Osborn’s agent saw what was happening and reached out to pull Maria away, but she stood there motionless, staring blankly at her own toes. The flashing lights around her swallowed her completely.
“Maria!” Osborn’s agent pulled on Maria’s arm.
Osborn, who had been blocking the reporters, turned his head and saw the scene. His brow furrowed deeply.
Reluctantly, he reached out and took hold of Maria’s waist before leading her to the car behind him. He knew that this would only worsen the media frenzy surrounding them, but he couldn’t leave Maria alone in their midst.
The car started up immediately and left all of the reporters behind in its wake. Everyone inside breathed a sigh of relief. Osborn turned to look at Maria who sat slumped over with a blank expression on her face.
The news about Kim’s accident had already caused quite a stir online; seeing Maria like this made Osborn feel uneasy. It wasn’t just his imagination; he felt that something was off about how she looked after hearing about Kim’s accident.
Osborn opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately didn’t know what to say so he let out a deep sigh instead. The atmosphere inside the car became heavy as everyone kept their thoughts to themselves.
Maria looked down at her phone screen which was cracked from when she accidentally dropped it while listening to Kim’s last voice message before his accident. She scrolled through their chat history where all of Kim’s messages were still visible including one where he said that he would come pick her up for late-night snacks after finishing work on set that day
“Osborn,” said Maria suddenly while looking outside through the window.
Osborn turned towards her waiting for what she wanted to say next.
Maria fidgeted with hem of dress, “Were you happy during Jane’s engagement party?”
“No wonder they’ve been giving you fewer interviews lately even turning down some reporter requests,” joked Osborn lightly although it only confused Maria more.
Seeing the confusion on Maria’s face, Osborn couldn’t help but feel somewhat amused.
“Since you know what’s on my mind, do you think I’d be happy?” But as Osborn said this, his brow involuntarily furrowed.
If he hadn’t cared so much, maybe that incident wouldn’t have happened.
With a slight lift of his brow, Maria finally understood the meaning behind Osborn’s words. She propped her cheek and said in a muffled voice, “Indeed, my emotional intelligence is not high. I tend to act on impulse, doing whatever comes to mind without considering the consequences.”
“You’re still young, haven’t encountered many things. After a few years in the industry, you won’t be like this anymore,” Osborn spoke gently.
“Is that so…” Maria sniffed, seeming unwilling to continue the topic.
Osborn had a business event, so Maria naturally couldn’t accompany him. He instructed his agent to take Maria back to her own home.
Back at her place, Maria collapsed onto the bed. Looking at the empty room, tears blurred her vision.
In the afternoon, Maria and Osborn once again became a hot topic on social media. The video of reporters swarming them was uploaded, and online discussions reached their peak.
“Maria looks really miserable.”
“Anyone facing such a situation wouldn’t be doing well.”
“But let’s be honest, Osborn protecting her is so heartwarming. Does Osborn like her? Weren’t there photos of them kissing in a bar before?”
“The official statement has debunked it. They were shooting a scene in the bar, not kissing. Please don’t involve Osborn, thank you.”
“I really dislike Maria. Feels like she’s just seeking attention everywhere, so disgusting.”
Online discussions were as intense as ever. However, after a while, a post silently rose to the top.
It was from a small account that only revealed one thing: Maria and Osborn’s visit to the bar that day wasn’t a shoot for the film; it was their private arrangement. The snippets released by the official source were later re-shot.
The post also included several pictures of the two kissing.
This post unexpectedly started spreading wildly, and some even meticulously compared the official footage with the newly revealed information.
Numerous negative posts flooded in. It could be said that Maria’s affairs had been hyped to an extremely heated level.
At the same time, Jane, who was about to board the plane, received a call from the company and learned about these recent events regarding Maria.
The news of Kim’s car accident had already surprised her, but she hadn’t expected the resolved matter to resurface.
“What exactly happened?” Jane contacted the company staff, getting a detailed understanding of the recent events.
“The PR team needs to work on it and bring down the trending topic immediately,” Jane said calmly. “Have Maria’s agent contact me.”
The person on the other end of the phone responded quickly, and soon Maria’s agent was on the line.
“Miss North,” said the agent, who also represented another up-and-coming star and was currently dealing with a business matter. She had seen Maria’s name trending online today, but hadn’t been able to find time to check it out yet.
“Does Maria have any work scheduled for these two days?” Jane asked in a serious tone.
“She has a shoot tomorrow for her drama series, but nothing else this afternoon,” replied the agent after thinking for a moment.
“Have you contacted her? Tell her not to look at anything online right now and focus on getting into a good mental state first.”
Jane had noticed that Maria seemed unstable in some parts of the video footage she saw earlier, so she was worried about her too.
“I’ve messaged her as well, but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll call her later,” sighed the agent as she glanced at her phone screen.
“I’ll be flying back soon myself and will handle everything personally from then onwards.” Jane rubbed her forehead tiredly. However, there was already an announcement for boarding at airport over their heads so she could only give some instructions before hanging up abruptly.
“It seems like there’s really some work to do when we get back.”
Turning to Patrick, Jane wrinkled her nose.
“What happened with that journalist?” Patrick inquired.
“We had everything settled before, but unexpectedly, he changed his minds. It seems someone is really stirring up trouble behind the scenes,” Jane said, her mouth forming a slight smirk. It appeared she had let her guard down, and someone took advantage of it.
“Want me to look into it?” Patrick offered.
Shaking her head, Jane lowered her gaze to the photos and videos on her phone, sensing something peculiar.