Chapter 28
Clarissa heaved a sigh of relief when she noticed Ellie was so engrossed in her thoughts that she totally did not pay attention to the awkward look on her face.
"Hey, do you know who did Uncle Matt visit? Which floor is his friend staying in? Is his friend young? I have a hunch that the young girl whom he was with earlier lives here." Ellie's persistence almost freaked Clarissa out.
"I have no idea. He was already inside the elevator when I saw him. Excuse me for a moment. I need to use the washroom."
She escaped to the washroom and tried to calm herself down.
It took her some time to regain her composure, and she was finally able to greet Ellie with a natural smile.
"So, what brought you here?"
Ellie helped herself with a canned drink from the refrigerator and sat casually on the couch.
"You tell me! Why did you run away, though? Do you really dislike Damon, or are you mad at Mr. Yarick? Mr. Yarick tends to speak his mind to people with whom he's close to. Please don't be mad at him, okay?"
"I'm not mad. I just felt a little uneasy."
Clarissa told Ellie frankly, "Damon is a nice man, but I don't think he's the one for me."
"Understood."
Ellie grinned. "Well, if that's the case, you can still be friends with him, right? But you better tell him what you think of him.”
"I will."
Just when Clarissa thought the conversation they had earlier ended, Ellie suddenly said, "I have a task for you. If you notice any suspicious women around here or bump into my uncle again, you have to call me! I want to catch him red-handed!"
Clarissa's mouth twitched uncontrollably upon hearing that.
During The World's first press conference, Clarissa could hardly stay focused.
She was down with the flu. It was probably because of the cold air she was exposed to in an air-conditioned room during the hot summer season.
She sat in the crowd and forced herself to stay till the end.
She finally got to meet Ryler, whom she had not met for quite some time. During the press conference, Ryler dressed like a prince, as that was the character he played in the historical drama series. He looked exactly like how she had envisioned for the story.
When she developed the character, she actually had Ryler in her mind. It was a coincidence that he managed to get the role.
The press conference had ended, but the director still kept mum about the female lead.
While all the audience members had left, Clarissa remained seated. Someone came and sat beside her.
Clarissa responded with a grin. She knew who the person was without the need to look at him.
Ryler, too, responded with a smile. "Remember what I told you? One day, I'll play Duncan Cielo, and I did it."
Clarissa looked up and gazed into his eyes. "I haven't seen you for a long time, Ry."
"Me too, Clare."
Ryler looked at her pinkish cheeks and gently rubbed the back of her head.
Clarissa tapped his arm and gently shoved it away. "Come on, Ry. Don't do this to me. I'm an adult now. Shouldn't you be heading to the film studio now?"
"I'll leave in the evening. I've cleared my schedule so that I could spend the entire afternoon with you."
"Wow, what a pleasant surprise! An A-list celebrity is willing to make time for me? I must make the most out of the time we have."
She tried to remain cheerful, even though she was under the weather.
"Come, let's go. You can eat all you want!"
Clarissa stood up, but all of a sudden, she felt dizzy and collapsed on the chair.
Ryler was taken aback. He immediately carried her in his arms and ran out of the hall.
Upon noticing this scene, his manager ran after them as well.
Outside the elevator, Ryler's manager, Colin, said, "You better put her down right now. We don't need people to see this. Look, Ms. Quigley is still awake." Ryler gave Colin a disdainful look. Clarissa understood Colin's concern, and she turned to Ryler and said, "Put me down, please. I'm not that weak."
"No."
"You don't want me to be mad at you, do you?"
Ryler had no choice but to put her down. Clarissa tried to stand on her own but failed and fell into Ryler's arms.
Ryler was alert enough to grab hold of her.
The elevator's door opened. Matthew, who coincidentally was insider the elevator, saw the two of them in each other's embrace.