After the divorce, he begged

hapter 315

Chapter 315

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An hour later, Stephen and Karen finished dinner together.

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Stephen headed back to his study to work. Karen was just planning to put on an act and tag along with him, playing the role of the dutiful companion, when her phone rang just as she picked up her water glass–it was her agent.

She thought it was about having dinner with Mr. Sutton again, to apologize for what happened last time.

She was just trying to figure out how to turn it down when her agent’s voice came through the phone, much calmer than usual. “Karen, just be honest with me. Who are you with right now?”

Karen paused.

‘I didn’t see that coming,‘ she thought, surprised her agent even brought it up.

Stephen Hanson was dead set against letting anyone know about what was going on between them. He never let her breathe a word of it outside their little bubble.

Not even her agent was in the loop.

“Don’t even think about trying to deny it,” her agent jumped in, shutting down any chance of her lying. “I’ve seen more in this business than you ever will. Believe me, I know a thing or two about what’s really going on with you.”

Karen’s fingers curled a little tighter around her phone.

Her agent dropped the tough act, sounding more like a strategist now. “If you keep all this under wraps and then shoot to fame only for the truth to come out, how am I supposed to pull off damage control for you?”

“Make it big?” Karen was genuinely taken aback. She never expected to hear that word coming from her own agent, of all people. ‘Wow, since when did she become so optimistic about me?‘ Karen thought with a hint of

sarcasm.

She was just a small–time actress—one of many in her agent’s lineup. But thanks to her striking looks and solid acting chops, she’d always gotten a bit of preferential treatment. From the day her agent first picked her up, there had been high hopes riding on her shoulders.

But after every show she landed ended up getting shelved, and she refused to play the casting couch game, her agent’s hopes faded into thin air. These days, there wasn’t much expectation left.

“All those shows you’ve had collecting dust are finally getting released,” her agent blurted out, not beating around the bush. “I checked the release schedule–your stuff starts rolling out, no later than next Wednesday, one after another.”

Karen paused, instinctively glancing over at the study.

But she dismissed that idea in a heartbeat.

‘There’s no way Stephen’s behind this,‘ she thought.

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couldn’t stand the thought of people paying too much attention to her–let alone

him, who else could possibly pull this off?‘ Karen

bluntly. “As long as you get famous, stay out of

agent would be on board with whatever worked–otherwise, she would’ve never

one,” Karen replied, keeping her tone steady, not letting any emotion

don’t know?”

just hummed

had more

changed the subject and asked her agent to help figure out who was backing her up behind

scenes.

down the celebrity ranks you practically don’t exist–haven’t had a single project aired. What kind of miracle would

The only reason she brought it up was

Karen stood there in silence, not sure how to feel, waves of emotion rolling inside

Stephen Hanson’s usual methods made her nervous. With his personality, he’d probably wait for her to get a bit of traction and

never cared about hurting

necessary to get

she could come out and admit Stephen was the one backing her. She was a nobody in the entertainment world, no clout, no connections–if

up her glass of water and headed for the study,

was about to gamble

was about to gamble

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someone had a complicated connection to her, or they were messing with Stephen on purpose. Whatever it was, anyone who went around Stephen Hanson to

on the door, steeling herself for what was

in,” Stephen

her cup of hot water,

placed the cup in front of him, hesitating–wanting to

gently into his arms, and asked, “Is something

lingering on him, emotions flickering in

brushed softly over hers, his voice calm and caring as always. “Just talk

you,” Karen

Stephen raised an eyebrow.

tender as she looked at him. “For

asked, his tone

her tone and glance perfectly calculated. “If it wasn’t you behind the scenes, who else could’ve pulled this off and aired all

was better to

now.

again, at least she’d dodge a wave of online hate and go back

couldn’t stop it, maybe, just maybe, her real career

her hand faltering for a moment. His