Kendrick’s expression darkened.The thought of how the director had failed to coordinate properly earlier—making his little woman wait idly all morning—still made his blood boil.And now, after stopping the shoot over and over again, the man kept saying her performance was “lacking something” without even explaining what exactly was missing. No wonder she was on the verge of a breakdown.Sure, striving for perfection was fine, but this was too much.Most of all, it made Kendrick’s heart ache for her.Annabelle hesitated before asking weakly, “…Can we really just ignore him?”“I told him to take another break.”She knew Kendrick had the authority to make that call, but they couldn’t just keep delaying forever.As if reading her thoughts, Kendrick said, “It’s fine even if you don’t shoot today. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”Annabelle sighed. That was easy for him to say. If she didn’t shoot today, she’d have to do it tomorrow—and what if she still couldn’t find the right feel
**“Of course, I’d be worried!”** Even though Annabelle had never been a mother, just imagining such a situation made her heart ache. **“And what about me? Could you bear to leave me behind?”** Kendrick’s voice was right by her ear, his tone unusually persistent. Imagining a future where she had no choice but to part with him, a deep sorrow welled up in Annabelle’s heart. In this entire world, the only person she had such an intimate bond with was Kendrick. Though they hadn’t been together for long, they had already endured so much—so many trials, yet he had never once let go of her hand. Sometimes, he was like a friend. Sometimes, an older brother. Other times, a teacher. And, in the most precious moments, her closest lover… If she were to leave him forever—one of them on land, the other in the sea—then no matter how enchanting the ocean was, it would be nothing but a vast, lonely abyss. **“Is it really that hard to answer?”** Kendrick asked, sounding a little hurt. **“Would
Kendrick smirked. “If I couldn’t even notice that, then all those nights we’ve slept together would’ve been for nothing.”“……”Here he goes again!Glancing down from the cruise ship, Kendrick suddenly changed the subject. “Are you really sure about jumping from this height later?”Annabelle replied confidently, “I’ve jumped from even higher places before. I’ll just treat it like a diving practice.”Seeing her so sure of herself, Kendrick had no choice but to set aside his worries.“Alright, I should get going now.” Having figured out the issue with her performance, Annabelle didn’t want to delay any further. The sooner they finished filming, the better.“Wait.” Kendrick grabbed her again and pulled her into his arms. “Are you absolutely sure there’s no baby in there?”“There isn’t!”Both the test strips and blood tests had come back negative. Plus, she had been feeling lower back soreness—her usual sign before her period—so there was no way she was pregnant. If she had been, she would
Annabelle quickly turned on the lights, threw on a jacket, and rushed to open the door for Jax.As he stepped inside, he deliberately left the door open to avoid any misunderstandings. The cold, salty scent of rain drifted into the room, sending a chill through Annabelle.She took a quick glance at Jax and noticed that his hair was slightly damp. His expression was unusually serious, lips pressed into a tight line, as if something was making him tense.Had he been outside on the deck or the outer corridor instead of in his cabin?Was he also worried about Kendrick?“Have a seat.”Calming her thoughts, Annabelle led Jax to the living room.Jax sat down on the sofa. “Madam, are you afraid of the thunder?”Annabelle nodded, then shook her head. She went straight to the point. “Why isn’t Kendrick back yet? Do you know what’s going on with him?”“Madam, don’t worry. The Boss will be fine.”“Then why do you look so tense?”Annabelle wasn’t naïve. If Kendrick was truly safe, Jax wouldn’t be
The more Annabelle thought about it, the more terrified she became. She immediately said to Jax, “Go find him right now. Don’t worry about me. If you’re really concerned, I’ll have Gauge stay with me.”Jax blinked, hesitating for a moment.If he left Madam with Mr. Murphy, wouldn’t the Boss kill him when he found out?That was his love rival…Seeing Jax remain silent, Annabelle was on the verge of losing her patience. “You’re his security advisor. Ensuring his safety is your duty! And Gauge is my good friend. You know his character—don’t you trust him?”Jax hesitated.To be fair, Gauge was indeed an upright person. Even though the Boss had his reservations about him, when he learned that Gauge had given up an important competition to join the film shoot, he secretly helped him secure a rescheduled match.While the Boss claimed he did it to prevent Madam from feeling indebted to Gauge in the future, deep down, it showed that he still trusted him to some extent.Jax glanced at the clock
"Let me do it."As he spoke, Gauge took the glass of water from Anna's hand, poured her a cup, and handed it to her.Annabelle held the warm glass, apologetically saying, "Sorry for disturbing your rest.""It’s fine," Gauge replied as he poured himself a cup of water.To help her complete the shoot, he had traveled over six thousand kilometers. Staying up all night wasn’t a big deal.He glanced at her pale face and said, "I’m glad you thought of me in such a situation."Annabelle tried to smile, but it didn’t quite come through."There’s filming tomorrow. I’ll tidy up the bed. You should get some sleep in the bedroom," she suggested as she prepared to walk to the room.Gauge patted her shoulder. "No need. You sleep in the bed. If I get tired, I can make do on the sofa."Besides, he couldn’t sleep anyway. The sudden turn of events had erased any trace of drowsiness.He also worried that something might happen while he slept. After all, Jax had warned him not to leave the room even half
How should Annabelle answer Gauge?In the past, Annabelle always thought that her marriage to Kendrick was a mere formality. They agreed to divorce after their collaboration ended, keeping their arrangement a secret to avoid damaging Kendrick’s reputation. It was an agreement they both accepted.But now, after half a year, everything had changed.What was once a formal marriage was no longer just that. They had truly become husband and wife, both physically and emotionally.What she had once hidden from others now seemed like a twist of fate upon reflection."After Marvin called off the engagement, my parents wanted to marry me off to a wealthy old man. That’s when I hastily decided to get engaged to Kendrick," Annabelle said, holding a chess piece with a bitter smile.Thinking back, she really had been like a chess piece herself.Her fate was never in her own hands. She was a pawn manipulated by her family. The moment she lost her usefulness, she would be cast aside.But after marryi
Annabelle wanted badly to call Jax, but she hesitated.What if the situation on his side was critical? Calling him might only cause trouble."Kendrick is no ordinary man. Ordinary crises can't defeat him. You have to trust him," Gauge said, clearing his throat awkwardly.Annabelle was taken aback. It was rare to hear Gauge speak so positively about Kendrick. The two of them had always seemed to hold a low opinion of each other."I hope so too. But we’re not in our country, and Kendrick has no one by his side. It makes me uneasy."Even when they were in their own country, Kendrick had faced numerous life-threatening situations, all orchestrated by that enigmatic figure, Mr. Whitney.However, Mr. Whitney had hesitated and missed several opportunities.Kendrick once said it was because Mr. Whitney liked her and couldn't bear to scare her.Annabelle always assumed that was just something Kendrick said to comfort her. She didn't even know Mr. Whitney, so the claim sounded absurd.But what
Agatha’s face turned deathly pale. “Dereon, I didn’t!”Sid let out a cold snort. “At first, when we didn’t see Annabelle, you tried to seduce Kendrick directly. You wanted to sleep with him, then turn around and cling to him as his mistress, living a worry-free life, didn’t you?”Agatha shook her head in panic, glancing between Sid and Dereon. “No, I didn’t. That’s not true.”She anxiously grabbed Dereon’s arm. “Dereon, don’t listen to his nonsense. I was just thinking, if I could seduce Kendrick and sleep with him first, then when he dies, it would solidify the story that he forced himself on a waitress!”“If it were that easy, why would we wait until today to act?” Dereon stepped closer to her. “That Kendrick, like the young master, has long been bewitched by Annabelle and doesn’t even glance at other women. That’s why I arranged for you to hide in the room and fake the scene after he died.”Just mentioning Annabelle ignited a fire in Dereon’s chest.What Kendrick thought of Annabel
Annabelle walked out of the bedroom and came over to the dining table, standing in front of Kendrick.Kendrick was cutting into a plate of German sausage and hadn’t started eating yet. He looked up at her and smiled, “Why are you back again? Don’t want me to eat?”Caught red-handed, Annabelle felt a little embarrassed.Still, she reached out, took his hand, and set down the knife. “How about… you lie down with me for a bit first, and then I’ll eat with you?”Kendrick looked at her, amusement flickering in his eyes.His gaze made her face flush with heat, and even her breathing grew unsteady.“Anna, if you want the ox to work, you have to feed it first.”Her cheeks turned even redder. “That’s not what I meant…”Laughing, Kendrick pulled her into his arms, settling her on his lap. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he said, “After sleeping in the same bed for so many days, if I still can’t tell what you want, wouldn’t that be a waste of all that sleep?”He whispered the last part again
Kendrick sighed against her shoulder, clearly reluctant, but still got out of bed, buttoned up his shirt, and went to open the door.Annabelle followed him out, intending to grab a glass of water.As the door opened, she glanced over—turns out it really was room service.A male staff member was pushing a food cart, and a female staff member stood in front of it, holding a dry-cleaned suit in her arms.“Mr. Gregory, sorry to disturb you. This is the breakfast you ordered, and your clothes have been cleaned as well,” the female staff member said in a gentle, soft-spoken voice.Annabelle couldn’t help but glance at her. The woman was wearing a red hotel uniform skirt set, with an alluring figure, good looks, and a refined demeanor—clearly more polished than the average staff member.Normally, Annabelle would appreciate a pretty girl with a quick glance and move on.But this woman made her frown—and made her stay in the living room instead of heading back to the bedroom after finishing he
Annabelle’s face flushed bright red.What the VP was implying—any adult could understand.She could feel the ambiguous gazes of the others, making her even more embarrassed.Kendrick gave a cold “tsk” and glanced at his vice president. “If you can’t come up with a good idea later, I’m holding you responsible.”“lol, no problem!”he replied heartily.Kendrick looked at Annabelle and smiled. “Come on, I’ll take you to the room.”He took her hand and led her into the bedroom.Once the door closed, Annabelle hurriedly explained, “I didn’t know you were in a meeting—mmph…”Before she could finish, Kendrick had already pinned her against the door, capturing her lips in a deep, heated kiss.Annabelle couldn’t handle such intensity and felt like she was suffocating. She lightly patted his shoulder, signaling him to stop.Kendrick pulled back just slightly, his lips still brushing hers as he whispered, “Anna, I’m really happy you came to see me.”She lowered her head, biting her lip, but he gen
Dereon wore a black baseball cap, head down, looking rushed as he headed toward the boarding gate.He was about to board a flight to North City.His phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he answered, “Young Master, I’m about to board… understood…”At that moment, a familiar figure brushed past him. Dereon paused, frowning as he turned to look back.The crowd was bustling with passengers preparing to board. That fleeting figure was now nowhere to be seen. Had he imagined it?But even if it really was Annabelle, she was walking in the opposite direction of the boarding line, which meant she wasn’t getting on this flight.As long as she didn’t interfere, everything would be fine.He continued the call, “Yes, I’m listening, Young Master… Don’t worry. Tomorrow morning, just wait and watch the news.”After hanging up, he proceeded with the check-in process alongside the crowd.Dereon had booked an economy class ticket. Once on the plane, he turned off his phone and began mentally reviewing ev
Julissa curled herself into the blanket.For Scott, that bar was the place they first met—perhaps even where he fell in love with her at first sight. It was a beautiful memory.But for Julissa, it remained a grey area she had never managed to escape.Whenever she thought about how a stranger had taken her to a hotel that night, how she had lost her virginity there, and might have even been photographed or recorded, her scalp tingled with regret and dread.She used to want revenge on that gigolo, but now, the thing she feared most was encountering him again.She just hoped that incident would stay buried in the past, never to be mentioned again.She held up her left hand in front of her eyes, using the moonlight streaming through the window to look at the ring Scott had given her. She really liked him—loved him—and she hoped he would never find out about that foolish mistake she had made...After leaving the bedroom, Scott went to the dining room. He poured himself half a glass of whis
Julissa looked at him timidly, seemingly wanting to comfort him but not knowing where to start.She bit her lip and carefully asked, “Did you have a fight with Auntie?”“You heard something?”Julissa’s eyes became even more nervous. “Mr. Nichols, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Please don’t be mad…”Only then did Scott realize that he had sounded a bit harsh due to his anxiety, and it had clearly scared her.“Fool, I’m not blaming you.” He pulled Julissa into his arms. “What did you hear?”“I just heard you say that when Julian had a high fever as a child, you took him to get an IV and stuff…”Scott let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like Julissa had only heard the latter part.As long as she didn’t hear the earlier part.Earlier, when he arrived at the apartment building, he had deliberately tricked her, saying he wasn’t coming back, just to play a joke on her—but he ended up scaring her to tears.That’s when he realized that Julissa had been hurt before by Liam and lacked a sense of se
Julissa immediately said, “I’ve got a great memory, Mr. Nichols, so don’t you go back on your word.”“I won’t. I’ll give it to you in a bit.”Julissa had been eagerly waiting for so long, but he was still teasing her. She wasn’t happy about that. “Mr. Nichols, if your ‘little surprise’ isn’t worth at least a few hundred thousand, you’ll owe me big time for all this waiting.”Scott chuckled, “Isn’t that a bit low of a bar? Just a few hundred thousand is enough?”Julissa ignored him. To a capitalist like him, money was just a meaningless number—completely irrational. What she really wanted to know now was: what exactly was this surprise gift?Since he said he’d give it to her later, it had to be a physical item.“Mr. Nichols, just let me see it now, please? Why wait? I’ve been waiting all night!”But no matter how she pouted or pleaded, Scott stayed calm and composed. He simply said, “Be good. I’ll give it to you once we’re in bed.”Julissa started wondering—what kind of gift could only
Julissa cast a sidelong glance at the takeout bags. One large box of fried chicken, two cans of premixed peach cocktails—her favorite—and… a bowl of Frozen yogurt?Wait. Frozen yogurt?She remembered eyeing it longingly when they passed that shop on the way home. She hadn’t said a word though, especially once Mr. Nichols had already driven past. She hadn’t had the heart to ask him to turn back.But clearly, he’d noticed.Looking at Scott again, the fury in her heart had significantly waned.He pulled out the yogurt and looked at her with an arched brow. “Not eating, huh?”Julissa huffed and turned her head away dramatically.As if she'd surrender to the wicked capitalist for just a bowl of yogurt.Scott shrugged, “Guess I’ll eat it, then. Can’t let it melt. Would be a waste.”She rolled her eyes inwardly. As if he—Mr. Perfectionist—would ever stoop to eating something as common as a street snack.But then… he actually started eating it.Julissa's brows furrowed as she peeked at him. H