Chelsea Raines lowered her head, like a defeated stray.
The odd looks from the countless crew members around her made it impossible for her to retreat gracefully. She never imagined the situation would turn out like this.
She suddenly clenched her jaw, dropped to her knees to mutter a quick "I'm sorry," then scrambled to her feet and staggered away.
Renee Jennings chased after her. "Chelsea..."
Chelsea Raines was a proud woman; she wouldn't be running back to cause trouble in Naomi's room anytime soon. Her objective achieved, Naomi Kenway stretched in satisfaction.
Suddenly, a cameraman handed her a cell phone.
Naomi Kenway looked at him, confused. The rules had clearly stated they weren't allowed to use any electronic devices.
"It's bonus time. We know the first day in Prospera Village can be a little jarring, so for the next hour, you can use this phone to contact your family."
"Oh, I see." Naomi Kenway took the phone, but she was stumped by the question of who to call.
Her relationship with her parents was severely strained, and her social circle consisted only of fair-weather friends who were after her money.
Naomi Kenway handed the phone to Ian Shaw and asked, "Annie, who do you want to call?"
Ian Shaw blinked his big eyes and called out a name without hesitation. "Daddy!"
'Daddy?' Naomi Kenway frowned slightly. She hadn't seen her tycoon husband in a very long time. Their marriage was on the brink of collapse. Ethan Shaw had moved out long ago, and his attitude toward her could only be described as utter disgust.
In fact, if it weren't for Annie, the two of them would have divorced long ago.
While Naomi was still lost in thought, Annie had already dialed the number he knew by heart.
"Ann—" Just as Naomi started to say something, a gentle, magnetic voice came from the other end of the line.
"Annie, why are you calling from a different number? Have you been eating well today?"
[OMG, Annie's dad's voice sounds amazing! He must be gorgeous!]
[Guys with great voices are usually less likely to be handsome. How could Naomi Kenway be lucky enough to land a husband who's both handsome and rich?!]
[He's rich and has a great voice—what a waste on a woman like Naomi Kenway!! Life is so unfair! Someone like her doesn't deserve him at all!]
...
Naomi leaned in and saw that Annie had started a video call. She quickly backed away again, unsure of what attitude to take with Ethan Shaw.
Compared to his cautious and reserved demeanor around Naomi, Annie was much more relaxed with Ethan Shaw. He was usually a quiet, taciturn boy, but now he was chattering away, recounting his experiences from the day.
"Daddy, Mommy and I are on a trip! There are lush green wheat fields here, and they're so pretty." He picked his treasured little wooden sword up from the table. "Daddy, look! Mommy made this for me! She's so good to me. She knocked dates out of a tree for me to eat, and she even made a bunch of pretty stools! Mommy is incredible..."
Ethan Shaw listened quietly, one of his handsome eyebrows arching slightly. He was skeptical about the truth of these claims.
He was exceptionally handsome, with a noble and gentle air about him. When facing his son, he was never stingy with a small smile and was incredibly patient.
"Is that so? It sounds like you two are having a wonderful time. What did you have for dinner?"
"The production team sent lots of food, but my favorite was the egg Mommy peeled for me..."
Ethan Shaw's smile faltered for a moment before he quickly recovered. "Is that so?"
"Daddy, Mommy's right here next to me. You have to talk to her too, or you'll make her sad."
With that, Ian Shaw quickly passed the phone to Naomi.
The phone felt like a hot potato in Naomi's hand. Staring at the handsome face on the screen, she managed a stiff greeting. "Hi?"
Her tone was impossibly strained.
Ethan Shaw's gentle expression instantly turned ice-cold the moment he saw Naomi.
"Thank you for looking after Annie during this time. And..."
"I hope you take good care of Annie. I don't want..."
He seemed to be holding back for some reason and didn't state his concern outright, but the threat in his eyes was unmistakable.
Naomi knew it was because of her "track record." It was only natural for Ethan to worry she wouldn't take good care of Annie. She couldn't be bothered to make any promises and simply gave a dry response. "Okay."
'Naomi was usually so arrogant and unruly, but today she seemed almost... subdued.'
Ethan took it all in but said nothing more.
As the call was about to end, Annie said to Ethan, "Good night, Daddy."
Ethan replied softly, "Good night."
"What about Mommy? Mommy didn't get a 'good night'!" Annie chirped in his small, sweet voice.
Ethan paused. He looked in Naomi's direction, his expression unreadable. "Good night."
The call was finally over.
[Annie's dad's voice is so great. Too bad the camera didn't catch his face. I wonder if he'll make an appearance later on. I'm really looking forward to it.]
[This couple seems so distant with each other. I suggest everyone go watch Rachel's stream instead. Best Actor Lynch is so handsome and romantic, and he and Rachel are disgustingly sweet together.]
[Ugh, just a neutral observer here, but I'm not a fan of Renee Jennings's stream. It feels so fake. And for his age, I didn't expect Best Actor Lynch to be so cringey.]
[Is the person above one of the trolls Naomi hired? Starting to slander Rachel already?]
...
Naomi had just coaxed Ian Shaw to sleep when she saw a staff member walking over with a task card in hand. "Nina, come get your new task."
Naomi took it and slowly opened the note, which was on stationery bearing the "My Super Mom" logo. Inside was a white card, on which the task was printed in black letters:
Please arrive at the east end of the village on time tomorrow morning to select your breakfast.
Naomi's eyes immediately caught the word "select." She raised an eyebrow. "Meaning, first come, first served?"
"Yes." The staffer nodded. "There's a limited amount of food. The first guests to arrive can pick whatever they want. The last ones might not get any food at all."
Recalling Naomi's usual lazy habits, the staffer added, "Nina, you'll need to be up by six o'clock tomorrow. Otherwise, you might not get any food, you know. If that happens, you and Annie will have to go hungry."
Naomi nodded, showing she understood.
It was now ten o'clock at night. Naomi turned off the lights and lay down on Ian Shaw's other side.
Ian Shaw was a quiet sleeper, but he had a habit of curling his body into a ball. She'd heard that was a sign of insecurity.
Naomi reached out and wrapped an arm around her son, then she too fell into a deep sleep.
*
「Veridia」
Ethan Shaw stood before the floor-to-ceiling window. From twenty-three stories up, he had a commanding view of the city.
His gaze was fixed, as if he were deep in thought. The phone in his hand was still on the "call ended" screen.
'Had Naomi threatened Annie into saying all those things? But the atmosphere between them didn't seem like that at all.'
'Could it be that Naomi had actually changed?'
He dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. 'This is probably just a new trick of Naomi's to lure me back home. I've tolerated her endlessly and thrown countless resources at her. What more could she possibly want?'
But then, an image of Naomi's somewhat reserved expression surfaced in his mind...
Ethan Shaw walked slowly to his desk and called his assistant. His voice was calm and steady.
"Liam Sherman, come to my office."