She sounded as if she was apologizing, but she was really exaggerating her kindness and innocent self. Jean was disgusted, feeling stupid for being deceived by such a disdainful person for so long. She smiled and raised her hand to wipe Anne’s tears away. “Silly girl, why would I be angry with you? You are my best friend.” “I was protective of you for the past few years. When you were bullied by those unspoken rules, I stood up for you; when you were stolen of acting roles, I fought for you; when you were slapped, I slapped back those who hit you. But I can’t protect you anymore because I am up to my neck now.” Anne’s mouth twitched. Jean told her this crap just to show everyone how kind and innocent she was, and what she had achieved so far was because Jean had shielded her from problems. Anne wanted to refute, but was interrupted. “Shhh, don’t say a word. I know you want to thank me, but please don’t mention it. You are my friend.” Jean hugged Anne. They looked like a p
Anne panicked. She wanted to call Alana right away, but Etan’s men were around her. So she could only deal with it. She wished she could cut Jean into a million pieces. Etan took Jean into his private lounge in Club Elegance. Usually, no one except cleaners could enter. Neither of them spoke as if they were strangers along the way. “Someone will bring you clothes in a minute. You may take a shower first.” Etan finally spoke, an unexplained anger boiling within him when he saw Jason’s jacket still on Jean’s shoulders. Jean’s eyes looked around at the decoration in the room and exclaimed in her mind, ‘This is outlandish!’ “I will take a shower first. Call me when the clothes arrived.” She then ignored Etan, took off Jason’s jacket, and disappeared into the bathroom. Again, Etan felt agitated when he heard the sound of running water. He paced back and forth in the room and then took out his cell phone and made a call. “Where are they?” “All locked up in the warehouse.”
Jean gave him a push. “Someone has come. Answer the door. I don’t want anyone to suspect anything.” “Are you afraid?” Etan sounded sarcastic. The knocking on the door continued. Not that Jean was afraid of being seen mingling with Etan. It was just that she had not used Etan enough and did not want to let her relationship with him be exposed. Jean ran her finger down Etan’s tall nose bridge. “Is it Jason? I am not sacred, but your buddy might get hurt if he sees us together.” The hand holding her waist let go of her at last. Etan’s face looked cold and dangerous. “Give me a second.” He turned and left, then closed the bathroom door behind him. Jean sat on the sink and laughed with her shoulders moving up and down. It was a laugh of ridicule. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. She turned to look at herself in the mirror and raised a hand to wipe away the tears. “Anne, the more you fear something, the more you will make your fear become a reality,” she told herself. To
She was now polite and graceful, as if she was not the succubus who seduced Etan in the bathroom. Etan pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He knew that this woman was better than anyone else when it came to pretending. “Wait a second. Um, are you okay?” Jason hurriedly called out to her. “To be honest, not too good.” Jean thought for a while before answering. But the next second, she let out a smile. “But I have gotten used to it.” Jason felt a pang of heartache when he saw her smiling. In contrast to Jean’s life, his life had been smooth sailing since he was small. He was always the bully and had never been bullied before. “I can help you. I really can. Would you accept my help?” Etan looked at Jean with an unknown emotion in his eyes. “Thank you, Jason. I really appreciate it. But if I had wanted help from others, I wouldn’t have ended up in such a situation.” Jason still had something to say, but Jean did not give him the chance. She shrugged,
“I am still worried about you. It is too risky.” “Since things have come to such a pass, I have got to gamble on this.” Jean grinned bitterly. “Believe it or not, even if we don’t release it, somebody will. Someone else was behind this when Willie asked me to entertain those men. They wanted to finish off me.” Jenny gritted her teeth. “That must be some deep-seated enmity there. They have caused so much damage to your reputation, and now they want you dead?” “They are desperate. If I don’t die, they won’t be able to sleep at night.” If she did not die, Anne and Alana would have sleepless nights as she was the first heir to the Mitchell family. Her falling out with Anne meant that her confrontation with Alana would happen openly. It was a one-way street and there was no turning back. Either they, or she, would die. … Anne felt nervous all night. It felt like a forever while she waited for Etan. She had wanted to ask Etan if Jean had seduced him, but she did not dare to,
Since Jason had come forward to protect Jean, he would likely intervene again if anything happened to her in two days. Jean would surely make Jason her powerful backer in her open confrontation with Alana.So Alana had to strike first and destroy Jean before she could even react, and by then, not even Jason could help her. … But before Alana could leak the edited video, someone else had released the photos. The angles of the photos suggested they were spy shots. They were not hi-res, but Jean was clearly recognizable in the photos. She was seen standing among a few old men who reached to grope her. And then some photos showed Jean half-leaning on the table, curling her finger at the man in front of her in a suggestive smile. As soon as these photos were posted online, those people who were tired of reading Jean’s previous scandals went ape once again. There were cyber troopers jumped onto the Jean-bashing bandwagon. ‘She was once a popular celebrity. But now she has
“Jean! It is really you!” “Jean? I can’t believe you still have the nerve to come out shopping! I used to like you so much. Bah, I was so freaking blind to becoming your fan!” “Why are you willing to stoop so low to become a hooker? I really sympathize with your parents.” “Is this why you got yourself a nose job—just to sell your body for a better price? What is the difference between you and the pigs in the pigpen?” Jean’s face was pale. Although she had expected this, it still hurt to hear those nasty words, as if every word was a death sentence for her. She was like an isolated island that was about to go under the water. Some people were taking photos, and some live-streamed videos of her. “Those videos are not real. I didn’t do those things.” She tried to explain, but no one was listening to her. An old lady walked up to her and cursed, “This is adulterous. You would have been sentenced to death if you were in the Medieval Period! Ptui!” A thick sputum was spit
Etan looked up. “Wait for things to cool down, Willie to come out of coma, and until we get the complete version of the video.” “This is so frustrating. Can we really do nothing now?” “Jason, you must not get yourself involved anymore. No matter what happens to her, even if she is being framed, it has nothing to do with you.” “But I... I can’t bear to see her getting bullied and framed. I feel terribly sorry for her. I have never been like this before.” “This is all the more reason for you not get yourself involved. If you really can’t control yourself, go abroad and stay there for a while before coming back.” “I am not going abroad. I am worried that Jean might not be able to withstand it if this thing goes on.” Jason shook his head. Etan chuckled. “Someone like her couldn’t take it?” “Help her, bro. I know you can. You are always good at this.” “Why should I help her?” Etan was thinking of intervening, but he was even more eager to see what else Jean could do. What