"Yeah," Neil murmured, the smile disappearing from his face for the slightest second and returning. His tone was wistful as he added, "No one would have thought the almighty Alexander Donovan and Vanessa Alonso’s only surviving son, who is supposed to be the sole heir from both sides of his family, lived in a shabby countryside orphanage for 4 of the most important years of his life, would they?"
"That’s exactly my point," Jodi’s words ca out in low murmurs. She flipped her hair sideways. "And that brings back to what I wanted to tell you earlier. Just need you to promise you won’t tell Mr Donovan, deal?"
"Deal. Spit it out," Neil confird.
"Here does nothing. I used to think Mr Donovan forced Ava into the marriage with him, up until three days ago, that is."
"What?" Neil’s brows hiked in surprise. He cast a glance sideways at Jodi’s face, one quick enough for him to determine if she was being serious, before returning his gaze to the road in front of him. "Why would you think that?"
Jodi sat up instantly, like she had been waiting for the question all these while.
"Like I said," she began, "Do not tattletale to Mr Donovan. I only thought that was the case because... there are so many reasons. I know it’s none of my business, but when I t you and Mr Donovan two years ago, he was already married for a year. I never saw his wife or heard anyone ntion her. Not only that, all six of us—Donald, Ian, Orion, Archie, Neil— have gone on several vacations together countless tis in the past year and half, and not once has his wife visited or called. What am I saying? That is so far fetched. Everyone knows Mr Donovan never calls or pick anyone’s call. You handle his phone and his personal calls, don’t you?"
Neil gave a slight nod in affirmation.
"See? How could I believe a man like that was married? Anyway, I forgot about that suspicious period when Ava arrived and I saw how much her personality complints Mr Donovan’s personality. I believed instantly that they have been married for those three years as claid, until I discovered Ava doesn’t seem to know much about Mr Donovan. Not even that she’s the only one allowed to call him Archie. She also seems not to know much about the free days where you will be forgiven by him no matter the wrongs we did.."
How right you are. Neil cleared his throat, biting back the words that sat on his lips. "And now you’ve realized you are wrong?"
"Yeah. First sign was when he ca ho three days ago earlier than normal. I’m guessing it’s because Ava is back now. Also, few minutes ago, you were sure Mr Donovan would abandon the eting as long as Ava’s there, that’s because you know how much he loves her."
"And that’s what you didn’t want to tell Arch?" Neil asked incredulously.
Jodi rolled her eyes.
"What were you expecting? That I’ll let you go and tell him I used to suspect he forced Ava into a marriage with him and doesn’t really love her?"
Neil’s brows rose in total perplexity but he didn’t react or bothered himself with answering the question. He changed the topic.
"How is your recent project going? I saw the promotional posts that was posted on the official page. The intimate scene I helped you practice the other day would be simulated, right?"
Jodi shrugged. "Depends on how I feel on the day of the shoot and how the extra hired to play the role of a gigolo looks. If he’s handso and I’m in the mood, there’s no reason why I won’t give it a try."
"And what if I don’t want you to?"
She shrugged again, sliding her gaze up to et his eyes and averting it imdiately, "I see no reason why you wouldn’t want to. It’s not like we are actually dating. In fact, I think we need to re-discuss our relationship stat—"
"Shelf that discussion for later," Neil cut her off, his voice harsh and demanding. "We are on a date right now. And whether you think we are pretending or not, this still has to be perfect."
Jodi was a bit taken aback but quickly regained her composure.
"Well, I can do that if that’s what you want. But we still have to talk about it later at—"
He cut her off through gritted teeth, "Jodi."
"Sorry," she breathed. "Tell about you. How was the vacation?"
"It wasn’t a vacation. At least not for . And for Arch, you know what ti of the year it is right now. He would go on anything but a vacation at this ti."
Jodi nodded, her eyes conveying her understand. "Oh... You didn’t have much free ti to yourself? It’s pitiful that you didn’t get the chance to snag a chick or two—"
Neil cut her off, "Stop it, Jo. I wouldn’t cheat on you even if I had all the ti in the world to do that."
"It’s not cheating per say. We aren’t in a real relationship, after all." Jodi’s eyes slinked sideways to examine his face when she ntioned that sentence again, the displeasure that flickered across his face causing a smile to form on hers.
Oblivious to what was going on beside him, Neil’s jaw ticked in annoyance as he drove the car into the nearest driveway without checking what kind of organization owned the building. Within seconds, the engine had stopped running and he turned completely to Jodi, whose face was now shock stricken.
"What’s going on? Are we being followed? Are we in danger?" she questioned, the words flying off her mouth in quick succession.
Neil pretended not to hear her questions.
"Repeat what you said earlier," he demanded.
"Uh? What did I say earlier?" Jodi’s eyes wavered in confusion.
"When I said there’s no way I would cheat on you even if I had all the spare ti in the world."
She flashed a small smile. "Oh, that? I said it can’t be considered cheating on since we aren’t in a real relationship."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
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