Chapter 4

"Ah, Mr. Kane? Mr. Kane is still, still not awake yet," Maya stammered. "Then go to the bedroom and wake him up!" Stella's annoyance was evident. The other side of the call went quiet for a moment before Keegan's voice came through, "What's wrong?" Stella heard him ask the question with a sleepy tone, making her wonder if she had judged others too quickly. She took a deep breath and replied, "In a few days, I'll send you a list with all the places where your clothes were stored. Please try not to bother me with such trivial things again in the future!" "Trivial?" Keegan scoffed, "Don't you just love doing this, Stella Jewell? Controlling even my choice of underwear?" Stella's heart ached as she clenched her fingers tightly. She knew Keegan saw her differently from how she saw herself, but even the toughest person would be hurt by such insults. A silence followed. Then, Stella said, "I won't bother with such unimportant things anymore. Just sign the papers, and we can get this over with." The conversation shifted back to the divorce, and Keegan's anger flared up again, "Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Stella chuckled softly, sensing a touch of irony. "Do I even have the right to cause trouble now?" "Don't regret this!" Keegan said sharply before hanging up. Stella laughed at herself, realizing her considerate efforts in the past meant nothing to him. He might have regarded her with contemptuous eyes while she carefully selected his outfits for various occasions. Perhaps he thought she had no talent beyond spending money on a luxury lifestyle. "Are you still going to wear this piece, Mr. Kane?" Maya asked cautiously. She had witnessed their fights in the past, but this time it was particularly intense. Keegan's tantrum and harsh words were unprecedented for her. He sullenly browsed through the wardrobe, which mostly contained Stella's clothes. 'Even when she wants a divorce, she can't do it properly. Is this what divorce looks like?' Keegan pondered. He smirked and nonchalantly replied, "Just get the set she mentioned." As he spoke, his phone rang. He turned around and answered the call. "Mr. Kane, something happened to Ms. Young." The massive pile-up incident at the overpass had now claimed 11 lives, with nine people still missing. Over 60 people were injured. It was one of the rarest and largest traffic accidents Rivera had seen in the past twenty years. The accident had occurred over 24 hours ago. The authority was still carrying out the rescue operation, and the whole country was closely following, hoping for survivors. But Bella Young's fans were having heated arguments with other netizens. The cause of the dispute was a video showing the accident scene. In the video, Bella seemed to have minor injuries and was taken on a first aid stretcher, while others, covered in blood, appeared to have received less immediate help. This preferential treatment was obvious, leading some netizens to question, "Why did she receive help first for minor injuries when others were more seriously hurt? Is it just because she's a celebrity?" Bella's fans took offense and quickly labeled those questioning as haters. Their excessive spamming got to the point where it irritated an anonymous netizen. The anonymous netizen shared some interesting observations about the traffic accident story. They claimed that Bella's team used the incident to spread wild romance rumors. Fans even exploited the situation to spam the social media page created to mourn the victims' deaths. There were also allegations of privilege abuse during the rescue scene. And to top it off, that netizen brought up old rumors about Bella being someone's mistress from before she was famous... The situation escalated, making it the top trending search. Felicity chuckled and said to Stella, "Didn't she always like to create a buzz? This time, she took it to a whole new level, bringing herself down!" Stella stared at the screen and muttered, "Why do I feel like the Facebook account that disclosed these details seems so familiar?" Felicity paused for a moment, "Lots of people use this profile picture, so it's not surprising that it looks familiar." With a change of topic, she asked, "What's your plan for today?" Stella looked up, "I have a voice acting audition at Neon Nebula first. Then, I'm going to get a car. Want to join me?" "I can't. I will be out in the field today," Felicity said, glancing at the time. "It's almost time. I need to go. Let's talk after work." After Felicity left, Stella freshened up and headed to Neon Nebula, a popular gaming company. They were preparing to launch their highly anticipated mobile game, "Honor of the Deities," that summer. All the voiceovers for the characters were ready, except for one named Vixen. The director was searching for a voice that could smoothly switch between innocence and allure without being too soft or seductive. Despite trying out many voice actors, he hadn't found the right fit. Frustrated, he took to social media and posted, "Finding a vixen is no easy task." The post garnered significant attention and many comments from netizens. Among them, the top five comments were suggestions to consider a voice actor named Dusk Galaxy. Intrigued, the director decided to check out Dusk Galaxy's portfolio and was impressed. He immediately contacted her, setting up a meeting for that day. As Stella arrived in the lobby for the meeting, the receptionist was chatting with members of a social media group called "Shady Galaxy." They were dissing Dusk Galaxy even though they didn't know them personally. The receptionist was a big fan of Bella, the female lead in the popular show "Secret Sweetheart," which had trended multiple times due to controversy. Viewers thought Dusk Galaxy's voiceover for Bella's role had actually improved her scenes because Bella's acting was poor. But Bella's fans believed that Dusk Galaxy was just riding on Bella's popularity. Someone in the group sent a photo suspected to be Dusk Galaxy. The receptionist was criticizing the voice actor's appearance when suddenly, a woman's clear voice sounded in her ear, "Hey there, how do I get to the audition booth?" "Seven..." The receptionist lifted her head. She froze for a second before blurting out, "The artist application is next door." Next to Neon Nebula was Green Hill Media. Both companies were owned by Keegan's childhood friend, Vermont Snyder, and Bella was an artist at Green Hill Media. Stella's beauty was breathtaking. Even in a plain white shirt, she stood out from everyone else. Hence, the receptionist assumed she was there to apply as an artist. Stella laughed and explained, "I'm here for a voice-acting audition. May I know how can I reach the audition booth?" "Uh, seventh floor," the receptionist replied. 'Wait! There's only one artist auditioning today...' the receptionist realized. "Thanks," Stella answered. The receptionist was stunned for a few minutes until Stella disappeared from her sight. Then, she picked up her phone and typed out a sentence. "I just saw Dusk Galaxy." "Really? Is she the same as the picture; dark, ugly, and fat?" One of them asked. The receptionist struggled to type the next sentence. "No... she's gorgeous. Even Bella isn't as pretty as her."