Laura’s POV 118
A tremor ran through my heart.
And with that, it hurt like hell too.
Such a Cameron had never seen before, I once did not even dare to think about it.
I always thought he was overbearing and unreasonable. But I’ve never seen such a side of him: helpless, patient, unable to let go but forced to do so.
“Cameron,” I said in a low voice, “many people think that actresses are canaries, and that after they become famous, they will marry a rich man and spend the rest of their lives in luxury without having to work hard. I used to hate that, I think it’s an insult to compare a woman to a canary.”
“But now …,” I looked at him, “I would love to be a canary in your hands.”
He tightened his grip on my hand.
My tears dripped onto the back of his hand. “I want you to keep me on a leash for the rest of my life, and I’ll never be able to fly away.”
“Silly,” he smiled, “of course I would.”
“But I’m afraid … that if one day you don’t want to be with me anymore, you have the most honorable reason to leave me … because you’re my brother, Cameron, and any woman can stand by your side, only me! No, I can’t be there for you as a lover.”
“Don’t think so much.” He stroked my head, “Aren’t we good now?”
“But how long will this goodness last?” I looked up at him.
There was a hint of confusion and uncertainty in his eyes as well.
We had given each other our all, and now, we could no longer give anything.
“Laura,” he forced a smile, “what’s wrong with you? Don’t you always emphasize that we’re brother and sister, that we shouldn’t be together? Why are you being sentimental now! Have you been acting too much? Not out of character yet?”
I let out a giggle and whacked him hard.
“By the way,” I said, “Speaking of acting I want to ask you … when that web series of mine first aired, there were a lot of negative rumors, did you see them all?”
“I know.”
“But in just one day’s time, those rumors were all squashed!”
He gently nodded his head, his expression bland.
“Wasn’t it you?” I looked at him with wide eyes, “You did it, didn’t you? You used something to make those rumors disappear so quickly! Even The Curry Group’s PR department couldn’t match that speed!”
Whoops, he licked his lips and hesitated, “I didn’t do it.”
“What?”
“I was going to intervene,” he said, “but it’s a media matter, after all, and I’ve had relatively little dealings with the media industry, only George. Just as I was looking for connections and manpower, the false rumors had already been dropped.”
I’m still a little skeptical, “Really … not you?”
“What am I lying to you for!” He laughed, “If it’s really me, I have to take this opportunity to take credit from you!”
“But I also think it’s strange,” he frowned again, “I also want to know who this person is, the movement is even sharper than George, things are done without a drop of water.”
“There … can’t be any fraud in this, can there?” I asked.
Cameron looked at me, a little appreciation appeared in his deep gaze. “Not bad, learning to be shrewd! Finally know a thing to see through the phenomenon to see the essence!”
“That’s right Laura,” he came around behind me and patted me on the shoulder, “you’re reassuring me more and more.”
“Don’t always treat me like a child.” I laugh, “I’m a baby mama now! I’m not the Laura I used to be.”
“That’s good.”
He lowers his head and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek.
The moonlight shines in and spreads like a layer of frost on the living room floor, and Cameron embraces me as I walk over to him, leaning on his shoulder, wishing for the first time that the long night would never end.
Laura’s Love Song went all the way to the top of the charts. It was originally exclusive to one site, but it ended up being bought by several more sites to capitalize on the buzz.
Fryday, on the other hand, was rarely seen during that time, and I heard that she lost a lot of job offers.
I didn’t feel like commenting on anything, and I could only sigh softly at the news and then quickly get back to work.
I’ve been under a lot of pressure at work lately, with publicity rushes coming in one after another, and talk show offers flying in like snowflakes.
My agent chooses my announcements very carefully and rehearses them with me before I go on them, so I have to keep in mind what to say and what not to say.
I can’t say whether this life is good or bad, it’s just a very novel experience. More often than not, I feel like I’m just a puppet, with the strings in other people’s hands, and even the curvature of the corners of my mouth are all standardized by rules and regulations.
No wonder many female celebrities rush out at the peak of their careers to marry and have children.
These days are indeed exhausting.
One day down the notice is already late at night, I am exhausted, and I can not wait for a pillow to appear in front of me immediately.
I leaned on the back seat of the car, the agent is still next to me and kept saying, this program where I performed well, where there are shortcomings, back to us to watch the replay, shortcomings have to be corrected in a timely manner…
I really admire her superhuman-like energy, this big sister does not need to sleep?
“Oh my god, it’s ringing again!” She complained, “I say Laura, your identity is different from before now, I’d better change your cell phone number for you!”
I froze and saw her holding my cell phone in her hand.
She was the one who kept the cell phone while doing the show, she looked at me helplessly and whispered, “It’s been ringing since you were on the show! Check it out, which big shot is it?”
I thought it was Cameron, but what appeared on the screen was a number with no notes.
This number, it looked familiar …
I suddenly remembered that Rafael had written his private number down on a piece of paper.
At that time, Cameron was angry, so I did not put this number into the phone, and then because of this number, Fryday several times against me, I did not put this number on my mind, I did not expect him to call at this time!
I was so sleepy that I told the driver to pull over and jumped out of the car to pick up the phone.
“Ms. Laura,” Rafael’s low, magnetic voice was on the other end, “Didn’t disturb your rest, did it?”
“No.” I said, “I was just working on the program.”
“I’m sorry to call you so late.”
“Is Willow there something wrong?”
“It’s not …,” his voice lowered, “It’s me.”
“You?” I was in shock.
When I didn’t know before, I could treat him like a normal friend, but now that I understood what he thought of me, I resisted a little.
“Can I help you, Mr. Rafael?” I said softly.
He hesitated and sighed slightly, “I’m taking the liberty … Ms. Laura, are you free tomorrow? I would like to take you to dinner, may I oblige?”
“It …” I said, “I do have tomorrow off, but it’s not easy to take this day off, I want to spend time with my family.”
“It won’t take up too much of your time. Ms. Laura, I have something very important I want to talk to you about, will you please oblige? At eleven-thirty noon, I’ll have my driver pick you up.”
“Hey …”
Before I could say anything, he hung up on his end.
I froze halfway through staring at my phone.
This Rafael, with his brutal and overbearing temperament was truly nothing compared to Cameron.
I got into my car, went home and fell asleep until almost noon the next day.
My phone buzzed and vibrated, I picked it up and the person on the other end said, “Miss Laura, Mr. Rafael asked me to pick you up, I’m already downstairs at your house.”
I giggled inwardly, cursing Rafael for being such a pushover as I quickly got up and freshened up and changed.
This trip had to be made, and I had to tell him clearly and unambiguously that I hoped to keep a suitable distance in the future.
When I arrived at the restaurant, the waiter guided me to a private room on the top floor. The decor was elegant and atmospheric, with a floor-to-ceiling window facing the sea. Four walls and the ceiling are glass, the sun shines in warm but not strong, the temperature and light are controlled just right.
When you are in it, it is like a crystal house with a unique atmosphere.
Rafael smiled and stood up, owing me a chair.
“You may not like red wine.” He said, “I have champagne for you, Bolkov rose.”
I watched silently as he poured the liquid into a highball glass, a bright peach color that was dreamy.
“Thank you, Mr. Rafael.” I clinked my glass with his, “The champagne is very nice.”
“This is my private club.” He looked at me, “If the food is not to your liking, be sure to let me know and I’ll have the chef change it.”
“Don’t bother.” I said, “What exactly did Mr. Rafael want with me today?”
He puts down his knife and fork, his eyes lingering on my face for a moment.
“Ms. Laura, I won’t beat around the bush.” He said softly, “I have a favor to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“I want you … to leave Fryday alone.”
I was stunned, my heart feeling as if it was plummeting from high in the sky.
It turned out that I would be wrong, he set up this Hongmen Banquet to plead for Fryday.
I looked at him, suddenly not knowing what expression to make, so I forced a smile, “Why would Mr. Rafael say that? What could I possibly have against Fryday?”
“Ms. Laura …”
“Fryday caused me to get into a car accident and got me attacked by all those opinionated people on the internet, if it were you, would you let her go?”
Rafael stared at me, his eyes weren’t sharp, but they had their own aura of austerity.
Men of his age and experience hide their sharpness long ago, they know how to hide the thorns in their body in the right places, or else they hurt themselves.
“Ms. Laura,” he laughed softly, “you’re right, she really doesn’t deserve forgiveness for what she did. But she’s getting her comeuppance now, her workload has been greatly reduced lately.”
“That’s the way the game is played in this circle, no matter what kind of news, as long as you have exposure and you live in the limelight, you win. But Fryday is now blocked, and George doesn’t want to enable her anymore, if it goes on like this … her years of hard work will be lost.”
“Didn’t she ask for this?” I hooked the corner of my mouth.
The plate of steak in front of me was good, beef flown in from Australia, and the sauce had a unique flavor that whetted the appetite.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
“I don’t like it rare.” I wiped it with my napkin, “Can Mr. Rafael switch it to medium rare for me?”
“No problem.” Rafael waves his hand and someone next to him takes my plate.
“Anything else Ms. Laura wants, I’ll be sure to accommodate.”
I take a deep breath and a big gulp of champagne.
“Honestly, I’d love to be spared.” I laughed, “But I’m really not that generous.”
“You’re an extraordinary woman.” He looked at me, “I knew it from the first time I saw you.”
“Don’t flatter me like that, I’d really go soft.”
“Ms. Laura.” He nodded slightly again and laughed softly, “I, Rafael, have never been so polite to any woman.”
“Then it’s time you changed your temper.”
“You …”
He couldn’t speak, both eyes fixed on me, his brow furrowed, but a smile pregnant at the corners of his mouth.
Tried to laugh but couldn’t.
“So it seems that Fryday is important to you.” I scowled. “You’re willing to be polite to another woman for her. So why won’t you marry her? You would have married her earlier and saved yourself all this trouble today. You should know why Fryday messed with me several times, it’s because she misunderstood …”
“She didn’t misunderstand.” Rafael snapped, “These things, are not misunderstandings.”
I froze.
There was so much more complexity in his eyes; pity, tolerance, thoughtfulness, tenderness, and manly desire.
“But Mr. Rafael, I …”
“I understand where you’re coming from,” he interrupted, “and I’m not going to impose on you. At my age, I have long since learned that truth, that what is forced is not sweet.”
“Laura,” he called my name softly, “I admire you, I’ve felt differently about you from the first time I met you. I don’t want that admiration to bother you though.”
“As for my affair with Fryday, it is none of your business. After much thought, I realized that I still care more about my daughter’s feelings … I owe my child too much and want to make it up to her.”
I was on pins and needles under his gaze.
His words in and out of the right way, the proportion of the precise pinch, and his whole body, with a mature and stable, let a person irresistible charm.
Perhaps what Fryday loves is not the status of a young grandmother of a wealthy family, this man, is worthy of love.
“After Fryday followed me, she paid a lot for me.” He continued, “including the loss of that child.”
“The news of her miscarriage couldn’t be known to the media, so she didn’t take a day off and went straight from the hospital to the show. I do feel a little heartbroken about that …”
Rafael sighs and laughs softly, “Even if I can’t give her marriage, I want her to be comfortable.”
I was silent.
In the middle of the day, he continued, “It was her fault that she targeted you before, so when rumors against you reappeared online, I did everything I could to silence those rumors.”
“So it was you?” I was stunned.
He still had a very gentlemanly smile on his face, “I hope I can earn your forgiveness for doing this.”
“Fryday came from a poor background with little to no background, it wasn’t easy for her to get to where she is today.” Rafael looked at me, the smile on his lips had a different meaning, “And you, even as an adopted daughter, you grew up with The Lynch Family to fall back on, am I right?”
My heart snapped up and both my hands twisted together unconsciously under the table.
His gaze was deep and inscrutable. I didn’t know exactly how much he knew, but the fact that he’d investigated me meant he’d come prepared.
“Don’t worry, I’m not deliberately investigating you. I don’t have this habit of prying into people’s privacy.” He smirked, “The one who blocked Fryday this time, is Cameron.”
“Ms. Laura, the relationship between you and Cameron is not that simple, right?”