Laura’s POV 119
I was silent for about a couple dozen seconds.
But those short tens of seconds passed quite long. My mind was spinning fast, people’s IQ is the highest when they are in a hurry, right?
“My relationship with him?” I settled back and laughed softly, “In what way does Mr. Rafael mean?”
“I did grow up in The Lynch Family, and I’m known as brother and sister to two of The Lynch Family’s brothers. If that’s any kind of relationship, then …”
“You’re so good at excusing yourself!” Rafael cracked a smile, laughing without a trace of burden.
“It’s not that I would excuse it, but I wouldn’t rely on anyone.” I pursed my lips.
The steak had been made medium rare and brought up, and I nonchalantly sliced a piece.
“Is there another dessert?” I asked, “Macaroons are too sweet, and my agent has orders that I’m not allowed to eat anything too sweet. Preferably a croissant, the kind with a hint of savory.”
Rafael shakes his head hopelessly, the smirk still on his face.
He arranges for the waiter to serve dessert as I requested.
“Everything as Ms. Laura wishes!”
“Thanks.” I laughed, “It’s true that my relationship with Cameron is a bit complicated, but I really didn’t know that he was the one who put the seal on it. I broke into acting because of George’s knowledge and because I wanted to experience another life. I don’t want to rely on anyone, and I want every penny I make to be my own hard-earned money.”
“So …” I shrugged, “Mr. Rafael can tell Fryday that being a rich young grandma isn’t every female artist’s goal, at least not mine. She doesn’t have to be hostile towards me, because my world, will be wider than hers.”
“I’ll tell her.” Rafael’s eyes softened, “Ms. Laura, would it be possible to ask Cameron to remove the gag order?”
“I’ll do my best.” I promised him.
“Thank you very much.”
Rafael pours me another glass of champagne. We clinked our glasses and the moment our eyes met, my face flushed for no reason.
I had a different opinion of him, too.
I thought he was stubborn, unreasonable, and a cold, selfish man, but now it seems that he’s not new to the world and still values his feelings.
The webcast of Laura’s Love Song exceeded 2 billion.
This number can’t be said to be brilliant, but it’s considered the best among web series produced at a small cost. Because of this small achievement, I’ve become the company’s rookie, and many of the top stars under George’s hand are courteous when they see me, praising me for my unlimited future.
I don’t know how many press releases George bought, but the internet was full of praises, and the media blew me away.
I couldn’t even stand to look at all the fluffy compliments.
Cameron, however, was watching with great interest. He never paid much attention to the entertainment news, but he was on his cell phone all day long those days, flipping through the headlines and such, laughing as he did so.
“Laura that’s an ugly picture of you!”
“Your face looks fat from this angle!”
“Wow, Laura, I didn’t realize you had such thick legs?”
“Is this one considered a hard photo and how many times did you photoshop it?”
I give him a hateful blank look and he snickers, picking up his phone and waving it in front of my face.
I ignored him and sat on the windowsill, suddenly a big hand rested on my shoulder, coarse fingers lightly picking my chin, and when I raised my eyes I was met with his bad smile.
“Now that you’re an actress, you mustn’t just get angry. Anger grows wrinkles!”
“Cameron, you …,” I cried.
“You’ve had a little success, I’ll arrange a celebration for you!”
“Celebration?”
He smiled mysteriously.
Three days later, he took me to the beach.
At that time, twilight, the gorgeous evening sun will be the seaside sky reflected pink-orange color, the sea and sky line like there is a brilliant golden edge.
There was a yacht parked on the sea, pure white hull, a few seagulls dancing around it, everything seemed like a dream.
On it was written Laura No. 1 in black letters.
“Laura One again?” I smiled at him, “You moved the restaurant on Blossom Hill Rd here?”
“I bought this yacht for you.” Cameron gently held my shoulder, “Ms. Laura, may I have the pleasure of a cruise?”
I followed him on board, the yacht was spacious and decorated in a luxurious and extravagant European style. It was as if I had walked into a magical castle, and Cameron was the knight guarding me faithfully.
I looked back at him and laughed softly, “You’re the only one who can make me feel like a princess.”
He leans over and kisses my forehead, “It’s okay to be a princess, but don’t ever be a sleeping princess.”
“Cameron …” I looked at him with some excitement.
His rigid face is particularly charming in the fireworks splendor. He held my hand tightly and whispered in my ear, “As long as you like, I will give you … all of them If you can’t accept it, take it as a brother’s favor to his sister, OK?”
I looked at him in a daze and couldn’t help but wet my eyes.
“Hey, you two don’t go too far oh!” Suddenly a voice came out, “Cameron, you’re so inadequate, letting us hold it in the cabin for so long while you just focus on being here for two!”
I turned around to see George and Gina smilingly walking out from the cabin, still leading Sunny.
Sunny immediately jumped over as soon as she saw me, I hugged her tightly and kissed her on her pink little face, I couldn’t get enough of it.
“What are you guys doing here?” I was surprised and delighted.
“To celebrate the future movie queen together!” Gina took out a bottle of red wine from the barrel.
“What are you talking about!”
“It’s true.” George smiled, “I told you I had the right vision! You’ve worked hard in the past few years, and you’ll definitely win the Golden Lion Award as a movie queen in the future!”
“My brother will also give you absolute support behind you!” Gina snaps.
I waved my hand in fear, “Forget it! I don’t have that much ambition, I’ve already risked half of my life in a web series this time, a Golden Lion? That’s not something I can get!”
“Look at you!” George gave me a blank look.
He poured drinks for everyone, and the clinking of glasses, the crisp sound of pinging, accompanied by the waves, was exceptionally pleasing to the ear.
I snuggled up next to Cameron, a moment of infinite contentment.
George suddenly remembered something, “Hey, Laura! While the scenery is beautiful, your makeup is not smudged, and there is a yacht and wine, hurry up and take a picture and post it on Twitter!”
“What for?”
“To get popular!” He said, “Of course, we don’t have to be in the picture. All you need to do is tell your fans that you’re attending a social event in this environment, and your popularity will surely rise!”
With that, he pulled out his cell phone and assigned me a few positions to pose in, and told me to put on my sunglasses, in which Cameron’s silhouette should ideally be vaguely reflected, so as to keep the fans guessing whether this was my boyfriend or not.
I was helpless, “Is this a publicity tactic?”
“There are plenty of tactics in this circle, this is just skin deep.” George laughed.
I sighed softly, “I can’t even eat a meal in peace!”
However, I didn’t realize that what made me even more unsettled was yet to come.
George was about to take a picture of me when suddenly his face froze and he stared straight at his phone.
When he lifted his eyes again, a stony, quizzical gaze swept over Cameron and me.
“What happened?” I ask.
George’s gaze darkened, and he looked at Cameron with a few qualms.
I had a very bad feeling in the back of my mind.
“Brother, what the hell!” Gina got impatient and took his cell phone.
Her face changed as well, and after a moment of hesitation, she flashed the contents of her phone for us to see.
It was entertainment headlines from major websites.
The sites never overlapped in what they reported, and this time they broke the same story: rich businessman Rafael having lunch with a mystery woman, who was suspected to be rising star Laura!
The report was accompanied by a photo of me having lunch with Rafael.
Although the clarity was not high, but the discerning eye took one look at the silhouette and knew that it was definitely me and Rafael.
For a moment my hands and feet went cold, my scalp tingled, and a chill crept up my spine.
I subconsciously looked at Cameron, who was grimacing, his brows furrowed and he was gently biting his lower lip.
“Cameron, I …”
I hadn’t figured out how to explain it to him when George looked at me a little reproachfully, “How can you have this kind of news at this time?”
“I …”
“Laura, this is very troublesome and not good for your public image!”
George turned around and made a series of phone calls, telling the PR people to make sure this news is taken down, and asking the planning people to think of a good idea to see what can divert the public’s attention, so that people can fade this news away as soon as possible.
He was busy, but I was sitting on the sidelines, and Cameron was quiet, not like him at all.
There were several times I tried to open my mouth to talk to him, but one look at his ice cube-like face and rejecting attitude made me wince.
“Daddy …,” Sunny panicked a little, looked at him and then at me, and asked with a little beak, “Can I have a cupcake?”
Cameron tenderly held her in his arms and smiled at her, gently picking up a piece of cupcake and feeding it to her mouth.
Tears sprang out of my eyes unexpectedly, “Cameron … you listen to me, it’s not like that, it’s all written by the news … I, I did have dinner with Rafael, but we …”NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.
“Stop it.” He looked at me coldly and let out a light laugh, there was something else in his gaze.
“I’ll take Sunny home first.”
“Cameron!”I rush, stepping forward and pulling him back, “Don’t you trust me?”
“What do you want me to trust you for? Heh, who am I to you? At best, I’m just your brother!”
“No …”
“You have the right to date other people.”
“Cameron!” i screamed.
“Laura!” he turned to glare at me, “Don’t say anything. I’m saving your face in front of Sunny … so be quiet too!”
“I didn’t do anything shady!” I was trembling, “In the end, this is still because of you! If it wasn’t for you blocking Fryday, Rafael wouldn’t have found me! Rafael came to me because he wanted to ask for my help, begging you to revoke your block on Fryday!”
Cameron’s steps paused, but he didn’t turn around.
The yacht docked quickly and he disembarked with Sunny in his arms, not long after hearing the sound of a car starting up and fading into the vastness of the night.
My legs are weak kneeling on the deck, tears choked in my throat, want to cry but can not cry out.
My mind was in a daze.
Gina put her arms around my shoulders and whispered softly to comfort me.
My voice choked, “I don’t understand what’s going on here … Just now I was watching the fireworks with Cameron on the deck, and he smiled so gently at me, saying that as long as I like it, he’ll give it to me … But why did it turn out like this? why did it turn out like this in the blink of an eye?”
“Don’t blame Cameron!” came George’s hurried footsteps, “You were too careless! How could anyone take a picture?”
“Laura,” he crouched down in front of me, “Come on, don’t feel too bad … The PR department has already started to act, and this news will be pulled down soon. But because there are pictures this time, whatever the actual situation is, it’s not very good.”
“What you need to do now is to be silent. Don’t come out to explain, don’t mention this. When the heat slowly dies down it’ll be fine!”
I raised my teary eyes to his, “But Cameron …”
“And you have the heart to care about Cameron. Mind your own business first!”
George sighed, “Actually … Laura, I think it’s really not a good idea for you and Cameron to go on like this.”
“Brother!” Gina glared at him, “What do you mean?”
“It was meant to be, Cameron is your brother, and with a relationship like yours, you can either sneak around for the rest of your life, or come out in the open and be treated like a joke and a legend by the whole world! Which do you want to choose?”
“Either way!” Gina was not fair to me, “People live their lives for themselves, it’s none of other people’s business.”
“Oh, for themselves?” George sneered, “Aren’t they getting married? What about when they get a marriage license? Brother and sister to get a marriage license? Is that allowed by law!”
“Brother!”
“Okay, okay!” George waved his hand and said to me again, “Laura, in fact, as a friend, I wish you guys a good life … but you are destined to be together because of your relationship!”
“Both of you should stop fooling yourselves, why don’t you take this opportunity to get things straight!” He said, “I think Rafael’s fine, and you and Willow hit it off …”
“We’re not going to make it.” I blurted out, “I don’t get along with Rafael … He still has Fryday in his heart. This time he invited me to dinner to plead for Fryday!”
“Don’t be so dead-set!”
“Brother, don’t be so stubborn!” Gina was on my side, “I think Cameron and Laura are made for each other, brother and sister or not, the two of them are perfect together!”
I got a headache from their noise and waved my hand to stand up.
My legs and feet were numb and I limped toward the shore.
I wanted to go home … back to the home that belonged to me and Cameron.
I’ve never missed that home as much as I do right now.
It was close to midnight when I got back, Sunny was asleep and Yasmin was taking care of her. Cameron was nowhere to be found.
I expected all this, I smiled bitterly, tears falling on the back of my hand. I did not turn on the light, in the dark I touched every piece of furniture in this room, every inch of the wall, every floor tile … every place is Cameron hand decorated, every place has his temperature.
But now, he wouldn’t come back.
For a whole week, we were in a cold war.
But he did not lose contact with me, he would come back every day to see Sunny, and greet me politely, but this kind of politeness seems to be cold, and a thick wall appeared between me and him.
That’s when the company struck while the iron was hot and arranged another movie for me.
“This time the movie is a big production, the special effects artists were hired from Hollywood!” George got the script and said to me, “You’re the second female in it, you have a lot of parts, especially the fight scenes, you have to make the most of it!”
I nodded my head blankly.
He patted me on the shoulder, “Let’s put Cameron aside, work is important! By the way, this time, we’re going to shoot the exterior scenes first, we have to go into the desert, so hurry up and get ready, wait for the director’s notice!”
“What?” I froze, “Going to the desert?”