The door creaked, and Dicky's voice could be heard as it opened. "Come in, Lucas. Mommy's not around anyway…"Just as he finished, he found Cordy seated on the couch and looking utterly pessimistic."Mommy?" Dicky gasped in surprise. "When did you come back?"Why didn't she call him after she did, or went looking for him?Lucas—no, John—was frowning at Cordy as well, and there was a slight displeasure in his tone. "Why didn't you say anything after you came back?"Cordy turned towards John, and wondered what he went through that he would make his face into that state.Her eyes welled with tears, which started to gush quietly; as if a dam had broken.She wondered for a moment if she would end up using up all the tears she had for the rest of her life.John was shocked by her reaction—had she always been so vulnerable? She certainly wasn't whenever they got into fights.Dicky was shocked too. "What's wrong, Mommy? Please, you're scaring me… Wait, was the test result a dud? T
Cordy wiped her tears subtly and worked hard to repress her emotions, and asked, "You haven’t eaten yet?""Have you?" John asked in return.She shook her head."Then what are you spacing out for? I've already booked a place at the restaurant. Come on," he said, and reached out to pull her up to her feet.Cordy's fingers twitched, her heart aflutter. John urging her to have dinner soon was just a nonchalant gesture on his part, and yet…The instant he touched her hand, she seemed to flinch, which left John with an indescribable emotion.He couldn’t even describe what he was feeling.Damn it! He was never this sharp towards her before, but now, every move and every gaze she had left his heart pounding uncontrollably.However, he didn’t let go of her, and actually held on tighter.Cordy didn’t turn him down either, and the trio left the room.Dicky was so happy, he could hardly hide his delight from his little face—his parents were finally getting back together, and their family
Cordy was afraid of imagining that John was still alive, but he really was… And yet, she was apprehensive all the sameWas this what they meant with 'win some, lose some'?!At the dining table, the waiters brought their respective steaks. Cordy had too much on her mind and ate very slowly, basically not tasting anything at all.That was when she saw John pick up her plate, swapping his with hers. Surprised, Cordy stared blankly at the steak which had been cut into tiny slices.John was actually surprised he would do that for her—he never took the initiative with anyone else.And yet, he couldn’t help it when Cordy was involved."Don't get any funny ideas," he said, though it was clear he was eager to please.Cordy couldn’t help smiling as she watched his terrible acting.John naturally noticed, and gave up on pretenses. "Fine, I just want to be nice to you and couldn't help it, because you’ve bewitched me. Is that good enough?"Cordy's smile broadened.For some reason, sh
John then began to recount how he started dating Nana. "I happened to run into Nana at the time. She was just about to get a heart transplant surgery with not much chance of success, around sixty to seventy."Cordy's fingers clenched on her wine glass—she hated it, but she also wanted to know his past."One of the care workers had wheeled me out on a stroll in the garden of the hospital. I looked like a mummy, with my whole face bandaged. She must’ve found my appearance amusing, so she approached me and asked what condition I had.""She spoke in Zidonian, and it gave me a sense of familiarity in contrast to my parents. Moreover, it's been a while since I just woke up from the accident. I basically never spoke to anyone… And yet, I talked to her a lot that day, and we learned about our respective situations.""That was when she said she’d date me if she survived the surgery. I said yes."John glanced at Cordy as he said that, and saw her calmly sipping her red wine, looking almost
Even if Cordy did her best to hide her smile, John could tell immediately. "Did you fall for me early on, but was afraid to confront those feelings because I was being hostile?""I'm not that childish.""Then, are you rejecting me?" John asked, feeling a little uneasy.Instead of answering, Cordy asked, "How are you going to handle your engagement with Nana?""I'll make it clear to her. Don't worry." John was determined. Now, he knew very well that the feelings he had for Nana was based on sympathy; there was zero attraction whatsoever.Why else was he not eager to get it on with Nana? Was that really because he was careful with her?No. In reality, he felt zero impulse for that at all.As for Cordy… He would have her, right here and now!Whoops, his thoughts strayed a little there.However, his expression had clearly changed; Cordy frowned at that strange look on his face.Nonetheless, he composed himself and asked solemnly, "Well, I've told you everything about me. Shou
Cordy laughed dryly—John’s brazen attitude never did change. "Why are you laughing?" John frowned, her laughter upsetting him somewhat."Because you're younger.""You must be overjoyed." John grinned smugly.Cordy smiled, but said nothing."And don't change the subject," John said sternly. "Don't meet Patrick Stuart ever again from now on. It upsets me.""We have a business partnership," she replied.She always kept business and personal affairs separate, and Patrick always had been a gentleman."If we ever were going to be together, we already would have. We certainly wouldn't wait until now," Cordy added bluntly. "Fine, then how about this?" John said, as if suddenly coming to a realization. "Call me whenever you're meeting him, even if it's for business. I'll sit in."Cordy stared at him incredulously. How could he get so petty?"Trade secrets are involved. Having a third party would be inconvenient.""Then I can wait outside while you have your discussion.""Could yo
John went to kiss Cordy right then, but she turned away just as their lips touched.He felt as if something clawed through his heart, but she reminded him, "You're not single yet."John closed his eyes, restraining himself as much as he could.She really knew how to turn him away. With a retort like that, even if he wanted to flip out, there was no way he could do anything out of line towards her.Damn it! She had a leash over him, asserting full control even before they started dating. Nonetheless, he released her.The instant he did, his lips inadvertently brushed against her ear.It was a slight touch, but a jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through his body, and he felt himself turning into jelly…John swallowed, his Adam's apple rolling repeatedly.So this was hell.As he moved a few steps away from Cordy, he saw that her face was red, as if it was bleeding.Even so, he restrained himself and said, "I'll talk to Nana tomorrow and clear up everything.""Yeah.""
Beside Zoe, Candice said, "Looks the same to me." "No way," Zoe said as she checked the script again. "This one is so crude!""Well, how complex did you want it?" Candice laughed. "They gave you a minor role before, and it's paragraphs for you now. What more do you want?"It was just banter—she meant no harm despite the irony in her words.On the other hand, Zoe was frowning as she came to a realization.Could it be…?!She couldn’t help asking, "Could you show me your last script?""Hold on, I think I kept it in my bag…" Candice quickly took it out and showed it to Zoe, while unable to hold back a huge sigh. "See? I had at least two pages' worth of lines last time, but it's been halved! I'm sure I won't even have this much in the next round."Zoe read Candice's script for the last round twice, and finally confirmed her earlier suspicions. Even her script for the last round was different from the rest of the cast; her heart skipped a beat, while she felt a flutter over her ch