?<strong>Chapter 454:</strong>


    Camille cracked open a beer with her teeth and passed it to Carrie. “Seriously, what’s the deal with Lise? She’s not that special.”


    Carrie took the beer from her, gulping down a long swig, feeling the fizz and alcohol work its way through her senses. After a brief silence, she spoke in a t tone. “Old habits die hard.”


    Camille paused to gather her thoughts before adding, “I actually spoke to Albin about this…” She raised her hand defensively. “I swear, I wasn’t selling you out. I just thought, since Albin’s Kristopher’s friend, he might have a different perspective.”


    Carrie turned her gaze towards Camille, intrigued. “And then?”


    Camille paused, then said, “Albin thinks Kristopher doesn’t have romantic feelings for Lise. He sees it more like a brother-sister thing.”


    Carrie furrowed her brow, then let out a dryugh. “That’s a pretty flimsy excuse.”


    “How can two unrted adults just be ‘siblings’? What, are they some kind of emotional brother and sister?”


    Camille shrugged. “I don’t know how to exin it. But something feels off, like there’s more to the story than we’re being told.”


    Camille popped open another beer with the same exaggerated ir and took a gulp. “I’m with Albin now, so I’m not one to criticize. But seriously, we can’t both be stuck in miserable rtionships, can we?”


    Carrie sighed and shook her head slowly. “Kristopher isn’t that type of person. If something was going on, he would have told me by now. What kind of secret could possibly be so huge that he’d rather fight with me every single day than just sit down and exin it?”


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    She paused, her voice softening with frustration, then sighed deeply again. “Honestly, maybe this is just fate. Maybe, in a past life, I did something really horrible—like I wiped out Lise’s entire family or something, and now she’s here, haunting my marriage like some kind of ghost. It’s like she’s refusing to let me have even a moment of peace.”


    “Okay, enough with the sad talk. Tonight, we’re celebrating your sudden rise to fame!” Camille lifted her beer and tapped it against Carrie’s bottle.


    The two of them gulped down their beers at the same time, drinking straight from the bottles. Camille let out a loud burp before pulling out her phone and opening Twitter.


    Silver Elephant Media had retweeted Katrina’s post, turning the moment into a promotional opportunity for Agarwood. Katrina, the famous screenwriter, was also a beautiful woman, ying the female lead in her own drama, portraying a strong, independent woman… People online were calling it a perfect example of life imitating art, like the heroine had somehow stepped right out of the show and into real life, transforming a romantic drama into an unexpectedly inspiring sess story.


    Camille scrolled throughment afterment, each one showering Carrie with praise.


    She looked even more thrilled than if thepliments had been aimed at her. Burping again, she grinned wide. “Talent always gets its time to shine. Carrie, you’re absolutely killing it! I’m so excited for you. I never imagined it would take off like this.”


    What neither of them sawing was that Carrie’s ount had gained a jaw-dropping eight million followers overnight, overtaking Katrina’s by three million.


    Kristopher reclined silently on the sofa in the doctor’s office. Illuminated by stark, cold light, he resembled a perfectly sculpted figure—stoic and impassive. A dark blue shirt hung loosely on his frame, its cuffs undone, while his brow furrowed in thought. A cigarette dangled from his lips.


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