Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

A butler, dressed in immaculate white gloves, approached the gentleman and whispered something into his ear, prompting a light chuckle from the man as he set his wine glass down with grace.

As he rose to his feet, a thought seemed to strike him, and he turned to instruct someone behind him. "Keep a close eye on the commotion over there. I need to go have a chat with a few unruly hounds." "Understood."

Brielle had spent the entire afternoon waiting for the results from the paternity center. As the workday was drawing to a close, a dossier was delivered to her.

The results were as expected. She was still linked to Kingston by blood.

She let out a self-deprecating laugh and tossed the paperwork straight into the trash bin.

At that moment, Tiffanie burst through the door, her face flushed with ire.

"I can't even with those high society ladies anymore. Ever since your family drama hit the fan, they've been dragging your name through the mud daily in the chat groups. Some even had their maids snap pictures of Kingston's place, airing out all the dirty laundry about him and his wife's past shenanigans. You know he has a son named James, right? A real thug, always shaking people down for 'protection money'. Lately, he's been telling everyone you're his little sister."

Brielle wasn't part of those chaotic Beaconsfield social circles, but Tiffanie was, and she couldn't stand to look at them for another day.

These high society ladies had been embarrassed in front of Brielle before and were itching to claw back some dignity. Now that Brielle's past was out in the open, they were all too eager to kick her while she was down. Tiffanie was about to say more, but her anger spiked when she caught sight of the latest message on her phone.

[Brielle isn't just a joke compared to Alivia. Even the Barnes family's staff in Beaconsfield live more comfortably than middle-class families. Pfft.]

[And she had the nerve to act all high and mighty before? With parents like that, the nerve!]

having his most promising son entangled with someone

up her coat, not giving the matter any attention, which only served

was until Donny walked in. "Ms. Haywood, there's a guy outside claiming to be your brother. He wants to

no action, and constantly used foul language, simply didn't qualify to enter Stellar Stage Entertainment. But the man was insistent, claiming to be Ms. Haywood's brother and demanding

impatience crossed Brielle's face. It seemed this family was like chewing gum

and from now on, you don't need to report anything related to

could see she was genuinely upset

for a while but left before the police

up the afternoon's work, Brielle decided it was time to meet this so-called movie star that Donny had mentioned. She had the address

didn't care one bit about

in the

Brielle set her navigation

Passing by a dessert shop, she remembered Donny's note about the actor's preference for matcha-flavored sweets with less sugar, so she packed up a beautifully decorated little

with the cake, she

and recognized him at a glance. James was tall and burly, the type who looked like he was no stranger to

made a

dad. I

was strong, and