The news about Beautiful Soul's request to change their Brand Ambassador quickly traveled through the industry.
Noah heard about it while he was taking a break. He thought that if his company could secure the Beautiful Soul Brand Ambassador deal, even the least popular model in his agency would hesitate for a second.
However, for Sophie, it meant she had successfully reclaimed what was rightfully hers from Amber. So, Noah promptly called Sophie.
"You did great!" he exclaimed.
Sophie chuckled and gratefully responded, "Hearing praise from you makes me happier than anything else."
"I look forward to seeing you back at the top spot!" he replied.
Sophie simply replied with determination, "I will!"
It was time for her to return to Global Pictures and confront Amber's unpleasant attitude.
While the news was making its rounds, Amber was still blissfully asleep at Nathan's house. The night before, she had rushed there straight from the hospital, using guilt to cling to him all night long, preventing him from calling Sophie.
Amber believed that anything she possessed should remain hers, especially when it came to Sophie, who always seemed to oppose her.
Her assistant, Garry, was anxious and hurried as he arrived at Nathan's place. He showed Amber the news, and her initial reaction was one of shock.
"But Beautiful Soul's Brand Ambassador was already decided. They can't just change it like that!" she exclaimed in disbelief.
"Amber, this is serious," her assistant said with urgency and frustration in his voice. "This afternoon, Mr. Nathan got a phone call from Beautiful Soul. They told him directly that they want to switch the brand ambassador to Sophie. If we don't agree, they'll find another company to work with." He pointed at the news article, his expression tense. "What did Sophie do to cause this? Why did she have to interfere with your deal to get what she wants?"
"Let's go to the office," Amber decided. "I need Nathan to explain this situation to me in person. If we talk on the phone or at home, he might use his charm to dodge the issue. By confronting him at the office, he'll have to handle it professionally and give me a clear explanation."
At the same time, Nathan was feeling pretty beat up and tired. The company, Beautiful Soul, was so set on replacing Amber with Sophie. Nathan knew that this decision was going to deeply upset Amber.
But did he really have the right to stop it? After all, he wasn't going to fight against the business side of things.
While Nathan was pondering how to break the news gently to Amber, she entered the room in a wheelchair, helped by her assistant. She arrived just moments before Sophie, only a few hundred meters apart. "Nathan, what's going on here? How did the brand ambassador deal that was supposed to be mine end up with Sophie?" she demanded.
Nathan signaled to Garry to leave the room, and once it was just him and Amber, he walked over to her and wrapped her in a comforting hug.
"Amber, this was out of my hands," Nathan said softly. "I'll do my best to help you land an even better opportunity."
Amber's eyes flashed with anger. "You know as well as I do that Mr. Smith from Beautiful Soul is Miss Alexix's brother, and she's one of the judges for the top 10 model awards. This deal was crucial for me! And now it's given to Sophie?" Her voice trembled as she pushed Nathan away. "She already took you from me, wasn't that enough? Why does she have to compete with me on everything? If I lose this deal, I don't want this child, and I won't stay at Global Pictures either," she declared, seeking some form of sympathy.
"Amber, don't let anger drive your words," Nathan tried to calm her.
"How can you talk about giving up on our child so easily?" he asked gently. "You know I'm here for you, but Beautiful Soul was really insistent this time."
"Sophie has given up in so many situations," Amber said bitterly. "Why can't she do it this time? It's not a big deal! Plus, she's going to marry you. Why does she need this deal anyway?"
After listening to Amber, Nathan realized her point made sense. Sophie, with her personality, had given up on many opportunities before, so missing out on one more probably wouldn't be a big deal for her. Nathan felt sure she would understand, so he tried to reassure Amber.
"I'll talk to her about it! Don't be upset, alright?" Nathan said, hoping to calm her.
Amber cried her heart out as she leaned into Nathan's arms. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Amber quickly wiped her tears and stepped away from Nathan, giving him a look that seemed to say she felt wronged.
Sophie walked in after pushing the door open. "Sophie, where were you last night? Do you know I was searching for you the whole night?!" Nathan asked, firing questions one after another.
Sophie glanced at Nathan and then Amber, her expression a mix of frustration and resolve. "It's just a misunderstanding between Amber and me. I've already released a statement to clear everything up, so let's not make a big deal out of it, alright?"
She turned her gaze away, knowing all too well what Nathan's frantic searching meant. He had been so desperate to find her that he ended up in Amber's bed instead. Otherwise, he would have realized she no longer lived in her old place.
"It's unfortunate," Sophie said with a calm demeanor, "but the issue between Miss Amber and me is not just a misunderstanding. I've helped her so many times, yet she turned on me. Do you both really see me as someone who's easy to push around?"
"Sophie, Amber was just worried about reporters being around. It was the only thing she could think to do," Nathan explained, standing up for Amber.
"Really?" Sophie asked, her voice laced with skepticism.
"Regardless, this incident is behind us; let's not dwell on it," Nathan said, his tone firm and commanding. "As for the Beautiful Soul Brand Ambassador deal, why not return it to Amber? It's really important to her. You've already stepped back and aren't doing any shows, so there's no point in holding onto the ambassador role."
"Sophie, you haven't been on stage for years, so you're not even familiar with it anymore," Amber chimed in. "Besides, the deal was originally meant for me. Beautiful Soul probably thought I wouldn't recover in time because of my injury, which is why they chose you. You don't want to be just a stand-in, do you?"
Sophie responded with a cold edge in her voice, "The words coming from Miss Amber sound a bit ironic." This prompted Nathan to snap back defensively.
"Sophie, you weren't like this before. If you still love me, you wouldn't take on this deal," Nathan said, his voice carrying an unmistakable threat. "For the sake of the company's future, we need Amber to win the top 10 model awards to boost our standing in the industry."
He was even using love as leverage to sway her decision.
Hearing this, Amber was secretly amused. She knew Sophie would do anything for Nathan, let alone give up a mere deal.
"Nathan, hurry and call Beautiful Soul," Amber urged, feigning urgency. "Tell them Sophie is too busy planning her wedding and can't take on any new jobs." Nathan nodded and reached for his phone, but Sophie stopped him just in time.
"The deal? I've already accepted it," she said, her voice firm and unwavering.
"Sophie!?" Nathan exclaimed, clearly shocked. Sophie had never opposed his decisions before.
"Remember, I'm also a model with Global Pictures Entertainment," Sophie replied confidently. "I've already spoken with Mr. Smith, the founder of Beautiful Soul, and he's excited about us working together."
Nathan glared at Sophie, his eyes filled with frustration. "Sophie, I'm the head of Global Pictures Entertainment. I'm the one who makes the decisions, not you. Why on earth would you go and take Amber's deal?"
Sophie took a deep breath, trying to explain. "Do you really think I took the deal just because I wanted to? Beautiful Soul asked for a change, and I was worried we'd end up with nothing if I didn't act. I was trying to keep the contract safe for us. At first, I didn't pay attention to the rumors about you and Amber, but seeing you choose a loss over her losing the brand ambassador deal makes me wonder—are you two...?"
Nathan quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. "No way! What are you even thinking? We're about to get married, and I just thought it'd be nice if you could stay home and take care of our family."
Sophie loosened her grip on the phone, her face shadowed with disappointment. "So, will you go explain things to Mr. Smith? And what do you mean by saying I took the deal from Amber? Haven't I already let her take enough from me? I've gone out of my way to support her, and in doing so, I've upset everyone. Who knew she wouldn't even appreciate my kindness in the end?"
Amber, not willing to back down, responded fiercely. "Sophie, you were the one who suddenly announced you were stepping out of the spotlight, so naturally, your roles were handed over to me. What do you mean you allowed me? The last thing I want is people saying I'm just picking up after you. With your talent and popularity, if you claim you let me take anything from you, no one would believe it."
"Alright, if you can persuade Mr. Smith to change his mind, I'll step down without any comments," Sophie replied, her voice firm.
Nathan found himself in a tricky situation between the two women. What made it worse was that Sophie was clearly upset, something unusual for her as she had never gone against his decisions before.
Since Beautiful Soul had indeed requested Sophie for the brand ambassador role, Nathan decided to intervene and calm the situation. "Enough arguing," he said, stepping between them. "Beautiful Soul made the request, so we'll stick with the decision. The brand ambassador deal will go to Sophie."
"Mr. Nathan!" Amber protested, her voice filled with frustration.
Nathan's voice was cold and firm as he declared, "It's settled. You two can leave first! Sophie, ask Lisa to come in." It was clear he was not pleased with the situation, and while he had no choice but to work with Sophie, he despised feeling like she had the upper hand.
Sophie was sharp and could read Nathan like a book. She knew exactly what was going through his mind. But if he thought she would tiptoe around his emotions, he was sorely mistaken.
Amber trailed right behind Sophie, her emotions bubbling over. Her face was a canvas of barely contained fury, and it was obvious to anyone who looked at her.
Despite Sophie's apparent resurgence, she wasn't exactly winning any popularity contests. If it came to it, dismantling this old-fashioned setup would be a breeze.
She turned to her assistant, Gary, and instructed him, "In a little while, take some pictures of me acting like I'm working hard to bounce back. Post them online and stir up some buzz. I want all my fans to see and start complaining about how Sophie stole my deal. If I can't have it, I won't let her have it either."
"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do," Gary replied with a confident nod.
Later, when Sophie returned to her room, she gave Lisa a playful wink and said, "Don't be nervous."
"Nervous? Are you serious? Who do you think I am?" Lisa retorted, rolling her eyes. "This isn't my first day on the job. If Nathan thinks he can bring me down, he's got another thing coming. Let's just wait and see," she declared with a fierce look in her eyes as she strode out confidently.
Before, Sophie didn't really try to move things forward, but now everything was different. Lisa no longer had to hold back.
Soon after, Lisa walked into Nathan's office. Without any hesitation, Nathan tossed a contract onto the table in front of her. "Get ready to pay up for breaking our contract and leave."
"Leave?" Lisa chuckled. "Mr. Nathan, you must be forgetting something. When I first signed my contract with Global Pictures, it clearly stated my salary and Sophie's appearance fees. Yet, over the years, Amber has taken over all of Sophie's spots, and my salary isn't even close to what was promised. So, who really broke the contract first? Plus, the article I wrote was all to support Sophie. Tell me, which part of the contract did I actually break?"
"You...!" Nathan was stunned, unable to believe that a manager was speaking to him like this. His pride took a hit.
"If you're not worried about making things worse, feel free to take this to court," Lisa said provocatively. "It doesn't bother me, but think about how many people in the industry will still trust Global Pictures Entertainment after that?"
"What do you want then?" Nathan asked, trying to regain control of the situation.
"I want us to part ways amicably," Lisa replied. "I'll sign the papers and leave, and you won't ask for any compensation. From this moment on, we don't owe each other anything."
Nathan glared at Lisa angrily, but Amber was involved, he couldn't argue back ,
Earlier on when Lisa and Sophie had met they had already predicted this would happen, so in the end Nathan had no choice but to sign the papers ,
"Leave , I don't wanna see you again"
"Nathan, Let me give you a warning , there's no law thick enough to block out everything, the way you treated Sophie, you'll soon have to pay back a thousand times" After speaking Lisa left the office with her cancelled contract in her hands
Nathan who was left standing in the room, thought about the words Lisa had said in anger he grabbed the table in front of him and flipped it ,
Sophie wasn't too worried about Lisa at all, after all, it was so easy to find flaws in the contract, most importantly, Nathan was strode with guilt,
After cancelling the contract Lisa didn't leave the building, Instead she stayed by Sophie's side
When Nathan eventually left his room, they ran straight to each other, "Why are you still here ?"
Sophie froze for a moment before she replied, "I have just hired Lisa"
"Sophie, your manager contract is managed by the company, how could you hire a new manager by yourself"
Sophie was driving Nathan crazy , "Oh... I didn't hire a manager, I hired her as my assistant, it's my right to hire my own assistant isn't it !?" Sophie smiled calmly, "After all, Lisa has taken care of me for so many years , I've gotten used to it" said Sophie,
"Sophie What's wrong with you !? Why do you keep going against me !?" Nathan pulled Sophie to one side, and asked her angrily
"Because Lisa is more thoughtful than you , everything she does is for my sake, just because I took on a deal, doesn't mean she could accuse me of stealing from others"
After hearing this Nathan went silent, looking at Sophie coldly,"Sophie you've always been supportive of my career, why are you like this ?"
"I've said it before the incident with the crowns star would be the last time I take on the blame for both of you" Sophie remained calm, so calm that her eyes were emotionless
"If you really wanna be this childish I think our wedding should be called off" Nathan used their wedding as a means to threaten Sophie , after All, Al this year Sophie had been the one who always stuck by his side, willing to do anything,
Quite some time passed, Sophie remained silent, like she was contemplating, which made Nathan assume , she had given up and was regretting going against him,
But who would have thought, this would be Sophie's response