Heartstrings on Fire

Chapter 89
Agnes just wanted to wolf down her grub in peace. She was just hoping to fly under the radar.
Then she glanced up at Ivan, the corners of his mouth upturned in a slight smirk, a glint of mischief in his eyes.
I was clear as day he was waiting for the fireworks to start. So, this was his game.
With one line, Ivan had managed to throw Agnes into the spotlight.
Agnes was stuck She had no choice but to grab her glass, get up, and head over to Jared.
She sidled up to Jared and said, “Mr. Whitfield, this one’s for you.”
But before Agnes could finish her sentence, Jared just sat there, not batting an eyelid. He was always the picture of politeness
when someone proposed a toast.
So why was he playing hardball when it was Agnes raising her glass?
Ivan was standing nearby, his eyes filled with amusement
Everyone else seemed taken aback.
But when Beatrice saw Jared treating Agnes like this, she was tickled pink.
Agnes was steamed. Under these circumstances, couldn’t he just go with the flow and act normally?
Agnes didn’t give a hoot anymore. She had already made the toast, whether he drank it was his problem.
Agnes flat out said, “I’ve done my part, Mr. Whitfield. The ball’s in your court now.”
After saying that, Agnes gulped down the wine in her glass. The moment the glass touched her lips, it slipped from her hand.
Jared had snatched the wine glass from her. He said coolly, “You have a shoot tomorrow, better not drink alcohol. Have a soft
drink instead.”
Jared’s words left everyone gobsmacked. So... was Mr. Whitfield looking out for Agnes? There were many actresses who
toasted earlier, and they all had work the next day.

Mr. Whitfield didn’t seem to be looking out for them.
Agnes was flabbergasted. This guy was a real pain in the neck. Was he trying to make everyone figure out their relationship?
Seeing this, Beatrice was green with envy Jared’s attitude towards Agnes was indeed different, just like at Tim’s birthday bash.
Beatrice started to suspect that there was some hush–hush between these two.
Left with no choice, Agnes grabbed a soft drink and toasted Jared again.
Jared downed his drink, and Agnes returned to her seat.
Looking around, Agnes noticed an array of mixed emotions on everyone’s faces envy, jealousy, but mostly confusion, but Agnes
didn’t have the energy to deal with them.
This was just a minor hiccup. Everyone quickly forgot about it as the actresses continued to propose toasts to Jared, each more
creative than the last.
Agnes just watched from the sidelines. She watched as Jared downed one drink after another
The director got plastered, and Ivan had Justin take him home before the party ended. But not one actress had left.
In the end, it was Ivan who called it a night. When the important person spoke, everyone else had to pack up and leave, no
matter how reluctant.
Ava said to Agnes, “Agnes, we have to head out. We have an early start tomorrow, we need to get some shut–eye. If we don’t,
we’ll wake up with puffy faces and that won’t look good on camera”
Agnes nodded, but she was still worried about Jared.
Jared was slumped over the table, looking worse for wear.
As Agnes was leaving the hotel, she felt torn.
The cab had already pulled up at the hotel entrance. Suddenly, she said to Ava, “You go on ahead. I just remembered I left
something in the room. I need to go back and get
it.”

Already halfway into the cab, Ava had no choice but to say, “Alright, but hurry up. I’ll wait for you back at the dorm.”
Agnes decided to go back. When she walked into the room again, sure enough, Jared was still there.