Heartstrings on Fire

Chapter 65
Agnes was clueless about what “good friends” meant.
Jared said, “Agnes, if your actions today were out of jealousy, I’d be stoked, but this can’t happen again. If you have doubts, you
should come straight to me, not risk sneaking around taking pictures. That’s utterly foolish. You have to consider not only
yourself but also me I don’t fancy being labeled a widower in my youth.”
Agnes:”
Jared added. Today was purely a coincidence; I bumped into Mamie on my business trip in New York; we were just hanging out,
having a meal. Did I clear that up for you?”
Agnes responded, “But you got me thrown into the police station over a picture.” The thought of this left Agnes feeling queasy, it
was her first visit to such a place
Jared replied sternly. “I had you end up at the police station to make you remember today’s lesson. It’s not about a picture, but
your reckless disregard for your own life”
Hearing Jared say this, Agnes felt slightly better, but she was still unsure if what he said was the truth.
Seeing Agnes wavering a bit, Jared said, “I’ve explained my situation; now let’s talk about you.”
“What about me?”
“When did you become a paparazzi, sneakily taking pictures of celebrities‘ private lives?”
Agnes said, “I’m just an intern; they assigned me to the entertainment news.”
Agnes lied, not wanting Jared to know about her car accident. Two grand was nothing to Jared, but she didn’t want him butting
in.
Jared didn’t question it: “If you want to intern, I could hook you up with a better newspaper or TV station.
“No need, I want to do this on my own.”
Jared didn’t say anything else, he kept quiet for a while and said, “Let’s go home.”

Agnes said, “I need to swing by the newspaper office; I have an important class tomorrow morning: I’m going to go.”
With that, Agnes left.
Jared stood there, stone–faced.
Agnes did head to the newspaper office, waiting until Siam came to work.
#
Seeing Agnes, Siam started to scold her: “What’s with young people these days, biting off more than you can chew, recklessly
taking risks? You’re not cut out to be a reporter, you should be Spiderman. Agnes, let me tell you, the newspaper doesn’t have
money to pay for your insurance. If you get injured like this again, we won’t take responsibility.”
Siam was livid, while Agnes looked completely lost.
Seeing Agnes’s expression, Siam got even angrier: “Agnes, are you even listening to me?”
Agnes mumbled, “I thought you’d scold me for the newspaper getting complaints, for not finishing my assignment, for getting the
newspaper blacklisted from the World Internatinal Hotel, I... didn’t think you were actually scolding me because you were worried
about me.”
Hearing this, Siam was on the verge of exploding. “Do you really think I would care about those things more than your life?
Agnes, you really haven’t learned your lesson.”
Feeling a lump in her throat, Agnes realized Ben hadn’t blamed her, and Slam was just worried about her safety. Agnes knew
that the newspaper had suffered a great loss, even after receiving a lawyer’s letter.
With her head down, Agnes said, “Siam, I was wrong.”
Seeing Agnes admit her mistake sincerely, Siam’s tone softened. “Be careful next time. You can go now.”
Agnes didn’t leave right away, hesitating. “Siam, I have a request. Can I get an advance on my salary for the next six months?”
“Agnes, you just made a huge mistake, and you have the nerve to ask for a salary?”
“Siam, please, I need it urgently. I’ll work for free for the next year!

For some reason, Agnes felt the atmosphere in the newspaper office was good, which had changed her previous views on
paparazzi. That’s why she got up the courage to make such “unreasonable demands“.
Siam glared at Agnes for a while and finally softened. “How much do you need?”