Swallow City Airport.
Mary Scott and David Locke landed at half past eleven at night. The driver had been waiting at the airport for a while. When he saw the two walking over, he quickly stepped forward to take their luggage.
Once they were in the car, the driver noticed sothing was off. He glanced at the two in the back, "Director Locke, are we heading straight to Rose Valley?"
David Locke turned to look at Mary Scott.
Mary Scott had initially only felt a twinge of jealousy, but from the mont they boarded the plane to the ti they landed, this man hadn’t said a single word. Now the driver was asking questions, and he still remained silent, which made her genuinely frustrated. She turned her head away resolutely.
David Locke was annoyed that this woman viewed him as so scumbag, but he was even angrier about her affair back then. Yet, to this day, she hadn’t given him any explanation. His cold attitude was ant to make Mary realize she was wrong, hoping she’d take the initiative to console him and clarify the past.
Unexpectedly... Ha! Her temper was even worse than his!
David’s mood instantly darkened. He looked up and said to the driver, "Ask her if she’s hungry."
The driver was speechless: "..."
What’s going on here? They’re really arguing, but why drag into it?
Reluctantly, and under the pressure of his employer, the driver bit the bullet, "Ma’am, Director Locke wants to know if you’re hungry."
"Tell him I’m not hungry," Mary replied in kind, copying his passive behavior.
The driver replied miserably, "Director Locke, Ma’am says she’s not hungry."
"Head to the Imperial Cuisine Pavilion." David took a deep breath, barely restraining himself from pulling her over by force.
But Mary was dissatisfied. She whipped her head around to glare at him. "I’ve already said I’m not hungry!"
"I am." From Switzerland to Earlbind, and then from Earlbind to Swallow City, he had been traveling for over twenty hours and had only managed to eat two unappealing airline als during the journey.
Mary froze, recalling how picky he was about food and how he barely ate on the plane. Over the past few days, he’d been working nonstop, even more exhausted than she was. A pang of sympathy rose in her heart. But then, rembering that she was still angry with him, she awkwardly murmured, "If you’re hungry, then go eat. I’m not stopping you. Why be so fierce about it?"
The last part was muttered, with a hint of coquettishness.
This was her way of yielding.
David gave her a surprised glance. He could still vividly recall how spoiled and stubborn she had been when she was younger, rarely admitting her mistakes. Even when apologizing, she’d often lose her temper halfway through. Yet here she was, softening her tone and asking him why he was being fierce? His heart lted in an instant as he softly explained, "I wasn’t being fierce."
Seeing David accept her little olive branch, Mary felt much better, biting her lip in a small, pleased smile. She continued to quietly mumble, "So loud and you still say you weren’t being fierce? You never used to talk to like this."
Back in the day, whenever her mood was even slightly off, he’d always try to cheer her up.
David was montarily stunned before realizing she was referring to their teenage years. Back then, he had treated her like a precious gem, willing to give her his entire heart without hesitation. How could he have ever been harsh with her? But now?
Thinking about what had happened that year, David gave a bitter smile. "You know that was in the past, right?"
Mary stiffened, understanding the implication in his tone. A faint sting spread in her chest. She turned her head away, staying silent. Yes, that was all in the past.
The two of them now were no longer the teenagers they once were, and the heart he had once offered her fully and tenderly had long been shattered by her own hands. Even though they were back together, there was no going back to how things had once been. He would never spoil her the way he did before.
And if the day ca when he discovered her family background, would he look at her with the sa disgust and disdain as everyone else? Thinking back to those days when she was pinned to a pillar of sha, Mary’s heart grew heavier and heavier.
She was truly terrified of him finding out who her father was.
To be able to sit quietly beside him now, even having him as hers, felt like a divine blessing. How could she dare ask for more?
Mary adjusted her mindset, the girlish pout on her face fading, replaced by the quiet composure she had cultivated over the years through life’s trials.
David sensed the shift in Mary’s mood and felt a pang of regret for being impulsive earlier. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize. Instead, he decided to order so of her favorite dishes when they got to the Imperial Cuisine Pavilion.
The car fell silent again, but this ti it was not the tender, exploratory stalemate of earlier. Instead, it was the restrained silence of two adults trying to exercise politeness.
The driver was feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere.
Thankfully, the car soon arrived at the Imperial Cuisine Pavilion. David had made prior reservations, so once they entered, the two were escorted to a private room.
However, with her mind weighed down by her own thoughts, Mary picked at her food absentmindedly. David, watching her in this state, also lost his appetite. After forcing himself to finish, he was about to leave when his phone suddenly rang.
David glanced at the caller ID, surprised that his assistant, Martin, was calling him this late. Despite the odd timing, he still answered, "What’s wrong?"
"Director Locke, may I ask where you are right now?" Martin’s voice was anxious.
David frowned and gave him the location of the Imperial Cuisine Pavilion.
"You and Mrs. Locke should leave through the back door. I’ve received information that reporters know your whereabouts. They may swarm you any minute now," Martin said urgently.
David’s face darkened. "What exactly happened?"
"It’s just that..." Martin started but then abruptly stopped. "Director Locke, perhaps you should just avoid the reporters first."
But David Locke was not soone to act without knowing the full story. In a firm, commanding tone, he demanded, "Speak."
Martin hesitated briefly before taking a deep breath and, in a resigned tone, said, "You’d better see for yourself."
With that, he hung up the call.
David’s frown deepened. Knowing Martin’s usual deanor, he wouldn’t react this way unless the situation was genuinely humiliating.
And as far as David could tell, the only person capable of humiliating him this way was the woman sitting beside him. Glancing instinctively at Mary, who had distanced herself as soon as he answered the phone, his heart sank. Could her family scandal have leaked?
No, if it were about Mary’s family background, Martin wouldn’t react like this. David’s brows furrowed further as he opened the trending topics on social dia. To his shock, the top spot featured Mary Scott’s na prominently.
His heart skipped a beat. Even when they were rumored to be divorcing or when Mary was accused of being hospitalized for a miscarriage, she hadn’t topped the trends. After all, her popularity was only so-so, and as a director—not an actor—his news wasn’t usually headline-worthy. The only ti they had grabbed big attention was when their marriage was first announced. But now, how had Mary climbed to the top of the trending list?
A foreboding sense of dread grew stronger. David glanced again at Mary, who had also just picked up her phone. And when she returned her gaze to him, her expression already shifting, his worst fears were confird. She knew.
David’s chest tightened as he forced himself to remain calm, silently praying that this was all just a misunderstanding. Hesitantly, he clicked on the trending video.
But as the video played, the sight of Mary’s figure entering Simon Baker’s room ca into view. David instantly recognized that it wasn’t a stand-in. It was undeniably Mary Scott herself.
The video was cleverly edited to highlight key monts. They showed Mary knocking on Simon’s door, then entering, and one hour later leaving with a flushed face.
The person who shot the footage had clearly been ticulous, capturing clear shots of Mary’s face as well as the hallway clock to verify the tiline. Everything was ticulously docunted.
What could a married actress be doing in a director’s hotel room at such an hour? Discussing a night-vision script? But they were filming a reality show!
David had been in the entertainnt industry long enough to know about the sordid dealings behind the scenes, including actors and actresses throwing themselves at directors. He could understand it all. But why?
Why did Mary have to do this!
Wave after wave of disappointnt surged through David, consuming him like a beast, snuffing out any rational thought. His mind repeated a single, deafening thought: She betrayed you again!
She betrayed you again!
After six years, she was once again humiliating him in the exact sa way!
All the emotions he’d bottled up over the years erupted at once. David’s reddened eyes locked onto Mary with fury.
Mary saw his reaction and instantly realized that he’d found out. She rushed forward to explain, "David, listen to . It’s not what it looks like..."
Bang!
She was just about to approach David when, out of nowhere, he swung his arm with such force that she couldn’t resist. She fell to the ground, disheveled and in pain.
Clutching herself, Mary frowned in agony, but her determination wouldn’t let her back down. They were finally getting better; how could she let him misunderstand? She half-crawled her way over to David, pleading, "Dobbin Locke, listen to !"
"Listen to you about what? Moll Scott, you really are scum who can’t change your ways!" David kicked her away in a single motion before storming out. He felt like he was going to lose it if they stayed together any longer—like he might strangle her with his own hands!
All her attempts to convince him she was a virgin, her every act to win him back, it had all been a ploy to manipulate him. Before, he had truly believed that everything was just a misunderstanding. But now...
The torrent of negative emotions engulfing David was unbearable. It was driving him completely insane!
Mary remained on the floor, stunned and bewildered. What did he just say?
The pain that coursed through her body caused her to tremble uncontrollably, but she knew that if she didn’t stop him and explain everything, they would truly be finished. Forcing herself up, she chased after him, but by the ti she made it outside, there was no longer any trace of him.
Standing in the freezing winter wind, Mary’s entire body shook as despair seeped into her heart. She muttered softly, "He doesn’t believe . He doesn’t believe . How could he not believe ? How could he..."
But then she thought, why would he believe her?
She had been the one to leave him first. She had been the one to let go of their love. She had been the one to make him lose trust in her. So, how could she bla anyone but herself?
The pain was suffocating. After despair ca another wave of defiance. He could’ve listened to her; she could’ve explained everything, could’ve cleared her na...
All kinds of emotions tortured Mary one after another. She stood in the cold, shaking even harder. Suddenly, a voice from behind shouted, "There she is!"
In an instant, a group of reporters sward toward her, their aggressive approach nearly knocking over her already swaying figure.
Mary stared blankly at the journalists in front of her, trying to push through the crowd to continue searching for David. But how could the paparazzi, who had gone to great lengths to find her, let her off the hook? Caras snapped incessantly around her, their flashes piercing her vision and making her eyes water involuntarily. As she raised her hand to push them away, the journalists grew more relentless.
"Miss Scott, is the news about you and Director Baker true?"
"David Locke is so remarkable, yet you cheated. Was it for personal gain, or do you have other secrets?"
"When you cheated, Miss Scott, did you ever think about your marriage? Or are you and Director Locke in an open relationship?"
"Recently there were rumors about Director Locke with other actresses, and now there’s this scandal with you. Are you just retaliating?"
"With a confird cheating scandal, will you and Director Locke divorce?"
"Miss Scott, you’ve been in sex scandals several tis. Have you thought about leaving the entertainnt industry?"
"..."
The reporters’ rapid-fire questions ca at Mary like machine-gun fire. Microphones were practically shoved into her face.
Mary’s scalp went numb from their interrogation. This wasn’t the first ti she’d encountered a scene like this. Two years prior, when Charlotte Leigh frad her just as she was rising to fa, she had experienced sothing similar. But even then, she hadn’t been this disheveled or defeated. Now, her entire mind was blank, focused solely on finding David. Reaching out, she tried to push away the nearest journalist. "Move aside! Move aside..."
But the reporters wouldn’t listen, pushing her back further step by step as their questions grew even more vulgar. One blatantly asked whether she was incapable of going a day without a man, calling her shaless!
Mary felt her blood rush to her head in fury. She forcefully shoved one away and, losing all composure, roared in a low voice, "Get out!"
The reporters finally backed off, startled by her outburst. At that mont, a car screeched to a halt behind them, its headlights illuminating the chaotic scene. Mary squinted against the blinding lights, her heart lifting with a glimr of hope. She recognized the car; it was David’s.
Taking advantage of the reporters’ mont of hesitation, Mary quickly ran toward the car. But when she opened the door, David was nowhere to be seen.
The driver, seeing her standing still, urged her anxiously, "Madam, please get in the car quickly."
Only then did Mary snap back to reality. Seeing the reporters starting to move again, she climbed into the car stiffly. The hope that had briefly surged in her heart was imdiately extinguished as the driver started the engine and sped away from the crowd.
"Where is he?" It took a long while for Mary to summon the strength to ask. Her voice was hoarse and cracked.
The driver hesitated, glancing at her sympathetically. He handed her a bottle of warm water. "Madam, drink so water first."
Mary chanically took the bottle but didn’t open it. Her gaze remained fixed on the driver. "Where is he?"
The driver sighed, unable to et her eyes. "Madam, please don’t make it difficult for ."
With that, Mary understood everything.
He didn’t want to see her.
Without even giving her a chance to explain, he had already sentenced her to death. Just like all the other misunderstandings since their reunion. Every ti, he had jumped to conclusions first, never giving her the opportunity to tell her side of the story. She had thought their recent intimacy marked a change, but now it seed like all wishful thinking on her part.
"Ha..."
Mary laughed bitterly, mocking herself. What made her ever think a broken mirror could be pieced back together? She was just a fool dreaming silly dreams.
Sitting in the plush car with its controlled temperature, Mary couldn’t stop trembling. From the day they reconnected, they had done nothing but struggle against each other, dragging each other through tornt. But she had never felt so utterly hopeless as she did now. For the first ti, she fully grasped the brutal truth she had refused to confront: she and David were truly over.
Yes, they had gotten their marriage certificate. Yes, they had shared the closest of intimacies. But there was no going back. The love they once had—pure and untainted—no longer existed.
She was far too greedy, weaving a fantasy for herself. But dreams, like bubbles, were epheral. One poke, and they burst. It was ti to wake up.
The desperate need to clarify the situation suddenly faded from her mind. If he refused to listen today, would he listen tomorrow? Or the day after? Wouldn’t it just be an endless cycle of pain for both of them?
Instead of exhausting every last shred of feeling they had for one another, wouldn’t it be better to end things here...?
Though reasoning told her this, Mary found it impossible to soothe the ache in her heart.
She was still so reluctant, and it hurt so much. What was she supposed to do?
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