Tyrone laid out his reasoning. "If Bettie didn't care for Lance, the timing of her discovering the truth wouldn't matter. However, if she did care for him, even knowing sooner, she might still yield to Lance's charm. Do you think she has feelings for Lance?"

Sabrina found herself speechless. Lance's motives behind his proposal of the sham marriage were evident to Bettie, yet Bettie still accepted. She clearly had some affection for him.

Sabrina exhaled a resigned sigh. "What a small world! Lance turns out to be Keilani's biological elder brother, even though Bettie had assured me he wasn't of mixed heritage."

Tyrone revealed. "It's rumored that many years ago, when old Mrs. Nelson died, Lance's mother, who was then pregnant, brought young Lance to Mathias for the funeral. Overwhelmed by sorrow, she went into early labor. In a twist of fate, the hospital caught fire during the chaos, and Lance ended up lost, only to be later adopted by an elderly farmer in Mathias."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "Even if Lance's mother went into Labor, with the Nelson family's resources, Lance wouldn't have been left unattended. How did he end up lost? And why did the hospital catch fire exactly then? Hospitals are usually bustling places. A fire is rare, especially given that old Mr. Nelson was as influential then as Royce is now. Such an incident shouldn't have occurred with a family of that stature."

"Indeed, it's peculiar. It makes sense to suspect that an enemy of the Nelson family was involved. Nonetheless, the Nelsons have dealt with it, and it happened a long time ago. Don't dwell on it too much."

"Alright." Sabrina nodded.

After that Sunday, the intimacy that Bettie and Lance had shared on their business trip faded, and they reverted to their usual relationship.

By Tuesday, Bettie was off to Semonar for a business trip. She was slated to work on a film set for a minimum of two months.

When questioned by Amirah, Bettie explained it was a job requirement and there were no alternatives.

Lance didn't accompany her. He didn't want to pressure her too much.

On the set, Bettie’s assistant was puzzled. “Bettie, you usually avoid working with film crews. What made you accept this project?"

The assistant remembered Bettie mentioning how in her early career, she found the long and demanding hours with film crews too confining and eventually ceased accepting such jobs.

The assistant had been ready to decline, but Bettie unexpectedly agreed. Bettie had recently married, which intensified the assistant's puzzlement.

Bettie replied nonchalantly, "It's been a while since I took on such a project. I've heard this script is excellent, so I thought I'd try it."

The assistant grinned. “Previously, when you went on business trips, Lance would come along. Now, with you being on set for two or three months, he must be missing you terribly."

Bettie was at a loss for words. She pretended not to hear and shifted her attention to other tasks.

The assistant assumed Bettie was merely being shy.

On the first day of filming, Bettie was surprised with a bouquet of roses, interspersed with tulips, baby's breath, and eucalyptus leaves.

Nestled within the bouquet was a card adorned with a golden rose design and written in elegant script, "To my art master."