“Ha ha~” Jane laughed and replied, “I just peeled an apple, I’m fine.”
“Why did you scream then? You made me worry for nothing,” he said as he dropped Jane’s hand and went back to work.
It was obvious that he was angry. He had been worried about her and yet she was laughing about it! Anyone in his position would have been upset.
“Patrick?”
“Patrick? Why aren’t you talking to me? Are you mad?”
Jane called out to him but Patrick ignored her. Of course he was angry. She had joked about something that mattered so much to him.
Jane looked at him and laughed again. “Why do you seem like a little kid throwing a tantrum right now?”
“I don’t want to play with you anymore. I just remembered something I need to do at the office, so come with me,” she said.
“Why aren’t you talking to me, Patrick? If you’re not coming with me then I’ll go alone.”
Jane walked towards the door and changed into her shoes. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me, Patrick?”
But still, Patrick didn’t say anything as he continued staring at his computer screen.
“I’m really leaving now,” Jane pretended as she turned around towards the door. But even then, there was no response from Patrick.
“Patrick, I’m really leaving!”
This time Jane opened the door for real and left without looking back.
But soon enough, Patrick couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up immediately after she left and chased after her outside. As soon as he opened the door though, it became clear that Jane had tricked him because of the unique fragrance on her body that only belonged to her.
And before long a pair of delicate hands wrapped themselves around him from behind.
“I knew it. There’s no way that’d let me go out alone this late at night,” Jane whispered softly into his ear.
“Ahh! What are you doing?! That hurts!”
Patrick grabbed onto one of Jane’s arms tightly while pulling her closer into his embrace before kissing those red lips passionately.
“Wu wu wu… stop it… please…” thought Jane regretfully; if only she hadn’t provoked him earlier on…
On their way over towards company headquarters later on:
“This weekend we should visit my old family home together so we can discuss our engagement plans together with grandpa,” suggested by Patrick.
Jane rejected without hesitation, “No.”
Patrick turned his head, giving Jane a cold look. “Are you rejecting me?” he asked.
“Yeah, can’t I?” Jane replied playfully.
She noticed Patrick’s expression darkening visibly, and quickly added, “Okay, okay, just kidding.”
“I’m going to Paris to participate in a fashion design competition. Even if everything goes quickly, it will take at least a week for me to come back. So, we’ll have to postpone the engagement for a bit.”
Patrick slammed on the brakes, causing Jane to lurch forward before he pulled her back with a strong grip.
“Mmmph!” Jane protested as Patrick kissed her forcefully.
“What was that for, Patrick?!” she exclaimed.
“We need to focus on our engagement,” Patrick replied cheerfully, pinching her cheeks. “It’s a top priority.”
“Fine…” Jane sighed in exasperation. “After I come back from Paris.”
…
At the hospital:
“I know my body better than anyone else,” Osborn said firmly to his assistant as they stood by the window of his hospital room, where paparazzi were still camped out below.
“But if Jane finds out…” The assistant trailed off uncertainly, unsure whether to intervene or not.
Osborn’s eyes flashed at the mention of Jane’s name. “Just do your job,” he warned sharply, reminding his assistant who was really in charge here.
With a mask and sunglasses covering most of his face and an escort waiting downstairs in the parking lot, Osborn made it past the reporters without incident and headed straight for set.
His assistant fretted beside him all along the way, “I know I can’t stop you from doing what you want… but you just got released from this very same hospital because your injury flared up again! You need to be careful when filming!”
Osborn didn’t remove his shades but gave a small nod before falling silent for good.
The crew members were surprised but relieved when they saw Osborn arrive so soon after being discharged.
The director and producer both rushed over to check on him, “Oh my goodness! Mr. Maltz! You only just left us for a few days. There’s no way your injury has fully healed yet! What if something happens again?”
The director was already anxious about how fans would react if anything went wrong with their star actor; another setback could mean disaster for their project altogether.
“Yeah!” chimed in one of the producers nervously. “We’ll rewrite some scenes so that we can shoot around you until you’re feeling 100%.”
Osborn listened calmly as they spoke but inside he felt like chaos reigned within him; too much had happened lately and he needed work now more than ever just so he could forget everything else temporarily.
“Don’t worry about me,” Osborn finally said coolly once everyone had finished talking at once. “If I’m here then it means everything is fine.”
Upon hearing Osborn’s words, the director and producer looked at each other in confusion before reluctantly agreeing to his demands. They knew better than to argue with him. Instead, they focused on making sure he was comfortable.
“I’ll have someone come do your makeup,” the director called out to a production assistant who quickly led Osborn away.
Maria was also in the makeup room getting ready for her scene. She had been reading over her script when she heard someone enter. Looking up, she saw Osborn and couldn’t help but feel excited.
“Mr. Maltz, you’re back!” she exclaimed.
Osborn took off his sunglasses and sat down, nodding slightly at Maria.
Despite his aloofness towards her as usual, Maria couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he didn’t seem more interested in talking to her. She turned back to the mirror and continued getting ready while a production assistant brought over a makeup artist for Osborn.
As they worked on him, another production assistant came in with news about their next scene, “We’re going to be filming scene 346 next. Don’t forget to review your scripts.”
Maria quickly flipped through hers trying to remember what it entailed… until her makeup artist reminded her, “Oh! It’s a kissing scene! Looks like we’ll get a chance to see both of your acting skills put into play.”
The artist laughed flirtatiously at Maria who blushed deeply before pretending like she was still studying the script intently.
She felt nervous about having such an intimate moment with Osborn but also secretly hoped that he would react positively once he heard what they were filming next…
Unfortunately for Maria though, even after their makeovers were complete and they began rehearsing for their romantic night-time outdoor shoot (complete with fireflies), Osborn remained distant throughout it all, leaving Maria feeling more dejected than ever before.