The End Of The Matter
Since the hotel lobby was so crowded, it would be troublesome if Nicholas was recognized.
I pulled him to a quiet corner and said, “Nicholas, can you help me call Shannon and ask her to hurry
back? I can’t return to my room as I didn’t bring my key card.”
Nicholas took off his coat, draped it over my body, and pulled me along toward the direction of the
elevator.
He told me Shannon had already headed back to her room and that we had probably missed out on
each other.
Indeed, when we got to my floor, I saw that the door, which was tightly closed earlier, was now open ajar.
Upon seeing me, Shannon ran toward me. “Where did you go? When I came to look for you just now, I
was scared to death when I saw your belongings but not you.”
Nicholas, who had been standing at one side, chimed in, “Let’s talk later. You’re drenched; hurry and go
take a warm shower first.”
I nodded and headed into the bathroom after grabbing the clothes on the bedside.
When I got out of the bathroom, Nicholas passed me a glass of ginger ale, saying it could prevent one
from getting the flu.
Upon finishing it up, I turned to Nicholas and Shannon who were both looking at me. “About what
happened today… Can you guys not ask anything?”
The two stared at me intently for some time before agreeing at the same time.
And after staying for a while longer, Nicholas left my room.
With his departure, I then told Shannon that I did not want to return to the production set anymore and
asked her to bring back photos going forward for me to draw in the hotel.
The reason was that there was a possibility I would bump into Dominic at the set and I did not want that
to happen.
Shannon agreed to my requests readily. She asked me to get some rest and that she would wake me up
later.
As such, I shut my eyes, snuggled into the blanket, and curled myself up comfortably.
I was indeed tired out since I had woken up early that morning and had put myself through Dominic’s
threat and torment throughout the day.
Soon after shutting my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep and had some good dreams.
That dream began with Dominic and me being intimate, but gradually, there was a growing distance
between us. No matter how hard I called him and chased after him, I did not get his reply, nor was I able
to catch up to him.
But that was not a big deal. What I could not accept was that someone was next to Dominic. It turned out
to be Camille.
Seeing the two appearing so lovey-dovey and even ganging up to criticize me, I instantly jolted awake
from my sleep, soaked in a cold sweat.
I found a stain on my pillow; it was wet to the touch.
Did I cry while I was sleeping?
“You’re awake, Liliana? Let’s go get some food,” Shannon said as she lifted her head to look at me.
I was not hungry, nor had I any appetite for food. All I wanted was some alcohol.
However, Shannon was unwilling to go out with me and attract unwanted attention since I was still
considered an enemy of the public.
At last, she went out alone and bought back some alcohol and food.
That night, I got drunk before I could finish all the drinks. I was so drunk that I had a hard time getting out
of bed the next day.
On the other hand, Shannon was in good condition and left a note saying that she had left for the
production set.
I browsed through Twitter and found that the news of me and Nicholas was still the top trending topic.
One of the other trending topics was again related to Nicholas, albeit it was about his relationship with
Scarlett.
Those were the works of fans who wanted to see the two together. The comments below the articles,
however, were still as unpleasant as ever.
I thought Nicholas and Scarlett were a match made in heaven. I, on the other hand, was more suited to
lead a simple and peaceful life.
Seeing how rapidly things evolved in the entertainment industry, I figured rumors between Nicholas and
me would be drowned by other happenings very soon.
Dominic did not come to look for me since that day, so I enjoyed a few days of peace.
The only not-so-successful thing was that my drafts kept getting returned after submission, with Flash
claiming that they were not up to standards.
I ended up editing my drafts so many times until I became lost as to what I should do. Finally, out of the
blue, my submission was accepted for no apparent reason.
I was so exhausted from the editing that I leaned against the head of the bed and thought to myself that
Dominic probably had something to do with all of this.
As I thought about Dominic, I could not help but be reminded of Camille, too.
Being best friends with her for four years, I was clueless that she was such a two-faced person.
I guessed she was so long used to acting that putting on a facade was by now second nature to her.
Even a clever man like Dominic could easily be cajoled.
After several days, those online rumors finally died down.
Luckily, my parents did not follow entertainment news. Therefore, when I called home, they did not seem
to know about the matter. The exception was Lou, who kept asking me questions.
In any case, I brushed them off casually, telling him to see it with a pinch of salt.
That morning, I had just begun drawing in the hotel when my phone rang.
I answered the call and to my surprise, it was Vicky Lynch, my class representative at university. We had
not been in contact for a very long time.
At first, I thought she wanted to throw me some impactful news. After exchanging a few pleasantries, I
realized she only wanted to ask me to attend a reunion.
It had been five years since we graduated. Our class had never held any gatherings before: this would
be the first time.
Nonetheless, I was slightly reluctant to attend. Back then, Camille was closest to me and I was only
acquaintances with the rest. Since I was not on good terms with Camille anymore, I figured there was no
point in attending the event.
I did not want to reject Vicky upfront since she had specially contacted me about it, so I gave an
ambiguous answer saying that I would attend if I had the time.
After our call ended, I resumed drawing without paying any heed to the class party at all.
During that period, I barely left the hotel and I did not visit the production set. All I did was stay in the
hotel room to work on my drawings.
Perhaps Dominic had been busy entertaining Camille, so the drafts I sent over the last few times were
accepted without fuss.
Nicholas, conversely, still contacted me and had casual chats over WhatsApp from time to time.
On Saturday night, as I was lying on my bed fiddling with my phone, Nicholas texted me again. He asked
if we could have dinner together tomorrow night since he would be free.
I smiled at that message, recalling that I had previously agreed to treat him to a meal.
Since he was free and I had no other plans, it was not a problem for me.
The next morning, my phone rang. It was Vicky calling to remind me to turn up for the reunion that night.
In fact, I had forgotten all about it since I had no intention of attending the event from the start. Besides, I
had agreed to a dinner date with Nicholas so I naturally had a good excuse not to go.
At noon, I headed to the restaurant earlier than the agreed time with Nicholas. I had placed a reservation
for a private room beforehand.
The waiter led me in as I followed behind her. But before we got to the private room, someone called me
from behind.
“Liliana Zanetti? Is that you, Liliana? Oh my gosh, I thought you weren’t coming!”
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