Nora was having a rough few days.
The reason she’d been asking David for so much money had nothing to do with her family being sick. No illness would cost that much money. The truth was that William had developed a gambling addiction.
Ever since David refused to give William a cushy, high-paying job, William had been unable to find work and was now fully dependent on Nora to support him.
Nora had initially hoped David would hire William as a bodyguard, paying him three or four thousand a month-just enough to get by. But after asking Sarah for advice, David flat-out refused to let William work for him.
Now, William had become a man living off a woman’s income, and he resented it. Desperate to make big money, he had fallen deep into online gambling, losing everything Nora had managed to get from David in just a few short months.
It was Christmas, but neither of them had gone home. They were still stuck in their rented apartment.
William, after losing another few rounds, his eyes bloodshot, slapped Nora across the face. “That rich guy you’re hanging onto-how come he won’t even buy you a house? It’s Christmas, and we’re still stuck in this dump!”
Nora’s ears rang from the hit, and she felt a little disoriented. The boy she had once loved so deeply-how had he turned into this?
“Ask him for more money. Tell him your family needs to buy things for the holidays.” William’s brow furrowed. “Go on, unless you’ve started falling for that heartless rich guy. If you don’t do it, I’ll send him our sex videos and show him what his precious ‘dream girl’ really looks like behind the scenes.”
Nora bit her lip, and with no other choice, she sent David a message, hinting that her family had no money to buy supplies and asking him to send some cash.
This time, it took David a long time to reply.
“I don’t have any spare money right now, Nora. Maybe you can borrow from your relatives or friends.”
Nora was frustrated and called David, but he didn’t pick up.
William glared at her. “Where’s the money?”
“He’s not giving me anything today,” Nora muttered.
William punched her again. “You didn’t sleep with him, did you? Is that why he’s not giving you money anymore-because he’s tired of you?”
The blows came down like rain. Through the pain, Nora’s mind drifted to thoughts of David. Suddenly, she realized that David was actually a really good guy. Everything she wanted, she could have gotten from him.
******
Holden was reminded by Butler Ted when he came back, and suddenly remembered that Sarah’s new movie was in theaters.
He rarely went to the movies.
Seeing Holden’s slight interest, Butler Ted carefully asked, “Mr. Holden, would you like to see a movie?”
Holden smirked. “What makes you think I want to watch a movie?”
Butler Ted, “…”
If he couldn’t figure that out, he might as well quit being a butler, forgo his salary, and go back to his hometown to farm potatoes. With his incredible observational skills and the ability to perfectly gauge his boss’s mood, Butler Ted quickly arranged a private screening in the home theater for Holden.
Holden had been busy these past few days, filled with social engagements before and after Christmas.
Butler Ted had already bought tickets to support his lady’s movie as soon as he returned to the country. Not only that, he’d rallied his relatives to go watch it too.
Since he’d already seen the film, Butler Ted couldn’t help but spoil a little for Holden, “Lady doesn’t have many scenes.”
“In the movie, she plays a mistress.”
Holden shot him a cold glance. “Who said I’m interested in her scenes?”
Butler Ted felt a pang in his chest.
But no matter how picky the boss was, as long as he paid well, he was still a good boss. With the generous year-end bonus in mind, Butler Ted held his tongue.
The movie followed the story of a swordsman played by Edward and a peasant woman played by Crystal, who were the main couple.
After years of turbulent adventures, Edward wanted nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife on their farm. The middle-aged couple spent their days farming and weaving, with no children to tie them down, living a relatively peaceful life.
But corrupt officials frequently imposed harsh taxes, and Edward watched helplessly as his neighbors, unable to pay, were dragged off to build palaces for the emperor. His long-suppressed sense of justice reignited, and soon he was separated from his wife and forced into hard labor.
The new young emperor and his sister were extravagant and indulgent, wasting the nation’s wealth on massive construction projects.
Holden had been watching for over half an hour before Sarah finally appeared on screen. The princess, adorned in an elegant gown, entered the scene with her wide sleeves covering her face.
Even though Holden knew what Sarah looked like, he was still struck by how breathtaking she was as her face slowly came into view.
The young princess, with her golden hair and pale skin, radiated an innocent yet unknowingly vicious charm. Draped in gold and silver, she embodied the fleeting opulence of a dynasty on the brink of collapse.
The teenage princess took a liking to the swordsman who had failed in his assassination attempt and asked her brother, the emperor, to give him to her as a slave.
Meanwhile, Crystal, unable to find her husband, organized a large peasant rebellion. The uprising grew, but the princess and emperor, still lost in their indulgent lifestyle, remained oblivious to the chaos outside the palace.
In the end, the princess lost everything as her kingdom fell, and she walked into the flames consuming the palace.
Sarah’s scenes weren’t many, but each frame of her was stunning.
Though there were more scenes after the princess’s death, Holden only watched up to that point.
Butler Ted, having predicted this, wasn’t surprised when Holden stopped. He even excitedly discussed the movie with him. “I really didn’t expect Lady to act so well. You thought she did a good job too, right, Young Master?”
Holden curled his lips. “She’s alright.”
But Butler Ted knew that Holden’s “alright” was as close as he got to high praise.
Butler Ted went on and on about Sarah, “Right? Who would’ve thought that Lady, who’s so cute in everyday life, would turn into such a stunning little beauty in the movie? That scene where she commits suicide-oh, I almost cried.”
Yep, Butler Ted’s biggest impression of Sarah now was how “cute” she was. Maybe he had too much of a soft spot for her, seeing Sarah like she was his granddaughter. He found everything she did utterly endearing. Even if she ever divorced Holden, Butler Ted would probably be more than willing to help set her up with someone else decent.
But in the movie, Sarah was undeniably a gorgeous, heart-stopping beauty. Every move she made had that delicate, heartbreaking charm.
Butler Ted had fully transformed into a grandpa fan and was even showing Holden Sarah’s Twitter. “She gained 300, 000 followers today,” Butler Ted said, adding, “Young Master, looks like Lady’s about to blow up.”
Holden didn’t have a Twitter account-he never used it-so he glanced at Butler Ted’s phone. Sarah hadn’t been on Twitter for long, but her followers had already passed the million mark. Thanks to the skyrocketing success of her movie, her beauty was getting a lot of attention, and her follower count kept climbing.
Holden’s tone stayed flat, “Not bad.”
At this rate, Sarah was likely to become a top star. She had done an impressive job building her career all on her own, and Holden couldn’t help but admire that.
He was just about to comment that Sarah might soon carry herself with the air of a big star when the door suddenly opened.
Sarah peeked her head in, looking around sneakily.
Holden, “…”
Butler Ted, “Uh…”
It wasn’t that Sarah was trying to act shady. She thought Butler Ted was still away on vacation, so she assumed there wasn’t anyone home.
Sarah knew Holden could be unpredictable at night-especially after drinking. He’d turn into someone completely different, going from a refined gentleman to a dark, brooding menace, and he’d even try to get her to drink with him. She didn’t want to run into that version of Holden, so she was trying to scope out the situation before deciding whether or not to go in.
And then Sarah locked eyes with both Holden and Butler Ted.
Before Butler Ted could say anything, Holden grinned, “Back from sneaking around, my dear wife?”
Sarah felt a bit guilty for no reason, “…Yeah.”
Holden casually teased, “You go see Ronald?”