When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 158

As Henrietta advanced, he backed away, a growing panic in his eyes. He was only just now seeing this incredibly dominant side of her. She was usually so cool and reserved, slow to anger. But now... she was utterly imperious.

"Furthermore," Henrietta continued, "my mother and Mrs. Nash have been friends since childhood. They're as close as sisters. As long as the Sargent family doesn't cross the Nash family, the Nashes will always have our back. And the Nash family alone is more than enough."

"Even if every powerful family in Juno City banded together, they wouldn't dare to challenge the Nashes. So, Matteo, what exactly are you so arrogant about? Who gave you the courage and the confidence to speak to me this way?"

Matteo couldn't utter a word, his face a mask of shock.

Henrietta's expression was glacial. "The Sargents, the Stetsons, the Tatums, the Needhams, the Nashes, my brother's birth families, and even the Lelands, whose help I wouldn't deign to ask for. Not to mention the vast network of alliances my family has built in Juno City over the decades. So, tell me, superstar, what do you, a worthless nobody, have to challenge me with? You dare to act tough with me?"

Matteo's legs felt weak. This was his greatest vulnerability—his complete lack of pedigree. In a city like Juno City, where the wealthy were a supermajority, one had to tread carefully. One misstep could lead to ruin.

"Henrietta, I..." Matteo tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come. He realized with a sinking feeling that Artina's words last night had been far too boastful, and he had foolishly believed he no longer needed to bow to Henrietta's will.

Now he saw the truth, but it was too late. He had already said those horrible things. The words couldn't be unsaid.

Seeing his pathetic state, Henrietta sneered. "If I hadn't lifted you up after graduation, you'd be back home farming. The fact that I broke up with you, the fact that I won't take you back, is no excuse for you to betray my kindness and hurl insults at me."

"And another thing. You're an outsider here. What makes you think you can throw your weight around with someone who was born and raised in Juno City? Did you think that latching onto some new, more powerful connection would be enough to bring me down? I don't know whether to call you naive or just plain stupid."

"Or is it that after I spent the last two years clearing every obstacle from your path, building you into a two-time award-winning actor, you've forgotten who you are? Have you forgotten your place?"

"That's not it, Henrietta, the things I said just now..." Matteo was in a full-blown panic, but before he could finish, Henrietta cut him off. "Shut your mouth and get out. I don't want to hear another word from you."

"Henrietta..."

But to be someone untouchable on a global scale... what kind of position, what kind of existence was that? He didn't even dare to imagine it.

Choked with resentment, fear, and anxiety, Matteo immediately called Artina. It was all her fault. Last night, she had been so confident, so sure of herself, that she had filled him with a false sense of security. That was why, when his attempt to reconcile had failed, he had lost his temper and dared to say those things to Henrietta. He'd even said he didn't care if she froze his career. Was he out of his mind?

Artina was on set filming and couldn't answer her phone. And her day was going no better than his. In fact, it was worse.

The scene they were shooting involved the female lead, played by Artina, being pushed into a swimming pool by the female antagonist. After pushing her in, the antagonist would stand on the edge of the pool, watching her struggle with a smug, cold smile. She would then demand that Artina beg for her life. Artina had to flail in the pool, cry for help, and finally issue a desperate plea to her rival.

Only then would the antagonist jump in, pretending to save her while actually trying to drown her. So, the antagonist was supposed to be rough with her in the water. Then the male lead would arrive, at which point the antagonist would pull her to safety.

Since Matteo wasn't on set, they were just filming the confrontation between her and the other actress. But they had been at it for two hours straight, since early that morning.