Chapter 6

Hailey POV

Ethan probably thought I was playing hard to get, but he underestimated how resolute I could be.

Three days after submitting my termination request, the company's most important publication, "Elite Fashion" magazine, was shooting their annual cover. The original star was supposed to be me, but with one word from Ethan, the star became Serena.

That wasn't all. Ethan even had his assistant deliver an ultimatum: if I wanted a smooth termination, I had to serve as "Lead Makeup Artist" and personally create the cover makeup look for Serena.

He wanted me to do styling for the woman who'd stolen my resources and even stolen my boyfriend.

This wasn't just workplace suppression. It was the ultimate trampling on my professional dignity.

In the studio, my assistant was so angry she threw things. "Hailey, you can't go! What does Ethan Wyatt think you are? Your hands create commercial value. They're not for serving that scheming woman!"

I looked at my calm reflection in the mirror, my eyes holding not a trace of emotion.

"I'll go. Why not?" I organized my makeup kit. "This is my last assignment at this company. Once it's done, I'll be completely free."

At the shoot location, Serena sat in front of the makeup mirror radiating superiority. Seeing me walk in carrying my makeup kit, triumph flashed in her eyes.

"Oh my, Hailey, I'm so sorry. Ethan insisted your skills were the best and made you come do my makeup. How inconvenient for you." Serena covered her mouth, her tone full of showing off.

I didn't even glance at her, professionally opening my makeup kit. "Miss Mitchell, your skin condition is very poor. The foundation needs to be applied thicker. Close your eyes."

Serena was stung by my cold attitude. She bit her lip and let me apply makeup to her face.

For two full hours, I relied on my professional skills to transform Serena's ordinary face into one with an advanced, cool elegance. Even the photographer beside us couldn't help but praise it repeatedly.

However, halfway through the shoot, Serena suddenly screamed and covered her face.

"It hurts so much! My face hurts so much!"

The entire venue erupted in chaos. Ethan, hearing the commotion, rushed over from the adjacent conference room and quickly approached Serena.

"What happened?" He pushed aside the staff blocking his way and pulled Serena into his arms.

Serena looked up. Her face, which had been carefully made up moments ago, was now covered in large patches of red rashes that looked extremely serious.

She cried, her whole body trembling, pointing at me standing to the side.

"Ethan, it was her... the foundation Hailey used on me has a problem. My face hurts so much. Am I going to be disfigured..."

Ethan's gaze shot toward me, his eyes full of disgust and disbelief.

"Hailey, what the hell are you doing?!" he roared, his voice echoing through the photography studio.

I stood calmly in place, still holding the foundation bottle. "I only used products from the company's own line. The batch number and ingredients are all fine. If she's allergic, it's her own skin sensitivity, or..."

"Enough!" Ethan didn't listen to my explanation at all, cutting me off directly. "I thought you were just being willful. I didn't expect that for revenge, you'd abandon even professional ethics! Serena's work depends entirely on her appearance. You've ruined her face. That's going too far!"

Looking at this furious man before me, I suddenly felt strangely unfamiliar.

This was the man I'd loved for eight years. Without any evidence, based solely on one sentence from Serena, he'd found me guilty.

"Ethan, do you believe that anything Serena says must be true?" My voice was soft but carried bone-chilling coldness.

"The facts are right in front of us. You still want to make excuses?"

Ethan looked at me coldly. "Apologize to Serena immediately! Otherwise, I'll have the entire industry blacklist you so you can never work in this field again!"