“Go on.” Although Holden was a sweet-talker, he knew how to read a room well. When he realized that I was not in the mood for jokes, he quickly stopped the teasing tone.
“I haven’t thought of anything yet, but I’ll tell you when something pops up. I hope that it won’t be that difficult to reach you when that time comes,” I said.
Holden visibly stiffened, but he soon put on a look that told me he was going to start appeasing me. “My, what are you talking about? I’m always available to both you and Mr. Featherstone.”
“I hope so.” Not wanting to look at his pretentious face, I then ended the call.
Minutes later, I received news about Anthony. However, it was not from Holden but from a tabloid magazine. Journalists truly had remarkable instincts sometimes.
With whom Anthony was, he would naturally be the focus if he were to appear in a magazine.
The title of the article was rather direct too. The President Lowering Himself And Falling For A C-List Celebrity.
In other words, Anthony had accompanied Rylee to her filming site.
The media were all over it. To the public, Anthony was a well-loved bachelor who, for some reason, had to have Rylee, a woman who had fallen from grace.
A famous celebrity even commented: Not sure who’s the victim here.
After throwing the magazine on the table, I called for Millie, ready to leave the house.
“Where to?” she asked.
I took out a baseball cap from its dusty corner before putting it on and looking at myself in the mirror. Then, I replied, “To the filming site.”
I could only be at ease after seeing Anthony with my own two eyes.
The filming site was also in the suburbs, but it was not in the same direction as the Featherstone residence. Furthermore, it was the weekend. Thus, we only reached our destination when it was evening. The film crew that Anthony was in was popular even at the filming site, so we soon found out where they were at from a production assistant.
When we reached where the film crew was, they were filming an outdoor scene. Coincidentally, both Anthony and Rylee were in that scene.
The gist of the story was that Anthony was playing the role of a minor character who was confessing to the main character for the third time but was still rejected.
Anthony was a professional, so despite his minor role in the story, his eyes were bright as he asked, “Josie, will you accept me now?”
The perfect appearance, along with his faithful character, would surely win over the audience’s hearts.
However, Rylee had set herself up to be the kind of character who would pick a bone with others. She was completely unfazed by Anthony’s pleading eyes. “Save it. I have told you I don’t love you. Even if all the men in the world are dead, I still won’t choose you. The very look of you disgusts me!”
Slap!
All of a sudden, she slapped Anthony.
It seemed like Rylee had used all her strength in that slap, for Anthony’s head was tilted to the side by the force.
For a moment, the entire film crew went into an uproar. They were all discussing among themselves who Rylee truly was.
“Who is she to have the guts to hit the richest man around?”
“She might not necessarily have someone to back her up. Maybe he just can’t resist her.”
“He can’t resist her? Is this your first day here? Do you not know that Anthony’s partner is Sienna? I was even there at their wedding. How long has it been since then? The old town is still there, and the video is still circulating around, but the people in it have changed. I’d say Vivian bewitched Anthony!”
“Oh please, do you know how to whisper? If Vivian hears it, the whole film crew’s going to suffer with you.”
“What are you afraid of? Are you telling me she has the guts to do it but not the guts to hear the people talk about it? Look at what Anthony has been doing recently! He’s acting so strange. It’s truly a case of those who sleep with dogs will rise with fleas.”
Gossips would always happen in places where people crowd, but they had no idea that the one they were talking about was right beside them.
Nevertheless, their words did not bother me; my focus was entirely on Anthony.
I could not believe that a prideful man like him had no reactions to such a humiliating moment. He only lowered his eyes and recollected himself before quietly leaving the place and disappearing into a studio.
No staff members rushed to console him. Instead, the director ran toward Rylee and began buttering her up. “Vivian, you’re such a great actress. That adlib was fantastic!”
Rylee rolled her eyes but did not answer. Ignoring the way the director’s smile froze, she asked the makeup artist to continue touching up her makeup.
Embarrassed, the director instantly scowled and sarcastically uttered, “Actors and actresses are really getting more and more disrespectful of the script nowadays. They’ll change it on the spot whenever they want to. Are they looking down on the scriptwriter and the directors?”
Rylee instantly understood what the director meant. She sneered before turning around. “You there. Are you talking about me?”
The rudeness of her tone was a clear display of how pompous she usually was in the crew.
When the director heard that, he instantly turned cowardly as he smiled apologetically at her. “Of course not. I’m telling the rookies that. Vivian, everyone knows how capable you are! All right, all right. This part of the filming is over. Let’s take a rest for now, everyone. We’ll be starting again in half an hour.”
With that said, the director turned and left to retreat to his breakroom. The very second he turned around, he dropped the smile and cursed at her under his breath.
Millie then led me to the break room that Anthony was at while avoiding Rylee.
When we entered, Anthony had his back against the door in silence. I did not know what was on his mind. His broad back had blocked out all of the light from the lamp above, making him seem larger than he usually was.
Thinking that it was the assistant, Anthony growled, “Spit it out and get lost once you’re done.”
It had only been one week, but it seemed like ages since I had heard his hoarse voice.
The longer I stared at his back, the more I wanted to rush forward and give him a hug.
That was exactly what I did.
However, Anthony was far too wary. He thought that I was a stranger with wicked intent, so the moment I touched his body, he instinctively moved to the side and put a gap between us.
When he spun around and saw that it was me, he furrowed his brows. “Why are you here?’
Nathaniel was not around, so even if he tried keeping a sense of distance between us, I could still hear the gentleness in his voice.
“You never appeared in the hospital despite my long stay there, so I had no choice but to come to you.”
The concept of yearning was so odd to me. When I could not see him, I could barely eat and sleep, but after seeing him, I miss him even more than when we were apart.
If only I were quicker. I would be able to hug him. I would be able to get some strength to stay afloat longer. A hug, and I’ll realize that I’m not fighting this battle alone.
“Nathaniel’s anxious about you. You’ll be fine.” Anthony lowered his eyes and avoided my gaze.
A fresh swell of hot tears brimmed in my eyes, and I laughed bitterly. “That’s right. He’s about to fall in love with me. A man as smart as you is slowly creeping into my life. What do you feel about that?”
“If I were you, I’d be happy. At the very least, this shows that you’re currently safe.” Anthony’s tone was still as flat as ever, so I could not decipher what he was feeling at that moment.
Perhaps what he wanted to say was that all was fine as long as I was safe, but I was greedy—I wanted to hear something else other than that. “But you’re not me. Otherwise, you’d know that the words I want to hear aren’t these.”
Anthony then glanced, almost unnoticeably, in the direction of the doorway. Despite how cautious he was, I noticed his action and informed him, “Millie’s guarding the room outside. No one’s going to come in. We’ll be alone here.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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