Upon hearing these words, Maria was momentarily stunned, and a bitter smile unconsciously appeared on her lips. She did want to fall in love, but the person she loved didn’t love her back.
“How could I possibly date? I need to hurry back to the office. We’ll talk about yesterday’s matter when we meet again,” Maria said before hanging up the phone. She breathed a sigh of relief and unplugged her fully charged phone.
“Thank you so much, Kim,” Maria said gratefully as she looked at Kim in front of her.
“You’ve thanked me several times already,” Kim replied with a hint of helplessness in his voice. “The fever has gone down; make sure you watch your diet and get plenty of rest for the next three days.”
Maria joked, “You really are a doctor; your tone is so annoying.”
Kim chuckled at this remark. “It’s just professional habit.”
“Anyway, thank you again.” As Maria stood up from her seat, she bowed deeply towards Kim.
Kim’s gaze fell upon Maria as he felt somewhat dazed. It was by chance that he became one of Maria’s fans but what surprised him was that there was a significant difference between the on-screen version of Maria and the one standing before him now.
“Do you have paper and pen?” asked Maria as she looked up at Kim with two small dimples appearing on either side of her cheeks when she smiled.
Although confused by this request, Kim still pulled out a notebook from his bookshelf and handed it over to Maria who wrote something down before unfolding it and passing it back to him.
Kim took a glance and was surprised to see his own doodle. Below it was Maria’s signature, accompanied by the words “Lifesaver.”
This unexpected discovery made Kim look at Maria with a hint of surprise.
Maria stuck out her tongue playfully and tilted her head to the side.
“This is fan service! Not only do you get my autograph but also my personally drawn portrait just for you! How does that sound? You’re definitely special!”
“I’ll treasure this always.” Kim closed his notebook, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“Well then, I’ll be leaving, and…” Maria hesitated, “Regarding yesterday and today, I hope you can keep it confidential.”
Kim nodded. “I’ll take you back. It’s not easy to find a taxi around here, and it wouldn’t be good if the paparazzi caught you.”
Hearing Kim’s words, Maria considered it and realized he had a point. She didn’t refuse Kim’s offer and followed him to the garage.
On the way back to Star Entertainment company, the two of them didn’t say much. Maria gazed at the passing scenery outside the car window, feeling an indescribable surge of emotions.
Her fingers slid over her phone case and eventually removed it.
This phone case was bought because of Osborn, as it looked like a couple’s design.
Now, thinking back, she found her past fantasies quite laughable.
When she was lost in thought, the car came to a gentle stop. Maria snapped out of it and smiled at Kim beside her. “Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”
Kim remained silent and simply shook his head, opening the car door for Maria.
After exchanging a few casual words, Kim drove away. Just as Maria took a deep breath, preparing to enter the company, she noticed Jane standing in front of her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
“Jane.” Maria blinked, surprised.
“Who was that person who just dropped you off? And I heard from your agent that you didn’t go home last night?” Jane glanced in the direction Kim had left.
Upon hearing these words, Maria recalled what had happened yesterday, and her expression darkened. She recounted everything that had transpired at the bar to Jane.
“Waylen? The wealthy heir who has been bothering you?” Jane’s brow furrowed in disbelief. She hadn’t expected such a thing to happen.
“Yes,” Maria nodded, feeling a lingering fear at the memory of last night.
Jane patted Maria’s shoulder, contemplating the situation. “Maria, you need to report this to the police immediately. I’ll check the surveillance footage. We can’t let Waylen get away with this.”
“Report it…” Maria hesitated. After all, she was a public figure, and Waylen had some connections. If things escalated, it could have a negative impact.
Jane sensed Maria’s hesitation and spoke sternly, “Maria, if we don’t teach this person a lesson, he will only continue to take advantage of the situation. Don’t worry, I’ll handle this matter.”
As she spoke, a cold glint flickered in Jane’s eyes. No one dared to harm someone under her watch!
She was determined to give Waylen a severe lesson.
After discussing with Maria’s agent, Jane immediately contacted the bar and parking lot to obtain the surveillance footage from that day, clearly capturing Waylen’s actions.
Meanwhile, Maria followed Jane’s advice and went directly to the police station to file a report. With Jane exerting subtle pressure behind the scenes, Waylen was taken into custody for questioning.
“I had nothing to do with that. I simply saw her drunk and kindly offered to take her home.”
Waylen spoke calmly, but there was a hint of resentment in his heart.
He never expected Maria to turn the tables on him. Not only did he fail to win her over, but he also got beaten up by some unknown person.
“And what about that witness you brought? He beat me up pretty badly. My lip is still swollen from it. Who knows if you guys teamed up to extort money from me,” Waylen pointed at his injured lip and looked proud. “See this? I need a medical report for this injury and I’m going to sue that guy for intentional harm.”
Jane, who was listening behind the glass window, sneered at Waylen’s words. This guy really had no shame.
Maria stood beside Jane, looking worriedly at her friend. But when she caught Jane’s eye and received a reassuring look from her, Maria felt relieved.
Then Jane handed over the surveillance footage she had retrieved earlier to the police as evidence against Waylen. Seeing this solid proof against him made Waylen finally panic and threaten to hire a lawyer.
“This is slander! I’ll get my own attorney or maybe you can contact my dad! Do you even know who my dad is?” Waylen’s expression became more sinister as he realized he was being cornered.
But Maria wouldn’t let him get away with it so easily. She vowed silently that she would make him pay for what he did today.
“Officer, we have all the evidence we need now, witnesses and physical proof,” said Maria’s agent in a deep voice. “You could also investigate yesterday’s bartender; I believe they could provide valuable information.”
As they turned their attention back towards an angry and shouting Waylen, Maria’s agent couldn’t help feeling disgusted with how low some people would stoop just for their own selfish desires, like trying to hurt someone else just because they couldn’t have them themselves.
If things had gone differently today… the consequences didn’t bear thinking about.