Chapter 29: chapter 29

Meanwhile, Neil was already stressed out and mentally drained. The hf brand had insisted strongly—they wanted to replace Layla Joshi with Inaya Desai as their spokesperson. Neil knew this would crush Layla, but honestly, did he even have the power to refuse? After all, he wasn’t going to say no to such a big brand—or their money.Just as Neil was wondering how to break the news gently to Layla, she arrived at the office in a wheelchair, helped in by her assistant. She had reached just a few minutes before Inaya, only a few hundred metres apart."Neil, what is going on? How could my spokesperson deal suddenly land in Inaya’s hands?" Layla asked, her voice full of disbelief and hurt.Neil gestured for his assistant to leave the room. Once it was just the two of them, he went closer and hugged her."Layla, this was out of my hands. I’ll get you an even bigger and better deal, I promise."Layla shoved him away angrily. Her voice trembled, but her eyes burned with rage."You know very well Mr. Gupta from hf is the brother of Miss Erin, who’s a judge at the Top Ten Model Awards. This deal wasn’t just business—it meant a lot to my career! And most importantly, how could you hand it over to Inaya?""She already snatched you away from me once, Neil. Wasn’t that enough? Why does she have to compete with me for everything? I swear—if this deal is gone, then I don’t even want this child. And I’m quitting Nova Entertainment too!""Don’t talk like that, Layla!" Neil tried calming her down. "How can you throw away our child just because of one deal? You know I’m on your side. But this time, hf was firm—they wouldn’t budge.""Inaya’s already given up so many times in the past, What’s one more? She’s about to marry you, Neil! Why does she even need this contract?"Hearing Layla’s logic, Neil began to waver. She did have a point. Inaya had given up a lot in the past without creating drama. One more time wouldn’t hurt her, right? He was convinced she would agree, so he gently comforted Layla,"Alright. I’ll speak to her. Please don’t be upset, okay?"Layla burst into tears again, collapsing into Neil’s arms. But just then, there was a knock at the door. Inaya and Yashvi had returned to the office.Instantly, Layla wiped away her tears and pushed Neil aside. She looked at him as if she had been deeply wronged—painting herself as the victim.The door creaked open. Inaya entered, with Yashvi right behind her."Inaya, where did you go last night? Do you even know how worried I was? I searched everywhere for you!" Neil started questioning her one after the other.