The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 205

Jake’s eyes lit up with delight at Citrine’s words.

“Thank you, Obsidian.” He pressed his hands against the seams of his pants and bowed repeatedly, gratitude tumbling out in waves.

Even as he left the room, Jake was still reeling from the shock of such unexpected good fortune.

Before coming here, he’d half expected Obsidian’s promise from a month ago to be nothing more than empty words. After all, he was signed with Eclipse Pictures, and after the messy fallout between Obsidian and the company, it seemed almost impossible she’d actually cast him.

Yet he couldn’t forget the way she’d walked away from Eclipse Pictures a month ago—her resolve, her refusal to compromise. In the end, he’d decided to take the gamble.

He never imagined she’d truly give him a chance.

That afternoon, after watching a parade of auditions, Citrine was fighting off sleepiness. The drowsiness clung to her until Jake’s turn came. The moment he delivered his first line, Citrine’s eyelids fluttered open; she straightened in her seat.

Jake had never played a leading man before, but there was no denying his talent and intuition. He’d studied the character of York inside and out.

Right then, he didn’t just play York—he was York.

When the audition ended, Jake stood with his hands balled into fists, anxiously searching Citrine’s face for any sign of approval.

Her silence dragged on, and hope slowly faded from Jake’s eyes.

Just as he’d resigned himself to disappointment, Citrine turned to the director and flashed an “OK” sign.

She smiled. “Jake is York. The lead role is decided.”

Citrine’s word was final on the Innocent set; the director respected every casting choice she made.

To come up with the money, Fabian and Cindy had conspired to marry Amelia off to the landlord’s mentally challenged son, a man more than a decade her senior.

When Amelia found out, she snapped.

Now, seeing her daughter pressing a knife to her own throat, Fabian actually looked rattled. He rushed forward, voice frantic. “Amelia, put the knife down! Don’t hurt yourself!”

For a fleeting moment, Amelia saw a flicker of fear in her father’s eyes and almost believed he cared.

But the next words out of Fabian’s mouth struck her like a slap.

“Sweetheart, the landlord’s coming by tomorrow with the dowry. If something happens to you now, how will I explain it to him?” Fabian’s tone softened for once as he spoke, and while Amelia stood stunned, he seized the moment to snatch the knife from her hands.