Chapter 152

Mae’s hands trembled slightly as she carefully took out the bracelet. It was just as Winnie had asked earlier, and inside the bag was a pair of ruby bracelets.

Initially, Mae hadn’t planned on keeping one for herself. After all, she was an up-and-coming starlet; she didn’t need to stoop so low as to desire such trifles. She was drawn to the style of the bracelet and thought of keeping one to solidify her public image and gifting the other to her cousin back in her hometown as a wedding present, but she never expected the bracelets to be problematic.

Especially after seeing Winnie extract ashes from inside the bracelet, Mae felt a chill run down her spine. She had another identical one on her.

At that moment, she wanted to hand it over to Winnie to take care of it, but she worried that keeping a ruby bracelet for herself would tarnish her image, so she endured the discomfort.

Knowing there was something wrong with the bracelet, Mae was determined not to keep it. Although she couldn't deal with it in front of an audience, she had another exorcism charm drawn by Mervin. She could handle it herself.

Mae’s plan was simple, mainly because she saw how easily Winnie had dealt with it earlier. She placed the ruby bracelet on the ground, emulating how Winnie had broken it to remove some of the ashes. Then she took out the charm Mervin had given her, and imitating Winnie’s earlier actions, she flung the charm onto the ashes of the bracelet.

However, the charm didn’t ignite as it had in the daytime.

Anxious and afraid someone might pass by. Mae took out her lighter and set the charm on fire directly. The charm quickly burst into flames, and Mae placed the burning paper on the ashes of the ruby bracelet, which soon disintegrated.

After watching the charm burn out, Mae buried the remains of the ruby bracelet in the soil, as she had previously learned from Winnie.

With the bracelet taken care of, Mae finally breathed a sigh of relief. She decided that some bargains weren't worth the trouble. It was downright spooky.

Back in her room, Mae nonchalantly went to her bed to pack her things and get ready for bed. Winnie had already come out of the bathroom and asked, “Where did you go?”

Mae lied on the spot, “I went out to grab a soda. The night air was so refreshing.”

Feeling relieved of a burden, Mae’s demeanor returned to normal, and she recounted the lie with convincing detail.

Winnie simply observed the darker aura around Mae’s forehead, thicker than it had been during the day, and fell silent. In the end, she didn’t expose her and merely acknowledged with an “Okay,” not pressing further.

The next morning. Winnie, taking advantage of the time before filming officially began, changed 1/3 apter 15.2 into her jogging attire and ran a lap at the base of the Golden Horizon Hills.

When she returned, Candace was already awake and was astonished to see Winnie full of energy after her jog. “With the filming schedule so grueling, how do you still have the energy for this?”

“It's a habit,” said Winnie, who also wanted to check for any anomalies in the area.

Candace clicked her tongue and started getting ready, noting that the time for the cameras to start rolling was fast approaching.

She glanced at Mae, who was still sleeping in bed. Despite not liking her, Candace didn’t want to be too obvious about it, so she nudged Mae awake, “Filming is about to start. If you don’t get up now, you won’t have time for makeup.”

Although celebrities going makeup—free was a common gimmick in variety shows, they generally tried to avoid it, especially the female stars.

As they spoke, Mae let out a groan and hummed irritably, indicating she was awake.

Mae sat up lazily, and Candace, who was close by, caught a glimpse of her bare face and couldn’t help but widen her eyes in shock.

Oblivious, Mae headed to the bathroom.

Candace watched her go, thinking to herself, “I just saved your life.” Because if Mae’s fans saw her like this, she would surely lose a million followers instantly.

Despite looking young and beautiful usually, why did she look years older without makeup?

As the clock ticked and the room’s surveillance camera started recording, Candace held back from commenting on what she had just seen to Winnie.

Soon, however, a startled cry came from the bathroom.

The next instant, Mae emerged, covering her freshly washed face and frantically rummaging through her luggage.

The live stream audience, having just tuned in, heard Mae’s cry and crowded to see what was happening. They saw Mae’s distress and began to wonder:

“What is she looking for?”

“What’s my queen searching for?”

“What just happened? It sounded like my girl screaming.”

The chat was flooded with questions.

Candace, having just finished her makeup, saw Mae searching and kindly offered her a face mask, “Are you looking for this?”

She guessed Mae had noticed her poor condition and wanted to hydrate urgently.

Mae glanced at the face mask Candace was holding but murmured, “No need, | brought my own.”

She wouldn’t just use anyone else’s skincare products. A female star’s face was her livelihood.

Mae calmed down from her initial panic and finally found her own face mask. As she was about to put it on, she seemed to notice something on her pillow. Driven by curiosity, she lifted the pillow and, at the sight of what was underneath, her face turned deathly pale, followed by a scream that echoed through the lodge.

Now, not only the viewers in front of the live stream but also the crew and guests downstairs who were eating breakfast were startled.

Within moments, there was a series of urgent knocks on the door, accompanied by Gentry’s anxious voice, “What’s wrong? What happened in there?”

Winnie, who had been by the door ready to leave for breakfast, opened the door to reveal several male guests, the host, and a crowd of cameramen bursting in.

The photographer assigned to Mae was at the forefront of the frenzy, snapping away as he captured the sheer terror etched across Mae’s face, which was now visible to everyone tuning in to the live stream.

The viewers had not been prepared for the shock that awaited them as Mae’s visage came into clear view.

The shock was palpable, “Who is this lady?.”

The surprise from the audience and fans was understandable.

The reason was that Mae hadn't yet put on her makeup. Whether it was a poor night’s sleep or just the harshness of the morning light, her bare face looked worn and aged, a stark contrast to her usual vibrant, youthful appearance.

Moreover, her complexion was deathly pale, and she wore an expression of deep horror, far from the energetic girl image she usually projected.

Caught in the grip of her fright, Mae hadn’t even noticed that the camera had mercilessly captured her in this unflattering state, broadcasting it for all the world to see. Her gaze was fixated on an object at the head of the bed, her body enveloped in a chill.

Following her gaze, the photographer panned the camera to the head of the bed, and the sight sent a shiver through everyone present, including the viewers at home.

Lying there, as if it had never been disturbed, was the cursed Ruby Bracelet that Mae had found just yesterday and had seemingly destroyed in front of everyone.

What was even more chilling was that the bracelet, which should have been destroyed appeared completely intact, just as it was when Mae first discovered it, unscathed and ominously pristine.