Her heart was pounding wildly as Maria instinctively pushed Kim away. “You…” She covered her lips, a slight blush creeping up to her ears.
But Kim felt like she was still rejecting him with that action. Maybe the things she said earlier were just lies to herself. His eyes grew desolate once again.
“You scared me,” Maria looked down at the edge of the bed, intending to tuck in Kim’s blanket but heard a voice from above instead.
“You should go.”
Kim took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady. Maria didn’t expect this reaction from him at all.
Was it because she had done too many wrong things that he couldn’t forgive her? What did that kiss mean earlier?
Maria bit her lip but by then, Kim had already turned his head away without noticing her expression. Both of them were immersed in their own self-pity which made everything seem absurdly comical.
“Since you don’t like me, why bother…” It took a long time for Kim to speak softly before being interrupted by Maria abruptly.
“Kim, who said I don’t like you anymore? Do you think what I said earlier was just gibberish?”
Maria suddenly felt a surge of anger in her chest. She had just confessed and cried her heart out, but it seemed like Kim didn’t hear a word of it.
Blinking in astonishment, Kim looked at Maria with puffed cheeks. “Then why did you push me away just now?”
Isn’t that a rejection?
“You…” Maria blinked her eyes. “You still have injuries on your head and body. Kissing… can’t it wait? Why does it have to be now…”
The more she spoke, the less confident she became, and in the end, it was just Maria muttering to herself.
However, Kim heard everything clearly. A hint of joy flashed in his eyes, but his voice remained muffled.
“But you really seemed unwilling just now, Maria. I won’t force you.”
Biting her lip, Maria glared at Kim, putting up a defiant front. “You want me to say I was just shy earlier, don’t you? Is that what will satisfy you?”
She blurted it all out, but Maria saw an even greater smile at the corner of Kim’s mouth. Suddenly, she realized that she had been played by his teasing earlier.
“Alright.” Kim reached out his hand, but due to the wound on his arm, he could only lightly touch Maria’s hand.
Seeing this, Maria quickly walked over, bending down, and her long hair fell over her shoulders and onto her chest.
“Kim…”
Her voice was soft, like a feather landing on the tip of her heart.
“Do you… really want this?” Kim seemed a bit nervous, his voice becoming hoarse.
Maria tilted her head. “What?”
“Do you really want to be with me, and not out of guilt…”
Kim spoke with uneasiness, but Maria already placed her hand on his lips.
“Kim, it’s not about anything else. It’s simply because I love you and want to be with you for real.”
Maria’s expression was unusually serious. “I’ve been so foolish in the past, always running away from your feelings. From now on, I’ll try my best to respond to you.”
Saying that, Maria gently kissed the bandage on Kim’s forehead, her expression cautious.
Kim saw this and leaned towards Maria, pointing at his own cheek.
“What’s wrong?” Maria thought Kim’s wound was hurting and approached him to check.
“It hurts,” Kim rarely softened his voice, sounding somewhat pitiful, as if he was acting spoiled.
“I’ll go call the doctor immediately.” Just as Maria turned to leave, Kim pulled her into his arms.
Maria exclaimed in surprise but dared not move.
Intimately, Kim rested his chin on Maria’s shoulder and spoke, his voice muffled, “No need for that trouble. Just give me a kiss, and the pain will go away.”
“Kim!”
Maria lightly glared at Kim, but he had already closed his eyes and raised his cheek, waiting for Maria.
After glancing around to make sure no one was outside the door, Maria leaned in and kissed Kim’s cheek.
“Does it feel better?” Maria suddenly felt like she was coaxing a child.
“What should I do? The other side of my face hurts too, my neck hurts, my chest hurts…”
However, the mischievous Kim pushed his luck further, causing Maria to threaten him with calling the doctor before he obediently kept quiet.
…
Maria used her leave from work to take care of Kim. Their feelings for each other quickly grew, and Kim’s recovery progressed well. The doctor said he would be able to leave the hospital soon.
While Maria was happy, she didn’t forget Jane’s advice. She immediately logged onto Twitter and posted a clarification tweet.
She stated that she and Osborn were just good friends, and her relationship with Kim was stable-there was no two-timing involved.
The tweet was shared by Star Entertainment and Osborn’s studio, and they even tagged a few media accounts to make their point.
Initially, bystanders were skeptical of this belated explanation. However, Osborn directly posted a picture of Maria’s back, showcasing their affection, which almost proved everyone wrong.
Previously, there were discussions online about Maria’s absence from the company and the lack of paparazzi photos, leading some to think she had been fired or terminated by the company because of this incident.
But it turned out she had been taking care of her boyfriend all along.
On the day Maria returned to work, Kim hadn’t fully recovered and was still in the hospital. Although she was a little unhappy about it, Maria knew she had wasted too much time and hurriedly returned to the set.
Fortunately, Jane had filmed Osborn’s scenes in advance, so the production schedule wasn’t significantly affected.
After sincerely apologizing to the crew, Maria threw herself back into work.
“Cut! That’s a wrap!”
The director called out, and Maria finally let out a sigh of relief, stretching her sore shoulders.
They had been shooting all day today with little time for breaks, which was a bit overwhelming for Maria, who had been idle for several days.
“That’s it for today. Let’s pack up.”
With the director’s command, everyone who had been busy all day finally felt a sense of relief. Maria didn’t want to waste a moment and quickly reported to her agent before heading towards the dressing room to see Kim.
As she lowered her head to report, she heard voices discussing inside the dressing room.
“Why does Maria think she’s so special? Star Entertainment is pampering her so much.”
“And have you seen who her boyfriend is? He’s from the Ragsdill family.”
“What can a rich second-generation do? Maybe she has some big connections at Star Entertainment.”