Sarah turned her head.
Lying on the couch, her view was low, and the first thing she saw was Holden’s long legs wrapped in black trousers, leading up to a lean waist, broad shoulders, and a face so chiseled and handsome he could be a male model.
Sarah blinked her eyes.
Holden bent down, grabbing Sarah’s chin with his big hand.
Sarah’s face was small, and with her sharp chin held in his hand, she looked even more fragile.
Holden chuckled, “Living in your husband’s house, thinking about another man-does that make you happy?”
Sarah replied, “Oh … It’s not that great. Honey, could you let go first? You’re gonna break my chin.”
Hearing her call him “Honey,” Holden’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly released her.
Sarah said, “There’s still some cake in the fridge. You want some? It’s really good strawberry cake.”
Holden replied, “No.”
Sarah suddenly remembered Butler Ted mentioning Holden hadn’t been in a good mood lately. It looked like he really was in a bad mood.
She followed closely behind him like a little shadow, and when he started climbing the stairs, she quickly moved in front of him. “Hey, how do you like my outfit?”
Holden glanced at her. Sarah was wearing the latest BQ set. The top was super short, hugging her chest tightly, and revealing a slim, pale waist. The pleated mini skirt stopped above her knees, showing off her long, slender legs. Her long, straight hair fell around her waist, and she had no makeup on, making her look like a high school girl just out of night class.
Sarah grinned, “Thanks for the clothes, Boss.”
Holden reached out and pinched her cheek. “Tonight, you’re sleeping with me.”
Sarah was about to say something, but her foot slipped. She slid down the stairs and ended up crashing into Holden’s arms.
She was just thinking about how this classic scene of the heroine slipping happened to her when, with a “smack,” she accidentally kissed Holden on the cheek.
Sarah’s face turned pale.
She thought, she just kissed Mr. Holden without any reason. Is she going to get kicked out and become a poor abandoned wife tonight?
Holden’s expression darkened.
Sarah weakly explained, “I didn’t mean to.”
Holden walked past her without saying anything.
Sarah kept following him, “Mr. Holden, I swear I didn’t mean to! I respect you like my own father. I definitely don’t-”
Before she could finish, Holden turned back with a cold smile, “You have a father this young?”
Sarah replied, “No.”
Holden sneered, “And I don’t have a daughter as shameless as you.”
Sarah nervously asked, “So… you’re not kicking me out?”
“Deduct twenty million from your salary.”
“Come on, don’t do that…”
To save her next month’s salary, Sarah followed Holden, begging him for another chance, hands clasped together in a pleading gesture.
Come on… she is a beauty after all. If word gets out that kissing someone costs her twenty million, how will she keep her reputation as a beauty?
Holden ignored her.
Sarah kept up with him, “How about you kiss me back, then?”
He suddenly stopped, causing Sarah to bump right into his back, making her nose ache.
Holden turned around.
Sarah, feeling a bit scared, asked, “Are you really going to kiss me back?”
Not that she didn’t want to-after all, Holden was really handsome. But Sarah had never kissed anyone before.
It wasn’t like she didn’t do kissing scenes; as an actress, she couldn’t just change the script. But she’d only ever played supporting roles before, never a lead. Plus, most of the movies she’d been in were serious dramas, where the leads didn’t have any intense romantic scenes. So, there was no way they’d write a kissing scene for a supporting role.
So, having kissed someone for the first time and being rejected like this, Sarah felt pretty upset.
She was both angry and determined to get her twenty million back.
Holden grabbed her chin and looked at her. “If you don’t want to, just forget it.”
Like she wouldn’t want to do this! But knowing Holden, he’d hold a grudge forever if he didn’t get back at her for kissing him by accident.
Sarah closed her eyes and said, “I’m willing, I’m totally willing.”
Holden didn’t do anything. He just let her go.
Sarah thought, Huh? What was that about? Was he just all talk?
She shamelessly continued, “About that twenty million…”
“Once isn’t enough. Make it ten times.”
At this point, Sarah didn’t understand the sneaky, devious ways of a businessman like Holden. She thought he was just bluffing, so she said, “Fine, ten times then.”
Even a hundred times would’ve been fine. If he liked talking big, she’d just let him talk.
Later that night, before going to bed, Sarah was lying on her bed, playing on her phone.
David sent her a message: [Wow, Elisa’s on a reality show on Pineapple TV now?]
Sarah ignored that message and opened up a game instead, playing a match-three puzzle game.
After a while, David messaged again: [Found out that Ronald and his buddies invested in this show. The episode’s already gone viral, and Elisa gained over a hundred thousand followers.]
Sarah really didn’t want to hear anything about those two anymore.
To be honest, Ronald and Elisa’s success didn’t stir any feelings in her. They were the main characters, after all. The author had blessed them with a permanent halo. Elisa had that charm that made everyone love her, and Ronald had the boss aura that made everything fall into place for him.
David, showing his villainous side, suggested, [Wanna hire a few thousand trolls to drag Elisa down?]
Sarah replied, [Forget it. If you’ve got that kind of money, save it up instead.]
David, [???]
David hesitated for a bit and then said, [Sarah, I really feel like you’ve changed.]
[Everyone changes,] Sarah responded. [Stop fixating on Elisa and Ronald. Focus on your own life and make your career work.]
David sighed, [But it’s hard to watch them doing so well while I’m not.]
Sarah replied, [I get it.]
As someone who had read countless romance novels, Sarah definitely understood!
David’s mindset was a textbook example of a villainous side character. Seeing the main characters succeed at everything while you struggle, feeling jealous, and causing trouble for them all the time-this was classic villain behavior. And then, he’d just end up as a side character that readers enjoyed seeing knocked down.
So, Sarah decided to eliminate this mentality from the source. She wouldn’t look at any news about the main characters or do anything for them.
While the main characters made their big bucks, she’d be here, quietly taking care of Mr. Holden and earning her twenty million.
If one day Holden ended up joining the main characters’ side and becoming their protector, then she and the villainous trio, including David and Merry, could take the money and run.
With money, they could go to any country and enjoy life.
After all, even at the end of the story, Ronald’s influence never extended as far as Holden’s did across other countries.
On the reality show, after Elisa appeared, she was especially attentive to the other guests, and everyone liked her.
She had a very likable appearance-pretty, but not too pretty-just enough to appeal to the audience.
Even though she didn’t get much screen time after her introduction, every time the camera showed her, she was helping the other guests, chopping vegetables, or washing dishes. She was so enthusiastic and considerate that the viewers’ affection for her kept rising.
In David’s eyes, Elisa was nothing but an angelic bitch who’d gotten plastic surgery to look like his best friend, only to steal the guy her best friend loved.
Seeing so many people fawn over Elisa made David’s blood boil. He had already lined up a company to hire internet trolls, but after listening to Sarah, he decided to drop the idea.
Forget it, hiring trolls would cost hundreds of thousands, and Sarah suggested he save the money instead. Besides, Nora’s parents were sick, so it made more sense to send the money to her to help with their treatment.