You Are The Apple of My Eyes
Chapter 775 Deception And Incitement

The location of the photo shoot was on the eighteenth floor of a building, inside a bright and spacious dance studio.

Valerie had done the preliminary work-planning and providing the outfits. Caroline would later have the posters printed at her studio.

Michelle had been tagged as the photographer.

Because it was important to get the photo shoot done as soon as possible, the ballet company had sent someone to negotiate a contract with Michelle.

That person's name was Randi He. She was a newcomer who had joined the troupe about two months ago.

Randi was actually somewhat related to Michelle. She was a cousin of Haley's, and Haley was a good friend of James'. Randi had kept her mother's surname and lived with the He family after graduating.

Two months ago, she had seen Valerie and Leon at an evening event, but there had been no chance to talk to them. Later, she was formally introduced to Valerie during a rehearsal, and she mentioned that she had seen the woman at a dinner party.

"There was a man standing next to you. Is he your fiance? You two make a lovely couple."

Since then, Valerie became her friend.

On the day of the photo shoot, Valerie took Randi along. The prospect of getting her photo taken made the younger dancer giddy with excitement.

Randi had a pretty face, but her features were not as delicate as Valerie's, and her personality was not as elegant.

Valerie was a seasoned ballerina, one of the best in the troupe. Because she had such a gentle disposition, she got along well with the other dancers. Randi really admired her and was determined to become like her idol.

The weather was ideal for a photo shoot. Clear skies meant that sunlight could shine through the windows and brighten up the inside of the studio.

Randi paced along a corridor as she talked with Michelle over the phone. She reminded the other woman not to mess up.

After hanging up, Randi returned to the dressing room. Valerie was seated on a sofa with her eyes closed. A makeup artist had just begun to work on her face.

"Valerie, the photographer is on her way here." Randi stood next to the couch. She noticed that Valerie had dark circles under her eyes so she asked, "Have you not been sleeping well recently?" "No, I haven't," Valerie admitted.

She couldn't sleep at all these days. Leon's reminder echoed in her ears, keeping her awake.

Rumors that Leon was her boyfriend or her fiance had spread all over the industry. How could she put a stop to them?

Leon had asked her to give him a deadline, but Valerie didn't know how and when he could stop the rumors.

Because of that, she lost her appetite and sleep eluded her. Her eye bags became more prominent, but she managed to maintain her good looks with a lot of skin care products.

Bryant's wife had noticed the change in her and had asked her about it, but Valerie found herself unable to tell her why. Bryant was the next person to express concern, but she couldn't tell him either. There was no one she could talk to about her problem.

And she lay all the blame on Michelle.

Valerie had deliberately chosen Michelle to take charge of their photo shoot because she had been planning to use the old trick to keep the woman away from Leon.

However, Leon's warning had been unexpected. The man must have had an inkling of her scheme and was giving her a chance to back off.

After what happened seven years ago, she didn't dare to go against him anymore.

So now, Valerie was in a dilemma. She was hesitating on carrying out her original plan. If she pushed through with it, she was afraid that something bad would happen to her. She had to assume that Leon was keeping an eye on her somehow.

But if she just let Michelle be, she knew that she would regret it.

The more Valerie thought about it, the more irritable she became. She opened her eyes and told the makeup artist, "It feels a little stuffy in here so let's take a break. I need to go out for some fresh air." With that excuse, she went out to the corridor to enjoy the breeze coming in from a window.

Randi noticed that Valerie didn't look well so she followed after her.

"Are you sick, Valerie? If you're not feeling well, we can postpone today's shoot."

Valerie smiled reassuringly. "You said that the photographer is on her way. We can't let her come here for nothing."

"I can call her to set another appointment," Randi insisted, starting to really worry about her friend. She took out her phone and tapped some buttons until she got Michelle's number. "She's really nice, and she must be very capable to be working at Caroline's studio."

'Capable?'

Valerie sneered in her head. 'How could that no-name amateur be capable?

Who knows what she did to be able to work with Caroline? It had to be Leon's doing.'

When Randi complimented Michelle, it made Valerie unhappy and even provoked her.

Valerie sighed pitifully. "To be honest, I also want to postpone the shoot because I'm worried about the quality of our photos. But if we do that, it will affect Michelle's work load, and her brother might get mad at me."

"Why would her brother get mad at you?" Randi asked in confusion. "Do you know each other?"

"Actually, Leon is her brother." Valerie physically wilted, pretending to be meek and nervous. "I'm sorry for not telling you before. Please don't be angry with me."

Randi was shocked by this revelation. "So Michelle is going to be your sister-in-law?"

"The truth is she's not his biological sister, but they..." Valerie didn't finish her sentence and let her smile drop into a moue as if she had an embarrassing secret. This only aroused Randi's curiosity.

"What about them?" Randi frowned as she started to make some guesses. "Are they close?"

Valerie smiled bitterly, and she let her next words come out as if it was a struggle to speak. "They're very close."

Randi continued to ask, "Does she know about your relationship with Leon?"

"She knows." Of course Michelle knew that Valerie was Leon's ex-girlfriend so she hadn't lied. She was just letting Randi come to her own conclusions. Whatever the girl thought was none of her business. To add to the deception, Valerie quickly added, "Don't misunderstand. They treat each other like siblings even if they're not related by blood. But..."

She turned to look away as if she was too upset to continue talking.

She instantly ignited Randi's sense of justice, and the girl asked indignantly, "Michelle has been bugging your fiance all this time? You say that she calls him her brother, but she's actually been seducing him. Is that right?"

Valerie remained quiet.

Randi took her silence as an agreement. "Valerie, that kind of woman is a bitch. By treating him like her brother, she's trying to steal your fiance from you! Why did you request for her to be our photographer?" "Oh, hush, Randi. That's nonsense." Valerie met her gaze with a serious expression. The more she acted like this, the more Randi felt that the woman was too kind to speak ill of others. "They really are just brother and sister."

"Valerie!" Randi exclaimed angrily. "It's impossible for a man and a woman who are not blood-related to have such a pure and platonic relationship. You're being too kind. Aren't you afraid that she'll seduce you fiance?"

With tears in her eyes, Valerie spun on her heel and started to walk away. "I'm going to the bathroom. Don't worry about me, Randi. I'm fine."

"Valerie!" Knowing that Randi was going to worry about her, Valerie kept her head down as she walked. It seemed as if she was escaping to the bathroom to cry.

But once Valerie got away from Randi, she smirked triumphantly. A hint of viciousness flashed in her eyes.

She had successfully deceived Randi into feeling angry on her behalf.

Because Randi admired Valerie and received a lot of help from her, she couldn't stand to see her suffer. "Let's see you deal with this, Michelle."