Chapter 2When the Sun Sets on Yesterday's Love

Hailey POV

"Ethan, this is my career." I looked directly at him, my voice not loud but carrying a stubborn resolve. "I can give up the endorsement, but the resources my team worked hard to negotiate. Why should I hand them over?"

The moment I finished speaking, Serena, hiding behind Ethan, gently tugged his sleeve, her voice extremely soft.

"Ethan, forget it. Hailey might have misunderstood me. I don't want to affect your working relationship because of me. I don't need the resources. I'll just work my way up slowly."

"You just got back. How are you going to build your career?" Ethan gripped Serena's hand in return, and when he turned to look at me, his eyes had completely frozen over.

"Hailey, since when did you become so petty? Don't forget. You only got where you are because of the company's platform. Now the company needs to reallocate resources, and as a contracted influencer, you must follow the company's arrangements."

My heart turned completely cold.

So in his eyes, all my achievements from four years of endless makeup testing, script writing, and late-night livestreams were just handouts from Ethan Wyatt.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the sourness in my eyes, straightening my spine. "Fine. I'll follow company arrangements."

With that, I turned and pulled open the door, leaving without a trace of lingering attachment.

The moment the door closed, I heard Serena's saccharine voice. "Ethan, is Hailey angry? The way she looked at me was so scary."

"Don't mind her. She's always been sensible. She'll be fine in a couple days." Ethan's voice was still so confident.

I stopped in the empty hallway, tilted my head back, and blinked back my tears.

Yes, I was so sensible that he thought I had no heart and felt no pain.

Over the next few days, I truly experienced what "resource reallocation" meant.

The international luxury magazine cover I'd already booked was suddenly switched to Serena.

The prime position at the annual beauty awards my team had spent half a month planning was forcibly given to Serena.

Even my exclusive top-tier photography studio was commandeered by Serena under the pretext of "needing to shoot makeup test photos."

My assistant cried in the studio. "Hailey, they're going too far! You stayed up three nights straight perfecting that lighting, and she takes it with one word?"

I sat in front of the makeup mirror, looking at my slightly haggard reflection, and calmly handed my assistant a tissue. "Let her use it."

I wasn't unwilling to fight. I just knew I couldn't win.

In this industry, money makes the rules, and Ethan Wyatt was the biggest money of all. With him favoring Serena, I didn't even have room to resist.

That evening, Ethan unexpectedly returned to the luxury penthouse we shared.

He seemed to have forgotten the conflict from days earlier, hugging me from behind as I removed my makeup, resting his chin in the crook of my neck, his tone carrying a trace of patronizing warmth. "Had a rough few days? Tomorrow I'll take you to pick out a bag as compensation."

I looked at our overlapping figures in the mirror, my heart filled with endless desolation.

"No need." I gently pulled away from his embrace. "I don't need it."

Ethan's hand froze in midair, his brow furrowing. "Hailey, enough is enough. I've already given your resources to Serena. Compensating you is only fair. Why do you have to act all cold like this? Who are you trying to show?"