He Wouldn't Claim Me — Another Man Did-Chapter 105 - 94: Father

Isabelle didn’t know how Evan Shaw had ultimately reported to Shane Sterling, nor how Shane had then negotiated with Genevieve Quincy. All she knew was that the next day, Genevieve started packing her things to move out of the dorm.

As Genevieve was leaving, Isabelle happened to be returning from the dance studio.

They ran into each other in the hallway. Just as they were about to brush past one another, Genevieve Quincy suddenly stopped and threw a sidelong glance at her.

"Isabelle, don’t think you’ve won. Just you wait!"

Isabelle didn’t even look at her, pretending she hadn’t heard a thing as she walked quickly past.

As she rounded the corner, a large hand suddenly reached out and pulled her into the stairwell.

Before Isabelle could cry out, she saw Shane Sterling’s finger press against her lips in a shushing gesture.

His fingertip carried the faint scent of coffee beans.

"What are you doing here?" Isabelle’s racing heart gradually calmed.

"Who did you think it was?"

"I thought it was Genevieve Quincy getting her revenge."

"You’re right to be that aware."

"Don’t threaten me."

"I’m not threatening you, I’m reminding you." Shane Sterling pulled a hairpin from his coat pocket and handed it to Isabelle. "You’re bold, using a listening device. That’s illegal, you know."

Isabelle took the glittering, pearl-and-jade hairpin and twirled it in her hand. "But you found a way to get it back for me, didn’t you?"

Yes, the hairpin had a listening device installed inside.

After learning that Genevieve Quincy had instructed Iris Tierney to poison her cosmetics, she had contacted Justin Wyatt and had him go to the recording studio, using Shane Sterling’s name as a pretext to deliver coffee and the hairpin.

The coffee was a distraction, allowing her to switch the poisoned cosmetics over to Iris Tierney. The hairpin was for recording, because she knew that once the scheme was exposed, Genevieve would have plenty of ways to silence Iris and get the production team to protect her. Only a recording of Genevieve personally admitting she had ordered Iris to do it would provide enough leverage over the production team to get Genevieve kicked out.

And now, she had succeeded.

"What if I hadn’t gotten it back and she’d found it?"

"Even if she had found it, it was still the hairpin *you* gave her."

Shane Sterling was speechless for a moment, then wrapped an arm fiercely around her waist, both amused and exasperated. "So, you and Justin Wyatt teamed up to set me up?"

Their bodies pressed close, soft against hard. A familiar, ambiguous tension spread between them.

Isabelle recalled that their last meeting had also been in a stairwell. A secret, dark space like this seemed to amplify their chemistry, lending it the thrill of a forbidden affair.

’But she didn’t like this feeling.’

Just as Isabelle was about to push Shane Sterling away, his phone rang.

It was Genevieve Quincy.

Shane glanced at the screen, silenced the call, and didn’t answer.

"I have to go," he told Isabelle.

It dawned on her. "You’re here to pick up Genevieve?"

"You’re the one who wanted her kicked off the show, aren’t you? I’m here to pick her up and make sure she’s out. Aren’t you satisfied?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Picking her up in person. How very thoughtful of you."

Shane laughed. "Don’t be jealous. If I didn’t come myself, what excuse would I have to see you?"

"We’re not having an affair. Do you need to use her as a cover just to see me?"

"Why do you keep mentioning an ’affair’? If you’re into that kind of story, I don’t mind playing along."

"Be serious!" Isabelle looked at Shane, reminding him, "Genevieve Quincy is bad news."

"I know."

"You know, and you’re still considering a marriage alliance with her?"

"Are you worried about me?"

Isabelle’s face grew hot, and she looked away. "Of course I’m not worried about you."

"Right. Don’t worry about me. Taking care of yourself is what’s most important." Shane’s large hand gently stroked her temple. "I’m going abroad tonight. Justin Wyatt will stay here, so if you need anything, find him."

With that, he left.

Isabelle stood in the falling twilight, watching his shoulders cut through the darkness as he walked further and further away.

She didn’t know how long he would have to walk before he reached the light.

--

With Genevieve Quincy’s withdrawal from the competition, the atmosphere on set became much more harmonious.

Isabelle found filming much more pleasant as well. She and Sophie King became good friends. Both were hardworking, practicing their dancing together every day. They would openly point out each other’s shortcomings, and neither grew jealous seeing the other improve; they were only ever genuinely happy for one another.

She had thought that with work going so smoothly, life would be peaceful for a while. But just a few days later, trouble suddenly struck at home.

On Saturday, just after Isabelle finished filming an episode, she received a call from her younger sister, Sienna Prescott.

"Isabelle, come home! Quick!" Over the phone, Sienna’s voice was trembling. "That man... he’s found us!"