitated, another call came in.

Mary thought for a moment before answering it. She barely got a word out before her assistant Mia Anderson’s urgent voice shouted at her, "Mary! What took you so long to pick up? Have you seen the news? What’s going on? Did you and Director Locke have a fight?"

"What’s happening?" Mary was stunned by her assistant’s yelling. Confusion clouded her mind, but an ominous feeling stirred within her.

"You haven’t looked? It’s already trending! Why did you have a midnight argument with Director Locke? Hurry and post a clarification on Twitter!" Mia urged.

Mary hung up instantly and opened up the trending topics. True enough, her name was glaring at fifth spot.

Taking a deep breath, Mary clicked on her name. The first result was: "Mary Scott left home late at night, suspected marital troubles with Director Locke—photos included!"

Staring at the content, Mary’s face turned pale, even more bloodless than when she got up. She recalled her resolute assurances to David Locke last night, promising not to cause trouble or let the paparazzi catch her. Yet here she was, blindsided so quickly.

She felt a burst of anger inside. Mary knew the prowess of the paparazzi, but she had relaxed her guard after moving into Rose Valley, assuming its security measures would keep them out. Judging by the photos, someone had clearly taken them inside Rose Valley.

Taking a deep breath, Mary dialed her assistant. "What’s the situation? Has there been any response from Director Locke’s side?"

"None. It’s completely silent on their end. The public sentiment toward you is terrible right now, and some of the commercial clients have already called to gauge things. If you don’t clarify soon, several jobs you secured may go down the drain." Mia sounded equally anxious. She had been by Mary’s side for years, watching her rise in popularity, and if those jobs were lost, it would all be for nothing.

Mary inhaled deeply. If she didn’t know David Locke’s personality, she might have suspected he sent those paparazzi to take revenge!

"I’ll handle it," Mary said, though her mood was heavy. David’s words last night left no room for ambiguity—he didn’t want to see her anymore. If she went looking for him now, who knew what humiliation awaited her?

No, she wouldn’t go back for more degradation.

Mary set her phone aside, went into the bathroom, removed her face mask, and washed her face. After considering things, she decided not to clarify and chose instead to ignore the issue entirely. After all, since the day she and David announced their marriage, news about their potential divorce had been endless.

Resolved, Mary ignored the incoming calls, washed her face, applied light makeup, and grabbed her shoulder bag before hailing a cab to the company.

But just because she wanted to ignore it didn’t mean the reporters would spare her. Calls buzzed in from familiar and unfamiliar numbers alike. Mary, fed up, put her phone on Do Not Disturb mode. Moments later, a call came in from an all-too-familiar number, one she had personally labeled as "scumbag Locke."

Mary hesitated briefly before answering. "What?"

Her tone was cold and distant. On the other end, there was a pause. "How do you plan to explain this?"

Mary stopped short. She wanted to ask him the same question, but she knew she was in the wrong. After a moment’s silence, she said, "I didn’t realize paparazzi could get into Rose Valley."

"So one ’I didn’t know’ and that’s supposed to satisfy me? Mary Scott, you’re getting more impressive—using such tacky publicity stunts now?" David Locke hadn’t slept all night. He had been drinking and woke up with countless calls from people asking about the situation. His hangover made him irritable and short-tempered.

Mary’s whole body trembled with anger. Publicity stunt? Tacky? Him calling her out-of-touch?

"Yes, yes, it’s all me! I’m doing publicity stunts, I’m tacky. I got the paparazzi to spread rumors about you and other female celebrities and hired photographers to camp outside your door before forcing you to throw me out—does that work for you?" Mary snapped, furious, and hung up the call with a loud bang.

Her chest heaved with anger after hanging up.

Mary was furious. How could David Locke think so poorly of her? She hadn’t even accused him of deliberately planting paparazzi outside her home for revenge, but here he was, already playing the victim card.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Mary noticed the cab driver’s curious gaze. She awkwardly pulled up her mask and tugged down her hat.

On the other end, David Locke listened to the dial tone, frozen for a while as he processed Mary’s angry outburst. What did she mean by the paparazzi spreading rumors about him and other female celebrities?

So yesterday, she was mad because she saw his rumored scandals?

The hungover man suddenly felt his brain clearing up. So, Mary Scott was jealous of him?

"Ha." This realization gave the man, who had almost drunk himself into oblivion the night before, a strange sense of gratification. Holding his phone, he suddenly thought of something. That woman’s voice was hoarse; so he wasn’t the only one hurt—she was also suffering?

Sitting up straight, David dialed his assistant’s number. "Check Mary Scott’s schedule for today."

A moment later, his assistant sent over her schedule: an 11 a.m. skincare advertisement shoot. After some thought, David instructed, "I remember the Starlight project had a scene that needed reshooting. Pick me up in an hour and take me to Starlight."

The assistant was puzzled. Wasn’t that scene already filmed? But knowing David’s style, they dared not ask for more details. They turned to the deputy director beside them instead, asking, "What should we do about the news?"

"You didn’t ask Director Locke?" The deputy director grimaced.

The assistant awkwardly laughed. "Didn’t get the chance; Director Locke hung up before I could."

"Then don’t bother asking. He probably doesn’t care about these things," the deputy shrugged it off. Having been around David for a while, he had noticed the renowned director seemed indifferent toward his openly recognized wife. Every divorce rumor was left unaddressed, and new ones emerged daily. He figured Miss Scott was just a placeholder to fend off unwanted advances, so he didn’t stress about it.

But their attitude quickly leaked to prying eyes, escalating the divorce rumors.

Initially, David Locke marrying an 18th-tier actress had garnered widespread attention. Everyone had agreed the pair were mismatched. It wasn’t until David posted old high school photos of the two on Twitter that public sentiment calmed somewhat—like swallowing a spoonful of witness PDA.

The higher the pedestal, the harsher the scrutiny. Their history was picked apart, and people discovered that their high school romance hadn’t survived graduation. The notion of teenage love blossoming into marriage was quickly dismissed, further fueled by alleged classmates claiming Mary had cheated back then.

The drama only intensified public disdain toward Mary, who was seen as a scheming social climber leveraging her marriage to get ahead.

With the paparazzi capturing solid evidence of a fallout, the internet practically celebrated with confetti and cheers.

As soon as Mary arrived at the company, she felt the piercing stares from every direction—mocking, disdainful, and many just watching for entertainment. But Mary ignored them all and went straight upstairs.

Her marriage to David skyrocketed her popularity, elevating her from an irrelevant actress to one whose fame rivaled that of second or third-tier celebrities. As a result, the company shifted all resources from other artists to her.

Starlight wasn’t a major company with abundant resources; the redistribution caused resentment among the other artists, especially since Mary wasn’t particularly talented, only amplifying the hostility.

At one point, David offered her a business card from Best Actor Coleman, intending to have her sign with his studio. But breaking her contract with Starlight would mean paying them a million in penalties. Signing with Coleman’s studio was doubtful—it wasn’t her minuscule status that caught his eye but rather his friendship with David. Mary was certain the million-dollar penalty would have to be covered by David, and she didn’t want to owe him such a hefty favor. Besides, her contract with Starlight had only a year remaining, so she decided to wait it out instead.

But never did she imagine her relationship with David wouldn’t even last a year.

Thinking back to how furious she had been earlier, Mary sighed. Her only hope now was for David to postpone the divorce talks slightly, just long enough for her to complete her current jobs and secure her pay—her only safety net.

With that in mind, Mary carried herself with unwavering confidence, radiating self-assurance to water down the amusement of those waiting to see her fail.

But life wasn’t so simple. About to enter the studio, Mary encountered her nemesis, Charlotte Leigh.

Because of her exposure through David, Mary had snatched most of the company’s resources from Charlotte, the former top star at Starlight. The rivalry between them had only escalated.

Mary glanced at the time, intending to sidestep Charlotte discreetly, but Charlotte had no intention of letting her go.

"Oh, who do we have here? David Locke’s wife herself!" Charlotte drawled mockingly. "I wonder how it feels to get kicked out in the middle of the night. Must’ve been cold, huh?"

Charlotte’s tone feigned concern, but the ridicule underneath was unmistakable. She eyed Mary’s mask and pale expression smugly.

Mary raised her head. "Curious, are you? Then why don’t you go marry a top-tier director and find out for yourself?"

"You..." Charlotte was momentarily speechless. Everyone knew David Locke was the hottest director in the country—talented, famous, young, and handsome. But how could anyone get close to someone like him? Then Charlotte caught herself and smirked bitterly. "So you really were kicked out. Looks like David finally saw you for the kind of woman you really are."

"Oh? I didn’t realize stepping out at night meant being kicked out. Does that mean your mom kicks you out every night?" Charlotte’s penchant for clubbing wasn’t a secret within Starlight. Mary smiled sweetly at her.

Unable to come up with a rebuttal, Charlotte was livid. But remembering some insider information, she sneered smugly, "Keep putting on a brave face. I’ll enjoy watching how long you can keep this charade up."

With those words, Charlotte strutted into the studio.

Mary frowned and turned to Mia. "What’s going on?"

She distinctly remembered today’s ad shoot being hers alone.

Mia, fresh to the office, hurried to inquire and returned moments later with a forlorn expression. "Mary, what do we do? They’ve been ordered to have you shoot the ad with Charlotte."

Mary frowned and glanced at Charlotte, who was radiating smugness and taunting her with her gaze. Charlotte evidently had known all along.

Clearly, the upper management at Starlight had also seen the divorce rumors. While they hadn’t outright canceled Mary’s project, they had deliberately added Charlotte into the mix. If the rumors turned out false, there wouldn’t be any harm done. But if they were true, management wouldn’t have invested too much in Mary, hedging their bets sensibly.

Starlight was safeguarding its interests. If her divorce from David were confirmed, Mary could already envision her disastrous fate—and Charlotte wouldn’t let her off the hook.

Exhaling slightly, Mary smiled brightly. If she couldn’t rely on David forever, she had better start earning recognition for her talent instead.

If Charlotte wanted to co-star with her, then fine—she would make Charlotte into her backdrop!

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