THE BILLIONAIRE'S VENGEFUL WIFE RETURNS
Chapter 117: CHOOSING AN ACTRESS

Chapter 117: CHOOSING AN ACTRESS

After a long and exhausting night, Harlow finally stirred awake. The soft morning light filtered through the curtains, and for a moment, she relished the quiet peace. Her body felt heavy, her mind still hazy from sleep.

But then it hit her. She wasn’t alone.

Her breath hitched as she suddenly remembered, she had fallen asleep in the same room as that monster. She struggled to sit up but realized she couldn’t. There was just something stopping her from moving. A heavy object on her waist.

She rolled the blanket and there it was. Alanis’s big arms protectively wrapped her waist, as if she was going to slip from him if he let her go. Harlow ground her teeth almost letting out a throaty groan.

She had promised to never let this man come close to her. Agreeing to sleep in his room had been a mistake. A mistake she was still trying to break herself free from.

She dug her nails into his arm, struggling to pry herself free. But his grip didn’t falter, if anything, it tightened slightly, as if he were teasing her resistance.

"Wives usually wake their husbands with sweet kisses and warm hugs," Alanis murmured, his deep voice with amusement, his lips brushing dangerously close to her skin. "But mine prefers to draw blood."

Her teeth ground together. "Did you forget the ’no touching’ rules, Mr. Hamilton?" she snapped.

"Alanis," he corrected smoothly, his voice dropping so low. "Call me Alanis. Or better yet, something cute. I won’t respond to Mr. Hamilton anymore."

His tone sent a shiver down her spine, and his lips curved into a lazy smile as he caught the subtle reaction.

Harlow pressed her lips into a thin line, willing herself to stay composed. She would not let this man, this monster, make her feel anything. She hated him. She hated him, and nothing was going to change that, not in this life or the next.

"The no-touching rule still stands, no matter what I call you," she said firmly, her voice icy.

"Your rules died the moment you failed the dare," Alanis replied with a low chuckle. "We play by my rules now."

He shifted slightly, his tone softening, though it still carried that maddening edge of control. "Not to worry, my little villainess. I won’t do anything without your consent."

That infuriating smirk on his face was the last straw. Harlow wriggled free of his grip, springing out of bed and storming toward the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and leaned against it, her chest heaving.

Touching her racing heart, she forced herself to breathe. Stay calm. Stay in control. Alanis would never have her consent. Not today, not tomorrow, not in this life, or the next.

She stepped into the shower, letting the warm water pour down her skin.

When she finished bathing and stepped back into the room in a thick robe and stepped back into the room.

But as she returned to the bedroom, she noticed something. Alanis was gone. The bed was empty, his usual presence conspicuously absent. She sighed in relief. She would have to be careful around him.

Harlow’s eyes moved around the room till they fell on the black sofa at a corner. She smiled. She would rather sleep on the sofa than sleep on the same bed with that man.

She would need to do something to cancel his useless rules.

Pushing the thought aside, Harlow walked into her closet. Today, she had a meeting to finalize the lead actress for her movie. Missing it wasn’t an option. She needed to be there to make the decision herself.

She wore a twilight blue dress, hanging slightly above her knee. Her silver earrings dangled on her ears elegantly as she fixed her necklace. Not only was she going to choose an actress for her movie, she was going to celebrate her success with her Layla. Harlow smiled at her thoughts.

She put on her coat, picked up her bag, and stepped out of the bedroom.

When she arrived in the lounge, she could see Jane still holding the vase she placed in her hands. She had completely forgotten about the girl and the punishment.

Jane looked so stiff, she had cried all night, wailed, and sympathized with no one. There were times the vase had fallen from her hands but that only made the guards hit her more. They flogged her mercilessly and forced the vase back in her hands.

"Let her go," Harlow said dismissively as she walked away. She hurried into her car, Good morning madam." The chauffeur greeted me as he started the engine.

"Good morning," Harlow responded.

"Where to madam?" He asked.

"Shoot Pictures."

When they arrived at the large organization, Harlow stepped out of the car and walked in. "Miss Harlow?" A man at the door asked and she nodded. He led her through the elevator till they arrived at the last floor.

The man kept leading her through the halls, in this floor were two doors, the left, and the right. They didn’t stop walking till they were both standing before the left door. Harlow took in deep breath as she stared at it.

This meeting would be her first official business meeting aside from her regular meetings with Richard, Edward, and Elena. The man twisted the door knob and punched the door open.

As she stepped in, she was greeted by five men in the conference room. Each looks above 40, except of course the CEO of Shoot Pictures. Evans Collin Berg.

The man got up on his feet, and so did the others as she stepped in. "Welcome Miss Harlow," Evans said softly.

"I can’t believe such a young girl wrote a play as beautiful as that." The older man in there commented, his eyes scanning her.

"This is Paul Lincoln, he’ll be the director of the movie." Evens introduced the man and Harlow went ahead to shake him.

"This is Randolf and Clermont, they’ll be the camera and light." He pointed at the other two one looking older than the other. Harlow bowed in greeting and they did the same.

"This is Robert Robinson, he’s in charge of production." The man had a livid expression as he stared at the girl. Harlow sighed, they were yet to shoot the movie, and she seemed to have an enemy already.

"Thank you all for coming today."

"We had other crews attend the meeting yesterday, but it seems you were too busy to attend." He said.

"I am so sorry for not attending. I had an emergency to attend to." Harlow apologized.

"What other things can a young girl your age do rather than write useless plays and mess around with young men," Robert said staring at the girl. Harlow tried to ignore him, men like Robert are misogynists. They look down on women a lot.

"Since that is settled, let’s get into what we have today." Harlow smiled.

"There’s no need we already picked an actress." Harlow frowned.

"And who may that be?" She asked.

"Claudia Blackwood."

Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience