Chapter 107 - 106
All the misfortunes of the past were over.
’She was just... a little sad, that’s all.’
Joanna Kennedy still hadn’t collected herself when Simon Lockwood took out the bracelet.
Her lips were pressed together and her eyes were red, making her look like a pitiful, bullied child.
Simon Lockwood couldn’t resist reaching out. The pad of his finger brushed against the corner of her slightly reddened eye as he sighed. "What are you crying about now?"
"I’m not crying..." Joanna Kennedy sniffled, denying it. "My heart just aches for you," she said in a muffled voice.
’What was there for her to feel bad about?’ Simon Lockwood thought. He gave a helpless smile and placed the gift box in her hands.
Joanna Kennedy blinked her red, swollen eyes, confused. "For me?"
"Mhm."
"Why the sudden gift...?" Joanna Kennedy murmured as she opened the box. An emerald-green bracelet shimmered under the light, its faint, calming scent of agarwood slowly wafting out.
"..."
When she didn’t say anything, Simon Lockwood suddenly felt a pang of nervousness.
He had only bought it because he thought it was beautiful, but he wasn’t sure if she would like it.
"I thought it would suit you, so I bought it. Do you like it?"
His voice was even, as if he were merely stating a fact, but a careful listener could detect a hint of tension and anxiety.
The past and present overlapped.
He thought it was beautiful, so he bought it.
He thought it suited her, so he bought it.
’Simon Lockwood... that’s just the kind of person he was.’
Joanna Kennedy was speechless. It felt as if her throat was stuffed with cotton. After a long moment, she managed to speak. Her eyes were red and moist, but they crinkled into a smile as she said, "I love it..."
She held out her left hand, saying imperiously, "Put it on for me."
A silver chain bracelet already gleamed coldly on her slender wrist. When paired with the new bracelet, the two clashed, looking rather mismatched.
Simon Lockwood frowned, looking slightly vexed. "How about your right wrist?"
"No." Joanna Kennedy immediately snatched her arm back, hiding it behind her. She presented her case logically, "I use my right hand for work all the time. It’ll get scratched."
The girl grumbled, "Simon Lockwood, don’t you have any common sense?"
Simon Lockwood: "..."
For some reason, that line felt very familiar to him.
When it dawned on him, he found it both infuriating and hilarious. He praised her unhurriedly, "Joanie, you’re quite good at applying what you’ve learned."
Joanna Kennedy was about to get smug, but then the man slowly added, "It seems your literature skills are excellent. Come on, recite ’Dreaming of Sky-Mother Mountain: A Song of Farewell’ for me."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
Joanna Kennedy’s smug smile froze on her face.
"Recite it." His voice left no room for argument.
Joanna Kennedy: "...Seafarers speak of the eastern seas, amid misty waves so hard to see... The people of Yue... the people of Yue say... Ugh, I haven’t memorized this part yet!"
She hung her head, looking rather indignant.
Simon Lockwood tapped his knuckles lightly on her lowered head. "Is that an excuse?"
Joanna Kennedy turned her head away, ignoring him and pretending she couldn’t hear, determined to fight this evil tyrant to the very end.
His large, bony hand reached for her chin, but in a moment of impulse, Joanna Kennedy opened her mouth and bit down on it.
"..."
"..."
Joanna Kennedy’s mouth closed around his fingertips. Her soft, moist, light-pink lips pressed against his fair, clean knuckles, making their own color seem all the more vivid.
Simon Lockwood tried to pull his fingers back, but couldn’t. The movement only served to tug her forward slightly.
It was easy to imagine just how tightly she was biting.
Simon Lockwood: "..."
Her lips were soft and warm around his fingers. With every tug, her glistening eyes would flutter, stirring an unexpected passion within him...
Simon Lockwood’s throat suddenly felt dry. His Adam’s apple bobbed sharply a few times. He gave his fingers another careless tug, his tone light and provocative. "If you’ve got the nerve, don’t let go."
*
Early the next morning, the alarm on her phone went off, ringing incessantly.
Looking utterly exhausted and resentful, Joanna Kennedy got up to turn off the alarm. The spot beside her was already empty; the man was gone.
A warm breakfast sat on the table, along with a sticky note.
"Something came up at the office, so I had to leave. Remember to eat breakfast."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
’Hmph, and where was this consideration last night!’
Remembering how he’d teased her for half the night, coaxing her into... She felt a ball of frustration stuck in her chest, with no way to vent it.
She wanted to nonchalantly toss the note into the trash, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she resentfully tucked it into a book.
’She thought resentfully that she never should have mentioned her right hand being busy. That just gave Simon Lockwood an excuse to make her use only her left hand all night, under the guise of "letting her right hand rest."’
’Men like him were a rare breed of scoundrel!’
Joanna Kennedy scrubbed her hands resentfully, washing them over and over until she finally felt clean again.
When she looked up at her reflection in the mirror, she saw a clear bite mark on her pale neck.
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
’I’m going to kill Simon Lockwood.’
It took her over ten minutes to cover the bite mark and the red marks on her wrist. She arrived at the set just in the nick of time.
"Jojo’s here!"
"Have you had breakfast, Ms. Kennedy?"
"Morning, Jojo..."
"..."
All along the way, she was met with enthusiastic greetings. Joanna Kennedy answered each one, smiling until her face felt numb. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to the makeup and styling room.
"What’s with everyone today?" she asked Julie.
Julie pulled out a thermos of red date tea and handed it to her with a look of pity. "Here, drink this. Quick."
Joanna Kennedy: "?"
"I’m not on my period," she explained.
Julie looked exasperated. "I know that. This is to... replenish your strength."
?
Joanna Kennedy was even more confused. "What do you mean?"
Julie gave her a look that said, ’You’re still trying to hide it from me?’ "Mr. Lockwood came to see you last night, didn’t he?" she said.
"...How did you know that?!"
"Heh heh, I happened to see Mr. Lockwood’s car."
There’s only one like it in the entire world. It’s impossible not to recognize.
"I get it. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? I understand," Julie said, winking suggestively.
Joanna Kennedy wanted to die. "It’s not what you think," she said, her voice wooden. "He and I didn’t—"
As she spoke, even she found her words unconvincing. It was hard to believe that she and Simon Lockwood were still... innocent.
Joanna Kennedy resignedly took the thermos and took a few sips of the red date tea. Then a thought occurred to her. "But why is everyone else on set being so friendly to me?"
’They couldn’t have all seen his car, could they?’
"Because of President Grant," Julie said. Her words made Joanna breathe a sigh of relief, only to tense up again.
"They think you and President Grant have some kind of... special relationship, so they’re trying to get on your good side."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
’What kind of fucking moron came up with a theory like that?!’
As it turned out, there were quite a few such morons. Throughout the morning, Joanna Kennedy got a full dose of their so-called "enthusiasm" and "attentiveness."
And in their eyes, she could see poorly concealed contempt and jealousy.
Owen Jennings, on the other hand, was his usual self, seemingly having forgotten all about his joke from the previous night.
That afternoon, after shooting her last scene, Joanna Kennedy got a call from her agent, Walter Young.
Her last historical drama had been a hit, and her role as the second female lead had earned her a nomination for the Best Newcomer Award.