Chapter 366

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Even if nothing had actually happened , the gossip took on a life of its own , full of vivid details .
And after Aria stepped on Olivia’s foot that morning , the whole crew took it as undeniable proof .
“ So , is this turning into a juicy love triangle ? Mr. Nicholson got caught cheating , Olivia stormed in to make a scene , and Aria just smacked her rival with a box . Then Mr. Nicholson rushed to Aria to calm things down , but it backfired . He ended up slamming the door and leaving in a huff . What a drama ! ”
“ Honestly , something just doesn’t add up . If Olivia is really the official girlfriend , and Aria stepped on her foot so badly that she ended up in the hospital , why wouldn’t Olivia confront Aria about it ? ”
“ What if … Aria is actually the official girlfriend , and Mr. Nicholson secretly brought Olivia to the set ? When Aria found out , she confronted them . Olivia deliberately picked a fight and ended up getting her foot hurt . Mr. Nicholson tried to blame Aria but failed , so he just stormed out . ”
“ You hit the nail on the head ! I saw with my own eyes today – Olivia went to talk to Aria . Aria looked totally calm and collected , but Olivia seemed terrified of something and left in a hurry . So Olivia must be the other woman ! ”
“ Seriously , what’s Mr. Nicholson thinking ? Aria is way prettier than Olivia , plus she’s a major shareholder in a big corporation ! ”
“ I’ve caught Mr. Nicholson sneaking glances at Aria so many times ! He barely even acknowledges Olivia – she’s always the one throwing herself at him . Trust me , Mr. Nicholson is totally into Aria , but she’s not interested , so he’s deliberately bringing Olivia around just to get a reaction out of Aria ! ”
Finally on her day off , Myla was soaking comfortably in the bath . As soon as she opened her phone and saw the group chat flooded with messages , her eyes went wide .
“ What the hell is going on ? ” she blurted out .
The gossip kept snowballing , and in the end , everyone sided with a theory : Olivia became the other woman for love , leveraging her family’s influence to pressure Russell , leaving poor Aria as his unattainable true love .
Myla hurriedly forwarded the chat to Vanessa . [ Vanessa ! You gott
see this ! ]
Fresh out of the shower , Vanessa laughed so hard that she slapped her mattress, then immediately forwarded the message to Aria . [ Aria , come and judge this juicy gossip … ]
These showbiz folks really had some jaw – dropping story – spinning skills .
After Russell had the “ evidence ” retrieved , Aria finished packing Vanessa’s belongings and left . She had just reached her doorstep when Vanessa’s message came through .
As the smart lock beeped , Aria suddenly heard movement behind her .
She turned to see Owen coming out with a trash bag , looking surprised . “ Just getting off work ? ” he asked .
Aria nodded . “ Yeah , not too bad . It’s only ten . ”
“ You’re taking out the trash ? ” she asked .
“ Yeah . ” As Owen closed the door , he suddenly turned his head and asked , “ How about some spiced duck tomorrow ? My parent’s housekeeper made it and my mom sent over five . ”
In the past , his mother would never have bothered to send Owen home – cooked meals .
She only sent over five ducks because she knew Aria was eating at his place .
Aria paused , swallowing hard . “ I probably won’t be home for quite a while . ”
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Owen’s fingers tightened . “ Where are you going ? ”
Aria explained , “ I’m helping a friend as an assistant . We’ll be at Kanit City Film Studios about a month , maybe more . The schedule’s not fixed yet
Owen thought , ‘ A month ? ‘
‘ That’s way too long , ‘ he sighed inwardly .
The crew usually ate together , so it wouldn’t really make sense for her to bring the spiced duck to the set .
Owen thought for a moment and asked , “ When are you leaving ? ”
“ Tomorrow at eight , ” Aria replied . “ I’ll set off at seven . ”
“ That soon ? ” Owen said .
“ Yeah , it’s a bit rushed . ”