جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 1350

Julissa blinked. “Which one did I miss?”Scott gave her a slow once-over with a smile. “What do you think?”She got it instantly. “…Mr. Nichols, you're very strong in *that* area too.”Scott looked at her, eyes twinkling. “How strong, exactly? Be specific.”He was leaning back against the headboard, one arm draped casually along the edge of the bed. Three buttons on his shirt were undone, his gaze lazy and teasing. He looked devilishly seductive.Julissa couldn't help staring, momentarily dazed.Mr. Nichols was just too sexy. For a hopeless romantic like her, it was hard to look away. Her little heart was thumping like mad. Even though they hadn’t slept all night, just looking at him like this made her want to pounce all over again.Scott’s lips curved into a smile as he lifted her chin. “Weren’t you just full of words? Why the sudden silence?”“I… I don’t know how to say it…” Julissa stammered.Scott chuckled. “Haven’t you read plenty of those kinds of novels? And now you’re lost for

The more nonchalantly Scott spoke, the worse Julissa felt.Even though, at his level of wealth, money was just numbers shifting around on a screen, it wasn’t like it grew on trees. She started seriously wondering if there was anything she could do to help him recover some of what he’d spent on her.Scott placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. “Why the long face? What are you brooding about?”“Money-making ideas.”He blinked. “Running low on cash? I can—”“No, no, I don’t need a raise or a loan,” she cut in quickly. “I want to help you make money, to make up for the losses I caused...”He paused for half a second, then chuckled and reached over to ruffle her hair. “It’s fine. Really.”The more generous he was, the guiltier she felt.And his gentle laughter only made her feel more like she was living in some surreal fairytale.Right—this wasn’t some small amount of money. With her current skills, unless she won the lottery, it was basically impossible to repay him. Sh

Julissa lowered her eyes and shook her head. Truthfully, she wanted to participate.“Then why refuse?” Scott asked again.“I do want to go, but I know my current situation. I’m no longer fit to perform. Besides, I’m still in contact with Lucas. That would upset you.”Scott chuckled. “You’ve gotten so obedient?”“I just don’t want to make you unhappy.”She had learned her lesson.Every time something involved Lucas, Mr. Nichols would get upset. And when he got upset, the pressure around him would plummet, his aura would intensify, and she would be the one to suffer.More importantly, she genuinely didn’t want to cause Scott any emotional distress.“Won’t you regret it?”Julissa pressed her lips together and spoke honestly. “Of course I’ll have regrets. But lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, met some new people, and realized everyone has regrets in life.”As the saying goes, life is rarely perfect—eight or nine times out of ten, it doesn’t go your way. People can’t have everythi

Julissa was stunned for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter—Mr. Nichols was just too savage.Scott pressed his lips together and said calmly, “I was simply returning the favor.”Julissa nodded in agreement, feeling genuinely satisfied for the first time.Back at Alan’s bar, though she hadn’t danced anything too provocative, she’d still stood on stage unwillingly, drawing in crowds for his business. During that time, she’d endured catcalls and verbal harassment—experiences that had left her feeling wronged and humiliated.Only by making Alan taste that humiliation himself did she finally feel like the scales had balanced.She figured the matter was now resolved and they should head to the airport. Just as she reached for the car door, Scott caught her wrist.He looked into her eyes. “I heard you came back looking for me after that night?”She froze. “How do you know?”Scott said he’d just asked Alan how he knew she’d spent the night at a hotel with someone and had jumped

After they entered the house and changed their shoes, Julissa's parents immediately began asking her questions: Was filming tough on set? Was it a movie or a TV drama? When would it air? Did Julissa make a cameo appearance?She and Mr. Nichols had already coordinated their story in advance, so now Julissa only needed to follow along with the white lie they’d prepared…Life on set was tough, but also fun. It was a movie. After filming, there would be post-production and approvals, so she wasn’t sure when it would be released. She was just the dance choreographer and didn’t appear on camera...After she explained, her parents didn’t suspect a thing. In fact, they thought it was a great experience for her to work on a production.Listening to her parents’ encouragement, Julissa felt a bitter ache in her heart as she thought about what she had actually gone through recently. But she still smiled and agreed, “Mm, it really was a memorable experience.”Then she quickly changed the subject: