Amara was stunned as she looked at Finnian, hardly believing what she had just heard.


    Lately, Finnian had been a constant presence in her life. Sometimes he was a nuisance, other times he was a lifesaver. Her feelings toward him were a tangled mess of contradictions.


    But never in her wildest dreams did she think he''d apologize to her.


    "Forget about what I said before," Finnian mumbled, his eyes cast downward, hiding his emotions.


    "I won''t say those things again."


    Amara was taken aback.


    Were those things the derations of affection he had made? For some reason, her heart skipped a beat, if only for a brief moment. She quicklyposed herself and smiled, "Alright, let''s leave the past where it belongs. I won''t dwell on it, and I hope you won''t either, Mr. Everly."


    No matter what Finnian''s intentions were, the fact that he hade to apologize and seemed to be closing a chapter in their rtionship brought a sense of relief to Amara.


    She nodded to Finnian, got out of the car, and left.


    Finnian remained seated, watching Amara walk away, his gaze fixed on her until she disappeared into the studio entrance.


    Once in the break room, Amara shook off her lingering thoughts and focused on rewriting the script.


    They were in thetter half of filming Whispers of Winter. In about a month, they''d wrap up, and she felt a twinge of nostalgia. She wanted to ensure she did her best during these final days.


    As she sat at herputer, contemting the plot, the door suddenly swung open. Amara started, frowning as she looked toward the entrance.


    She never locked her door while working-it was a film set, after all, where barging in unannounced was rare. Yet here it was happening.


    Amara''s eyes narrowed as she saw Liliana burst in. "What are you doing here? Ever heard of knocking?"


    Liliana stopped in front of Amara, her eyes narrowing.


    "What''s going on with you and Finn? Why did he kiss you at the hotel the other day?"


    Liliana was referring to the incident on the eve of Elysia''s wedding, when Finnian had kissed Amara in the chapel where they had first


    nov


    exchanged vows.  fo


    Amara replied coldly, "You said it yourself-he kissed me. If you want to know


    why, maybe you should ask Finnian, not me."


    Liliana''s voice turned icy. "I didn''t realize you had such a sharp tongue. Never saw that side of you before."


    "Well, now you know," Amara said,


    her eyes meeting Liliana''s fearlessly. "Besides, what''s wrong with speaking my mind? If I didn''tol''d be steamrolled by you."


    Their rtionship had soured beyond repair, so Amara spoke freely, without reservation.


    Liliana''s gaze was steely as she slowly moved toward Amara.


    Her steps were deliberate, each one echoing with menace, her eyes locked onto Amara''s with an


    unsettling intensity. Amara sensed


    something wasn''t right and frowned.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Liliana, if you''ve got issues, deal with them elsewhere. Don''t take them out on me."


    Amara was beyond fed up with Liliana, and working in the same crew made avoiding her impossible. From now on, she''d make sure to lock her door.


    Liliana said nothing, just kept advancing step by step.


    When she was about half a meter away and Amara was preparing to push her


    back if necessary, Liliana finally stopped.


    She stared at Amara, about to speak, but then her expression twisted in pain. Her body swayed, and she copsed to the floor.