Chapter 47: Uncles
Chapter 47: Uncles
"Be honest, did you cheat on me while I was abroad?" Wendy's beautiful face crumpled into a sneer.
"Look at yourself getting all worked up.I do believe there's no need for me to answer your question."
Jeffrey was struck dumb by her response.
While the two were talking, the artists and stuff all came out of the set and began heading towards their direction.
Seeing this, Wendy quickly pulled Jeffrey by the collar and dragged him to hide in a shadowy corner. The last thing she wanted was for others to know about her involvement with Jeffrey! Their hiding place was quite small and cramped, so both were forced to hunker down.
Jeffrey's height and their position made it so that Wendy naturally fits in his arms.
With them squeezed so tightly together, he couldn't help but take in her scent.
She smelled of sweat.
The salt of her labor intermixed with her choice of perfume and blended into an olfactory cocktail that was uniquely her own.
Their proximity made Wendy acutely aware that she had been sweating profusely the whole day.
Well, the weather was particularly warm.
It also didn't help that her costume was quite stifling.
She probably smelled atrocious.
Jeffrey inhaled deeply, much to Wendy's chagrin.
She felt her temper rise.
Scowling, Wendy pushed Jeffrey away from her and nearly snarled, "Jeffrey! Why are you being disgusting?"
Jeffrey humored her tantrum for a while, but then suddenly snapped to attention.
"Don't move.Be quiet or we will be discovered."
Both held their breath as a staff came out from the door to check out the noise they made.
They stiffened as he began walking towards them.
Wendy was so nervous that she didn't dare move.
To their relief, the staff seemed to change his mind and didn't proceed further in their direction.
Wendy began to relax.
As the tension left her body, she noticed that Jeffrey had draped his arms over her shoulders and was holding her securely within a protective embrace.
Wendy was furious! Without thinking, she brought her heel down hard on Jeffrey's unsuspecting foot.
"Owww!"
Jeffrey screamed in pain and jumped around while holding his injured limb.
That put an effective stop to his annoying flirting.
Fortunately, no one was around to witness his humiliation.
"Wendy, is this how you treat your boyfriend?"
"Ex-boyfriend!"
Wendy angrily retorted.
Jeffrey wouldn't budge.
"I didn't agree to break up anyway!"
Wendy was so angry that she was speechless.
If only his fans knew that the man who seemed so perfect in front of the camera was so shameless behind it, they might get shocked.
Wendy pointedly ignored the infuriating man, took her bag, and began briskly walking away.
Still nursing his abused appendage, Jeffrey followed in her wake while hopping on one foot.
"Wendy, wait for me!"
"Fuck off!"
Jeffrey's voice took on a wheedling tone.
"Don't be like this.We loved each other once!"
"Just fuck off!"
"I came back as soon as possible for you after I finished the movie in M country.When I heard that you had a role in this drama, I did everything in my power to get me to join the cast and play the male supporting role.That is how much I like you.Why can't you see it?"
"I said fuck off!"
With the street lamp as their spotlight, Jeffrey chased after Wendy like a one-legged frog.
It was a scene straight from a comedy show.
As luck would have it, Wendy was familiar with Studio City and had chosen a path few people use.
This ensured that they had no audience for the absurd tableau they exhibited.
As soon as they walked out of Studio City, they were greeted by the sight of Jeffrey's limousine parked on the side of the road.
There were currently people milling about, so to prevent being recognized and the unnecessary commotion it will cause, Jeffrey immediately put on his hat and mask.
"Wendy..."
Wendy raised her hand to interrupt him.
"Let me make this clear.I couldn't care less why you came back, nor why you joined the cast of the Story of Concubine Ivanka.We must pretend that we have never seen each other before.Understood?"Jeffrey just blinked innocently at Wendy's words, his incomprehension evident.
"Wendy, don't you need money? If you hype up with me, your status will soar.Then you will have a lot of money.Isn't that a good thing?"
Wendy could only look at Jeffrey incredulously.
"Status? I fear I'll be harassed to death by your stupid fans even before my status had a chance to improve! Haven't you the faintest idea of how popular you are? Let me jog your memory.The few actresses you were involved in scandals with had all been persecuted by your fans!"
In the current showbiz climate, being rumored as lovers could do wonders for the careers of a male and female celebrity.
However, this was not the case when there was a significant gap in their levels of popularity.
No female star could come close to Jeffrey when it came to popularity.
Therefore, any actress romantically linked with him was bound to suffer endless criticism.
This was a harsh lesson for Wendy to learn when she dug up Jeffrey's romantic history.
Jeffrey could not deny the truth in Wendy's tirade and chose to remain silent.
She had a point.
Indeed, the actresses rumored to be his paramour since his debut were all mercilessly tormented by the public.
Nonetheless, this didn't stop him from trying to reason with Wendy.
"Wendy..."
Wendy would have none of it.
"Cut the crap! I'm warning you, I've had enough trouble with the crew as it is.If you'll insist on making my life more difficult, I swear I'll beat you to death!"
"Sure, I can pretend that we're strangers to one another.Be that as it may, I'll be expecting certain...benefits, in return."
Jeffrey winked at her.
Wendy's response was to ground her teeth and crack her knuckles.
Her smile was deceptively calm as she slowly approached Jeffrey.
"What benefits, pray tell?"
Jeffrey began backing away while holding up his arms to ward her off.
"Relax, I was just kidding! I know my place.Our relationship is such that I can't assume any form of benefit from you."
"So you do understand!’ Wendy snorted derisively.
"Well, it's getting late.I have to go home soon.My son is waiting for me."
"Don't go home yet.Tell Ray to meet us outside.I'll treat you both to dinner."
Wendy threw him a skeptical look.
"What for? He doesn't even like you."
Jeffrey was rendered speechless.
His ego just took another critical hit.
He couldn't understand why his charm was ineffective against the mother and son.
Jeffrey sighed heavily.
"Well, I'm leaving now.You should head home early as well."
Wendy motioned to leave but paused.
"By the way, give me your address.I'll return the gold you gave me one of these days."
"What? No! Those were my betrothal present for you.How can I take those back?"
Jeffrey gaped at Wendy as if she was going crazy.
Wendy grabbed on one of his shoulders and gripped tightly.
She then forced him to meet her serious, penetrating gaze.
"Jeffrey! Let me hammer into that hard head of yours.We have broken up! No self-respecting woman would return to the embrace of an ex-lover who treated her terribly.Not to mention, from what I see right now, you didn't change enough to earn my reconsideration."
Jeffrey looked at her with pleading eyes.
"I'm not the same man I was before, truly.Why won't you give me another chance? I promise it will be different.I will do everything in my power to avoid repeating my mistakes.I will make you happy this time!"
Wendy was astounded by his show of stubbornness.
In her frustration, she felt a headache coming and began massaging her temples.
First in the list of her most regrettable life decisions was staying in love with Brian for three years.
Getting to know Jeffrey was a close second! Had she known that he was this annoying to get rid of, she would have turned around and run in the opposite direction the first time she saw him! The two stood face to face on the side of the road.
As Wendy racked her brains for more ways to convince Jeffrey to give up on her, a Rolls-Royce Phantom rolled up beside them.
Once the car engine died, the driver got off and opened the door to the backseat of the car.
Seated side by side within the confines of the luxury vehicle were Ryan and Luke. All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.
The former had on a custom -tailored suit from a famous Italian designer brand.
He was leaning back on the leather seats in a seemingly relaxed manner, his face cold and hard as stone yet his eyes glinting with the fire of anger.
Anger?! Why was he angry? Wendy observed the gentleman in confusion.
As she was about to speak, she saw Jeffrey turn beside her and regarded the people inside the car with surprise.
"Uncle Ryan and Uncle Luke?"