Elisa and Louis finalized the contract. The two directors learned from Louis that Elisa didn’t like Japanese food, so they thought of inviting her to dinner elsewhere, but Elisa directly refused.
The directors didn’t insist further. After all, anyone could see that the two of them were now close. Forcing their way in would be like being a third wheel without any self-awareness.
“We’ll be on our way then.” Mr. Rook and Mr. Barlowe stood up to see them off. Elisa quickly called them back, “No need to see us off, it attracts attention when there are too many people around.”
Mr. Rook halted, “Then, Miss Powell, take care.”
Elisa put away the contract, then put on her hat and mask, while Louis dutifully carried her bag and held a milk tea. As they walked out, their hands naturally found each other, Elisa’s fingers interlocking with his, palm to palm, the warmth as if touching a human heart.
They were together, but the most intimate thing they had done was still holding hands. Yet, the touch of their fingertips was enough to make Louis’s nervous fingertips tremble.
Locking eyes, Louis gave in first. He brought the milk tea to Elisa’s lips, and she nodded, drinking from his hand. Their actions were so natural, as if they had done this a thousand times, proficient to the point of mastery.
“We’ll be starting the movie soon. I’ll get you an assistant.”
“Your arrangements are fine.”
“By the way, do you want to come to my place today?” Elisa looked at him, her gaze serious.
Louis stumbled over his words, his face turning red. It was evident that he was thinking about something more than simple.
“Be careful walking, what else are you thinking about?”
Louis’s ears turned red, clearly indicating that his thoughts were not simple.
“The movie is about to start. Let’s go over the script first. We’ll aim to finish as quickly as possible and target the summer release next year. We’ll leave most of the time for special effects and sound effects.”
“Can I stay at your place tonight?”
“Are you pushing your luck?” Elisa refused. “You should go back and spend time with Aunt Burns.”
“She has my dad to keep her company; she doesn’t need me.”
“Who said that? You rarely go back as an actor. How many times do you go back in a year? Now that you have some free time, you should go home more and spend time with her. Don’t wait until she’s old like me, unable to spend time with her.” Elisa stopped in her tracks, grabbed Louis’s hand, and raised her left hand to pat his head. “We have plenty of time together in the future. When the movie starts, we’ll have two months of being together every day.”
Hearing Elisa say “unable to spend time with her,” Louis’s heart ached. His beloved had been bullied during his absence.
Louis thought of Mrs. White. If it weren’t for her words, he might still not have moved on.
“I’ll do as you say.”
Elisa’s house, which she hadn’t finished decorating, was still rented. She led Louis out of the residential area through the east gate, which was usually the least crowded entrance.
An elderly man watched over each gate. The one at the east gate was named Mr. Wang, with sharp eyes. Even with a mask and sunglasses, he could recognize Elisa. Recently, they had become more familiar as she had been receiving many packages delivered here and asked him to give them to her.
“Elisa,” Mr. Caddel called out to her.
“Mr. Caddel.” Seeing his expression, Elisa’s eyes darkened. “Is it another delivery for me?”
“Yes, it’s from the same person. This is today’s delivery.” Mr. Caddel struggled to bring up the package, as usual, a large bunch of red roses, along with a box containing either jewelry, expensive bags, perfume, clothes… all luxury brands, and all according to Elisa’s past preferences.
Every day, these items were sent by Hamish, using this “persistent pursuit” to try to win Elisa back.
A trace of impatience was evident in Elisa’s eyes. It had been a week, and every day someone came to her door or called her to ask her to accept the delivery. Elisa returned them, only for them to be delivered again the next day, with a different item each time.
“Will it be the same as usual, throwing away the flowers and returning the rest?”
“Yes.”
“Then come and sign for it, and I’ll arrange for the returns later.”
Elisa walked over. “Thank you, Mr. Caddel.”
“No trouble at all.” Moreover, he earned money for receiving these deliveries, so nomatter how troublesome the situation was, it didn’t feel that way when money was involved.
Elisa signed with a pen.
Mr. Caddel asked, “Aren’t you going to look at them?”
Elisa shook her head without a word, but Louis’s internal alarm bells were ringing loudly.
Who else would send red roses? There was a note on the bouquet with the initials LJS, it didn’t take much to figure out it was from Hamish.
Louis grabbed Elisa’s hand, and she stopped signing. “What’s wrong?”
“Has Hamish been sending you all sorts of nonsense recently?”
“It started just last week.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s not that important, just return them.”
Louis cursed Hamish in his mind: shameless and persistent.
He took the beautifully packaged gift box. “You can’t continue like this. It will only let Hamish harass you endlessly.”
Elisa placed the pen down and curiously asked, “What should I do then?”
Louis began to open the gift box.
Mr. Caddel reminded from the side, “Once it’s opened, it’s not easy to return.”
Louis ignored him and opened the box, looking at the brand logo. Although Louis didn’t pay attention to bags, his mother did. Whenever his father made a mistake, he would buy her a bag, claiming that a bag could cure all ills.
Their wardrobe at home had quite a few of this brand’s logos, it was his mother’s favorite brand, and a bag like this would cost at least three million dollars.
It was adorned with diamonds, exquisite and luxurious. This bag was a limited edition, Mrs. White had tried to get one last week and failed to, so it was a surprise to see it here. It seemed that Hamish had put a lot of thought into this.
He turned to look at Elisa, but her expression remained unchanged.
“Do you like this brand of bag?”
“It’s okay.” Elisa didn’t lack money, she could buy whatever she wanted, but she didn’t need to.
“I have a collaboration with this brand, and they’re about to launch their new winter collection. I’ll have them send it over for you to choose from tonight.”
“Before it’s even launched, you’re letting me choose?”
“Anything you like should be your first choice.”
This was Louis’s way of expressing love. If she refused, it would only make him feel insecure and disappointed. Men had their pride and competitiveness, especially in the face of a rival.
Recently, Elisa had also begun to understand the brands Louis liked. Exchanging gifts was also a form of intimacy between lovers.
She nodded in agreement, then pointed at the bag in front of her. “What about this? How do we deal with it? You’ve already opened it, so how do we return it?”
“Leave it to me.” Louis turned to Mr. Caddel. “Mr. Caddel, you can do whatever you want with these flowers. We’ll take the bag. If anyone asks, you can just tell them the truth.”
Mr. Caddel was puzzled, but only gave them a scrutinizing look.
“Who is this?”
“My boyfriend.” Elisa replied.
Mr. Caddel didn’t react much, but Louis’s face turned red. However, with the mask on, it wasn’t visible; only his ears were giving away his excitement.
“So, this is your boyfriend?” Mr. Caddel looked at Louis with surprise, openly appraising him.
“Right, we’ll head up now.” Although the east gate was usually deserted, it was the weekend and around noon; there might be people coming back through this gate.
“Alright, you two go on up.”
Elisa led Louis inside; Louis carried the bag but didn’t tell Elisa what he planned to do with it.
“Do you feel uncomfortable having this bag?”
“Very much so. That’s why I plan to sell it on a second-hand platform.”
Hamish would surely be paying attention to whether Elisa had accepted the delivery. Wasn’t he fond of tormenting people? Then he should taste some of his own medicine.
Louis took a few photos of the bag, downloaded a luxury second-hand platform on his phone, and listed the bag. “Girlfriend’s handbag, $2. 5 million, serious offers only.” After posting, he put down his phone and asked Elisa, who was reading the script, “Do we have any groceries at home?”
Elisa sat in a rocking chair on the balcony, legs crossed, holding the script, and responded without looking up, “Check the kitchen. I don’t think there’s much in the fridge. See what’s missing, and we can either go out to buy or have it delivered.”
“Let’s buy online. Supermarkets are crowded on weekends.”
Elisa nodded.
As expected, the fridge didn’t have many fresh vegetables, just as Elisa had said. Louis poked his head out from the kitchen and asked Elisa, “What do you feel like eating tonight?”
“I’m not picky, as long as it’s not too greasy. I’ll eat whatever you make.”
Louis took out his phone to start shopping for groceries. Since they were going to have a light dinner, some small dishes would do. He planned to go back home for the night, so he might as well prepare breakfast for the next day. Elisa liked to have congee in the morning and loved crab roe buns.
Louis bought several large crabs and planned to make crab roe buns. It would be best if Elisa could eat them hot the next morning.
After ordering the groceries, Louis looked up and his gaze instinctively settled on Elisa.
By mid-October, Bankshire was often covered in haze. Outside, everything was gray, and the gray clouds floated in the sky, tinged with a faint halo of light.
Elisa lowered her head to read the script, exuding a calm and gentle temperament, nestled in the rocking chair.
Elisa’s face was delicate, but if he had to pick out her most beautiful feature, it would be her eyes. They were just like the eyes she used to have.
Almond-shaped eyes, with a delicate pink at the corners, resembling the color of peach blossoms. Her lashes were long and curled, her pupils as dark as ink, contrasting with her naturally pink eyelids. When she raised her eyes slightly, they were bright and enchanting.
Louis liked Elisa as a person, not just for her face. He gazed at her deeply, as if he wanted to etch her soul into his memory so that no matter how she changed, he could recognize her immediately.
Elisa was very dedicated to her work, and she had a fatal charm for him. Louis liked how serious she was when she worked, he liked her smile, her mischievous look when she teased him, and he liked how she took his hand and openly announced to others that he was her boyfriend.
If only he had met Elisa before, during the most beautiful time of his life, encountering the most wonderful person in the world.
Although things weren’t bad now, he wished that Elisa would always have him in her life, watching her grow and laughing with her when she was happy and being a shoulder for her to lean on when she was sad.
…
“Did she accept the delivery this time?” Hamish’s hand rested on the edge of the table, he tapped his fingertips a few times, then casually said, “Thank you,” after confirming, before hanging up the phone.
After ending the call, Hamish opened the call log and looked at Elisa’s number. He called her every day, but each time he was surprised to hear the cold, automated voice message.
After Louis’s accident, Elisa had called him once, but then she had blocked him. And until now, she hadn’t unblocked him.
Elisa was always decisive, and she had tolerated him in the past only because she liked him.
He had taken advantage of Elisa’s affection for him, repeatedly hurting and mistreating her. And now that Elisa no longer liked him, what did he have left?
“Knock, knock, knock…” There was a knock on the door. “Mr. Burns, it’s me.”
“Come in.”
The person entering was Tobias, holding a stack of documents. Seeing Hamish’s low spirits, he casually asked, “Mr. Burns, are you okay?”