Ch. 3311..3320
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3311
Mind Your Words
Hudson furrowed his brows because Jacinta wouldn’t stop belittling Megan in front of him. She wasn’t in a position to pick on their company’s standard either.
Meanwhile, once Megan saw an opportunity to escape, she launched a blow on Jacinta’s hip with all her might.
Megan caressed her aching neck and scowled at the infuriated Jacinta. “Are you so jealous? Haven’t you been in the fashion industry for years? Aren’t you aware beauty is defined in many ways?”
Hudson nodded, indicating he was of the same opinion. Jacinta could barely pull herself together and clenched her fists with all her might, penetrating her palms with her manicured nails.
Overwhelmed by emotions, her eyes flickered in wrath as though she was up to something in her mind.
Once again, she asked in a callous tone, “Are you indicating I’m no longer the suitable candidate for the brand? Is it because I can’t portray the youthful elements associated with the brand?”
Age was the only thing she cared about because it played a great deal in her relationship and her career. She couldn’t think of anything else that would motivate the brand she used to collaborate with to commission someone else other than her.
She’s not even a match for me in terms of look! Apart from the difference between our ages, she’s just another good-for-nothing celebrity!
Hudson was irked by Jacinta’s remark. Nonetheless, he carried himself in a courteous manner and replied, “Ms. Twinkle, I’m afraid you have misperceived our intention because we have made the decision to collaborate with Megan because of her unique fashion sense.”
Jacinta had come across the photos Megan uploaded. She begged to differ because she thought those couldn’t be considered fashionable.
“Is that all the brand has to offer? Those outfits can barely be considered fashionable! Have you not been to the Icon Fashion Show? I can’t believe the management team has appointed you as the operational director!”
Jacinta started losing control over her emotions and morphed into a hideous and mean woman, incapable of minding her speech.
Meanwhile, Megan had no intention to defend herself because Jacinta would bring upon her own misery by offending the person in charge of the brand while she had nothing to lose.
Hudson tried to suppress his wrath and deadpanned his warning, “Ms. Twinkle, I believe you’re not in a position to make that call on the management team’s behalf! If you wish to collaborate with us in the future, why don’t you work on yourself and stop throwing a tantrum here? Ms. Rockford, we can leave once you’re done selecting the clothes.”
He did a great job maintaining his professionalism. On the contrary, Jacinta couldn’t behave the way a top-notch celebrity was supposed to.
Since Hudson was about to leave, Megan retrieved the clothes she had long had her eyes on and went after him.
When she passed by Jacinta’s side, she greeted her with a bright grin, whispering sarcastically, “See? I can’t afford the clothes, but I don’t need to pay for them anyway.”
Jacinta was on the verge of going berserk again. She ended up flushing and shrieking in the store, yet Hudson and Megan couldn’t be bothered by her behavior.
It took another few minutes before they got to rendezvous with Donna and Monica. Donna had been waiting for Monica because the latter was in the middle of a class.
As a result of the saga that had occurred in the store, the slight delay actually added to their advantage.
“Ms. Rockford, I’m so sorry for the things you have to go through,” Hudson apologized with a sheepish grin. It was evident the incident had tarnished the store’s image.
In the midst of waiting for Monica to set up the camera, Megan shook her head and asserted, “It’s not a big deal. In fact, it’s an honor to be invited for a commissioned photoshoot by the brand. Hopefully, the incident that has occurred won’t impact our future collaboration.”
Nodding, Hudson assured with a grin, “As long as things turn out well, it won’t be an issue!”
He had grown fond of Megan, but when he turned around and caught a glimpse of Monica, he asked with a confused look, “Are you sure we can rely on this photographer who seems to be way too young for the job? Are you sure you don’t need our photographer’s help?”
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3312
Where Are You
Megan smirked in return and looked at Monica with a serious expression, indicating she had faith in her. She turned around and said, “Why don’t you see for yourself? I’m sure you’re going to be impressed. To be honest, if it’s possible, I want to introduce her to others.”
Hudson knew it was a compliment in disguise, but he would never allow a rookie to assume such an important role because their boutique was a globally renowned brand.
In the end, he responded with a smile, behaving as though he wasn’t conscious of her meaning.
A few hours later, Megan returned with the photos of the session. Hudson was given a copy and planned to have those from the design department look at it.
They decided to call it a day because it had been a long one. The exhausted Megan bade farewell to Donna and returned to Jake’s apartment.
Once she reached his apartment, she noticed he had yet to return. In spite of switching on every available source of illumination in the house, she still found the place eerie.
If there was one thing she had to pick on, it would be the overly organized items and furniture that made the entire place seem desolate.
Suddenly, when Megan heard someone entering the desolate place, she turned around and noticed it was a middle-aged woman.
Confused by the woman’s presence, Megan rushed over to greet her because she was afraid that the middle-aged woman was Jake’s aunt or something.
“Hello, who you are?”
The middle-aged woman was equally surprised by Megan’s presence. She closed the door and replied with a timid smile, “I have been hired by Mr. Wilson to take care of this place when he’s not around. You can call me Josephine. Actually, I was on my way back, but Mr. Wilson told me to return and get dinner ready.”
Megan heaved a sigh of relief when she found out Josephine was a maid hired by Jake because she wasn’t ready to meet anyone else apart from Jake.
A few seconds later, she greeted Josephine with a smile, “I have just moved in last night. Thus, I’m not sure of the way things work around here. Is he coming back tonight? Why has he instructed you to get dinner ready?”
Josephine gaped at Megan’s question. She asked in return, “Haven’t Mr. Wilson informed you? He has sent me here to get your dinner ready because he won’t be back tonight.”
Megan could feel her heart wrenching the moment she heard Josephine’s reply. After a few seconds of silence, she told Josephine, “Can you hold on for a minute? I’ll give him a call.”
What is Jake doing?
Initially, she thought she was another one of Jake’s many women he would ignore once he got sick. It turned out that wasn’t the case because he had sent Josephine to take care of her.
What’s with this odd feeling when we’re not really related to one another? If he’s serious about me, he will take me out for dinner, won’t he?
Megan shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of that thought because she didn’t want to end up like the greedy Herman.
The person on the other end of the call picked it up almost instantly.
“Hello?”
“H-Hey, it’s me… W-What are you doing?”
Sitting on the couch, Megan felt a sense of serenity when she heard the man’s voice.
On the other hand, Jake rubbed his eyes and answered with a hoarse voice after taking a glance at the clock, “I’m about to sleep. I didn’t get to tell you about the trip I had to make in the afternoon because I was in a hurry.”
“Are you currently abroad?”
“I’m at J Nation at the moment. Do you want me to get you some souvenirs?”
Grasping her phone, Megan fell silent because he failed to inform her of his trip.
She tried to keep her emotions to herself, but she lost them because of her tone. “What about a lucky charm? I’m in desperate need of one for my career.”
As the shaft of light penetrated through the slit of the curtain, Jake brought himself upright and responded to the request with a frown.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3313
Can You Depend On Me For Once
Smirking, he remarked sarcastically, “Are you sure a mere lucky charm can bring you the luck you need? Why don’t you beg me instead?”
Megan snorted in return and started running her fingers through her hair on the couch. She replied with her eyes flickering, “I’m not supposed to do that if I’m serious about our relationship.”
She had indirectly turned him down, implying she had no intention to depend on him.
Jake was unsure if he was on the right track because he had a hard time comprehending the affection she had for him.
He wondered if he should carry on with their relationship as she made it seem she would leave him anytime.
She has turned down my offer and refrained from being involved in a beneficiary relationship with me. Is she even meant to be my better half?
All things considered, the affection he had for her wavered. Nonetheless, he refused to think badly of her because of his already messed-up life. He thought it wouldn’t be necessary to figure out Megan’s intention even if it meant being deceived by her.
Unfortunately, Megan did the exact opposite of what he sought and had never taken him for granted as she was not unwilling to take advantage of him.
“Can you please depend on me every once in a while? I need to feel I’m the one you have in mind in times of emergencies.”
Although they were miles away from one another, Megan was overwhelmed by emotions because of Jake’s confession.
She was taken aback because he had mentioned something unbefitting of his identity, but she would never cave in to his request because those were against her will.
All along, she thought she didn’t deserve a proud man like him, and a proud man like him should never grovel himself at others’ mercy.
The foundation of their relationship was a lie. The moment she heard his confession, she realized that he had been living a lonely life, incapable of moving on from the past.
He was not much different from a child who was desperate for love. Megan happened to be the perfect candidate for the role. Thus, he would grovel at her mercy if those were required.
“I-I want to know if you love me?”
Jake, who was on the other end of the call, went dead silent when he heard Megan’s question. Grasping his phone in the pitch-black room, his abysmal pair of eyes flickered.
He stuttered his reply in a hoarse voice, “W-What do you mean by love?”
Over the years he had disconnected from his past, he had picked up all sorts of skills, but he seemed to have not learned to love.
No one taught him the proper definition of love. Instead, most of his seniors said he was the right candidate for the role because he had relatively few concerns in life.
Is love troublesome? Is it going to bind me in life?
Jake had a hard time comprehending the concept of love. Subsequently, he gave up when he started feeling lightheaded again.
On the other hand, Megan was rendered speechless by his reply. She had no choice but to pick herself up. Seconds after she returned to her senses, she asserted, “It’s better for you to ignore my question because it’s not a big deal. You should call it a day and tuck yourself in.”
In order to conceal her anxiety, Megan hung up the call immediately after she bade farewell to him. After she saw that the line was no longer active, she let out a long sigh of relief.
It turned out Jake had yet to sort it out—he had merely carried on based on his intuition. To be precise, he wasn’t conscious of the rationale behind his actions.
I guess I have been overthinking again, huh? I can’t believe I almost confess the affection I have for him when he isn’t even certain of our relationship.
She had brought up the concept of a lucky charm to conceal her sense of inferiority. As she deemed herself unworthy of him, she was determined to climb her way up the hierarchical structure and get others to acknowledge her.
She couldn’t afford to accept any form of help from him because she was serious about their relationship.
Unfortunately, they seemed to have misperceived the other party’s intention.
Megan knew it was no one’s fault because their different pasts were the reason behind the differences in their lifestyles and thinking.
Josephine had been anticipating a reply from Megan. Thus, she asked, “Miss, do you need me to make you something to eat?”
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3314
What About You
Megan waved at her and replied with an apologetic expression, “I’m so sorry, but I’m not really in the mood to eat.”
As someone who had been through a lot in life, Josephine was conscious of the things going on. She packed her things with her and said, “Alright, if that’s the case, I’ll get going. Ms. Rockford, you need to stop overthinking because everything will be over before you know it.”
“Mmm… Thank you so much…”
Josephine’s advice wasn’t effective at all because nothing could possibly alleviate Megan of the pain she felt.
Megan took a breather once Josephine departed. Staring at the beautiful cityscape, Megan wondered if J Nation had a similar scene.
She responded with a self-deprecating smirk and brought herself up, heading over to Donna’s place to spend a night there.
Donna was thrilled when she figured out Megan was on her way to her place. She wasn’t particularly against the idea because she knew something must have happened between them again. They spent the night watching the latest episode of Let’s Run on the couch. That happened to be the episode Megan was eliminated.
Megan couldn’t suppress the urge to laugh when the scene of Mia eliminating her during one of the challenges showed up on the screen. She sneered when she recalled the things Mia did.
She had no interest to carry on with the show. Thus, she reached for her phone and logged into her Twitter. In order to stir things up amongst the netizens, she had long acquired Rocky’s aid.
“The latest episode of Let’s Run is disgusting! In the first episode, Megan made it till the end before she was eliminated, but she was the first to be eliminated by Mia in the second episode. I once thought Mia was a great player, but she couldn’t do much apart from picking on her teammates! I’m pretty sure she’s the woman Rocky has mentioned.”
“I guess we’re not the only ones who can’t stand Mia anymore! Judging by Tod’s look, it’s safe to assume he has the same opinion because he had been ignoring her throughout the entire race! It seems like Rocky has been telling the truth!”
“Well, she’s definitely the most pretentious woman of the year! To be honest, she’s not much different from her younger sister, but her younger sister is far more wicked than her!”
…
In spite of being scolded, Megan was pleased by the comments of the netizens because Mia’s image had been tarnished as planned.
I guess the netizens have always been the most observant bunch, capable of linking the missing pieces of puzzles together, huh?
Apart from Mia, Nathan had made it to the headline as well. Megan was surprised because his name wasn’t even mentioned in the post drafted by Rocky; yet, the netizens managed to get their hands on his identity.
The moment she accessed the post, she found out someone had taken the photos of Nathan entering the hotel immediately after Anderson and Jonas went in. To her surprise, the netizens accessed the archive and found a few posts Nathan had uploaded back in the day.
It was safe to assume he was serious about his relationship with Anderson because of the things mentioned in the posts.
However, in spite of being adventurous in bed, Anderson turned out a heterosexual man who would only get into a relationship with a woman. In short, their relationship was meant to turn out miserably.
“Megan, why are you spacing out again?”
Donna, who had her eyes glued to the television, caught a glimpse of Megan scrolling her phone. The moment she leaned over, Megan switched off her phone.
“It’s nothing… What about you? How’s the progress for Love In Progress?”
When Megan brought that up, Donna retrieved the contract that was nearby and showed her. “In spite of the challenges Jonas’ scandal has caused, I have everything sorted out.”
After going through the contract, Megan smirked and started swirling her phone. “Since the scandal is no longer in force, we just have to introduce him to the audience once more. It won’t be a huge issue.”
Donna wasn’t particularly worried about Jonas. Instead, Megan, who was thrilled, was the one she was worried about. “Megan, don’t you think it’s time for you to take your situation into consideration? Aren’t you afraid Mr. Wilson will lose his cool?”
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3315
Megan recalled the content of her conversation with Jake when she heard Donna. She was in a state of bewilderment, but it merely lasted for a few seconds before her eyes started flickering in disappointment.
“I don't think he cares, but I'll still inform him of my upcoming schedule.
As for the rest, I'll just keep it to myself.”
Donna was stupefied by Megan's reaction, but she decided to stop poking her nose into Megan's business since she wasn't in a position to meddle with their affair.
In the end, she brought up.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3316
Considerations
Megan furrowed her eyebrows and cast her shirt away. Grasping her phone, she asked, “What exactly are you up to?”
“What do you mean? Are you against the idea?”
Jonas dismissed her confrontation and directed another question at her without concealing his intention behind the question.
After seconds of silence, Megan turned him down and said, “I don’t think that’s appropriate because I need to take Jake’s feelings into consideration.”
Previously, when Jonas dropped by her place, she wasn’t even close with Jake. Thus, she didn’t have to think much.
However, things were different since they could be considered being in a relationship. Although Jake couldn’t be sure if he was serious about their relationship, she couldn’t bear to hurt him by being overly close with Jonas.
They were allowed to stay in touch because Jake had been trying his best to uphold his promise of having faith in her.
It was something she had gone to great lengths to secure. Thus, she couldn’t bear to put it at risk over such a trivial matter.
Since it was merely something regarding the show, it wouldn’t be wise to talk about it at others’ places. History had a huge tendency of repeating itself—she couldn’t be sure if he would behave like the male celebrity that had asked her over in the past.
Should she fail to exercise caution, they would both end up being hurt because of the public’s opinion.
“I guess you can consider this your victory.”
She found the man on the other end absurd because of his seemingly odd reply and response.
Startled, she asked, “What do you mean? Are you having some sort of bet or something?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she could hear Jonas chuckling, and he seemed to be in a conversation with another person on the other end. It was evident he was upset.
“Hello? It’s me.” To her surprise, she heard Jake’s voice when she was in the middle of a conversation with Jonas.
The confused woman grasped her phone and queried, “Why are you there? Are you next to Jonas?”
“I’m currently next to him,” Jake deadpanned his reply as though it wasn’t a big deal at all. His reply threw her off as she couldn’t comprehend the rationale behind their action.
“Are you guys betting after me and my decisions?”
Irked by the possibility, she asked with her brows furrowed and her lips pouted.
Jake was conscious they had gone overboard. Smirking, he took a peek at the spacing out Jonas and asserted, “When you dropped me a text informing me of your upcoming show, I asked Jonas to give you a call to see if you would choose him over me.”
Oh, so this isn’t a test. To be precise, it is a showdown between Jake and Jonas.
Perhaps Jake had gone overboard and crossed the boundary he shouldn’t, but he needed to do it to verify the one thing that had been bothering him.
As soon as Megan ruled out the rationale behind their action, her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. She gasped out her reply, “Are you suspecting me?”
What is he going to do if I agree to conduct the session at my place? Is he going to take things out on Jonas and me?
Megan’s mind was all over the place because of the absurd test imposed by Jake and the rash decision Jonas had made to play along with the maniac.
“That’s not the case because it’s nothing more than a showdown between Jonas and me. Since you have turned him down, it’s not much of a big deal for you to be involved in the show.”
Judging by Jake’s tone, it was obvious the man was in a great mood.
On the other hand, Megan was infuriated because of his mischievous tone. She sneered and tried her best to suppress her emotions.
“Am I supposed to express my gratitude? Jake, I have informed you because I respect you! I haven’t turned Jonas down because of you! The things you have done are a waste of time and foolish!”
She was reluctant to utter such harsh remarks against him, but she couldn’t hold back anymore when she recalled the times Jake doubted her affection for him.
Does he think that I’m having an affair with Jonas?
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3317
Rendezvous
“Megan…” Jake’s expression changed when he heard the rage simmering in her voice. There was a tentativeness in his eyes and he appeared to be at a loss for words.
He made no mention of this as he was not testing her, and was grossly disappointed that she had jumped to such conclusions about him so easily. Jonas was the only one he had his doubts about since the beginning.
The man was crestfallen and defeated, his expectations seemingly confounded once again.
Jake only did it for the thrill and not to prove Megan’s feelings for him, because there was nothing to prove to begin with.
After all, he only knew about possession and did not understand what constituted love.
However, Megan was not one to look too deeply into it. The banality of their game left her profoundly unsettled inside.
She was positively seething. “Kindly show some respect for me cause next time round, I shan’t respect you either.”
With that, Megan hung up right away. Her expression was severe. In response, Donna, who had been eavesdropping behind the door, could not help but pop her head out.
She approached Megan cautiously and asked in a small voice, “What’s wrong?”
Megan did not even bother to fold the clothes which she stuffed directly into her bag. As she was in no mood for conversation, there was not much else Donna could have said under the circumstances. She gave Megan a hand while she silently cussed at the heartless Jonas.
For all of Megan’s thoughtfulness toward him, he repaid her by colluding with Jake.
Noting her emotional state, Donna thought against offering her more words of consolation. She could only serve up random banter to take her mind off things en-route to the rendezvous with the rest of the production crew at the airport’s VIP lounge.
Unexpectedly, Jonas and Jake filed in just as they sat down with the director.
The sight of the duo yielded an icy response from Megan. Her lips stiffened with nary a word.
“Would it be okay if Mr. Wilson traveled with us, Mr. Odegaard?”
Donna at the side glanced over and saw that Jonas seemed a little down and was obviously quite reticent as he mouthed that question.
The director of Love In Progress got to his feet upon hearing him. He was relaxed and smiling as he regarded Jake, whose own eyes were, in turn, fixated upon Megan. “Why, certainly. You’d be most welcomed, Mr. Wilson.”
Quite unlike the last few directors Megan encountered, Martin seemed more open to pandering than most. That, however, was not anything out of the ordinary, as getting on Jake’s good side was not a bad way to come into a potential source of funding.
Jonas’ reaction, or lack thereof, suggested that the answer was already a foregone conclusion to him. He merely took one glance at Megan before he took a seat by the side.
When Jake saw Jonas take up one side of the couch, he was eager to sit beside Megan as well.
However, the moment he wanted to do so, Megan suddenly stood up, looking quite impassive.
“Y’all should go on ahead, I’ll like to step out for a while.”
Everyone sensed Megan’s displeasure from that singular gesture. The shift in Jake’s expression was especially pronounced.
Upon witnessing the situation, Martin held Megan back and pacified her, “Don’t leave just yet. We’ll need to capture some footage when we disembark later, so you should stay here and chat with Jonas. Get to know each other better so you build up some chemistry.”
Megan pointed to Jake’s poker face and scoffed, “Expect trouble since all of you are in agreement that he gets to remain here. Don’t you know that he’s here to spy on me? There’s no possible way we’ll be able to carry on shooting with him sticking around.”
Megan held nothing back and Jake did not hide his displeasure about her choice of tone either.
He grabbed her by the wrist. “Are you still unhappy about what happened just now?”
Jake’s earnestness and restraint toward Megan surprised Martin, who immediately caught on with what was really going on between the three of them.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3318
Sour Faces
The alarms inside Martin’s head went into overdrive when it dawned upon him what a dreadful mistake it was for him to sign on this contract.
Megan picked up on that and smirked. She then glared at Jake. “So what? It’s not like you care about it. First, you tested me, and now you put me under supervision? Why do you insist that there must be something going on between me and Jonas?”
Her aggressive words stabbed at Jake’s heart like a knife.
He was perplexed as to why he felt so terrible. What he had taken for granted as an expression of anger before now seemed more like a feeling of care. What he felt was a sense of emptiness and self-pity after being wantonly crushed.
Jake pursed his lips. This was neither the time nor place where he wanted to discuss these things. He averted her gaze and relinquished his grip on her.
“There’s nothing to explain. To think you’re this upset even though we’re just traveling together for work spoke to how much you must have hated me.”
Jake’s cold gaze swept over Megan before he brushed past her shoulder. Then, he made a beeline for the door and slammed it on the way out.
The entire lounge abruptly fell into silence. Martin could only look haplessly to the silent Jonas and the sullen Megan.
This is really a disaster!
A proper dating show now reduced to a contest of sour faces!
“Yeah… you should talk for a while. I’ll come back in when it’s time to board.”
Martin did not know how to go about counseling them. The heaviness that hung in the air inside the lounge ultimately proved too suffocating for his liking, so he got Donna to walk out alongside him, emptying the room for the two who remained.
Megan was restless amidst the stagnated atmosphere. She twice glanced over at Jonas in the distance whose eyes were veiled beneath the shadow of his loose fringes.
“Is there anything you would like to ask me?”
Jonas turned sharply to regard Megan. His eyes were quietly wistful, but vacuous otherwise.
“It isn’t important. Let’s just prepare ourselves for the filming.”
Megan had neither the vitriol she showed Jake nor the consolation she provided from before. Only a stark staidness was reserved for him.
The more she behaved this way, the more it revealed how much this bothered her.
“Alright. I’ll do that.”
Since she had no desire to talk, there was no reason for him to persist further. Regardless of whether she was angry or sad, he could never affect her emotional state, to begin with.
Megan lowered her gaze as she listened. Another glance at him left her in a disarray inside, so she simply went for the door and made her way out.
Time whittled away and ten minutes had elapsed. It was finally time to embark, so Megan rejoined the main group which soon began boarding.
Megan and Jonas would have chosen to sit apart if not for the director’s insistence. He firmly stressed to them that Jake would be taking a different flight and would not be a distraction during their filming.
Megan might have felt better off had Martin not mentioned this. The fact that he did only made her feel worse.
Regardless, her frustration seemed to have settled down well before she absentmindedly relocated herself next to Jonas.
Shortly after Jake’s exit, Megan went to look up the director because she did not understand what he meant by just traveling together for work.
She fell silent after hearing his reply.
It would seem that Jake had gotten in contact with the production crew immediately upon his return from J Nation, hoping to be able to catch the same flight out to Horington with them. He was genuinely transiting there for a business meeting, and not to supervise her.
Martin made it clear that Jake was extremely down when the latter informed him that he was planning to take a different flight, and guessed that all Jake might have wanted was to seize the opportunity to see her.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3319
In The Garden
Since they were going to part ways after they disembark anyway, there was no probable way he would be able to place her under any sort of surveillance.
The director’s explanation made everything crystal clear, and contrarily, left Megan’s heart all topsy-turvy inside. She played with her fingernails and bit her lip. Jake’s true sentiments were increasingly unfathomable to her.
“Hey, look up, Megan. Go on and interact with Jonas.”
Martin hand-held the camera and hovered it in front of them. Megan lifted her gaze and eked out a smile. When she turned to Jonas, she found that his level of enthusiasm was, likewise, lukewarm at best.
Megan was not optimistic about the prospects of the upcoming filming. With the two of them being in the mental state that they were in, she feared that things would only get worse.
“Don’t be so cold, Jonas. Try to smile a little, at least.”
The man behind the camera was a little unnerved. The few minutes of footage he had so far produced not even a single moment of tenderness. That was a serious cause for concern.
“A little help here, Jonas.”
Megan was mildly irked and somewhat flustered as this should not be her job. The way things went sideways made her a little mad.
Jonas looked askance at Megan. His calm eyes glistened as he silently tilted his head and fobbed her off with a patronizing nod.
“Wow, Jonas. That was one heck of an awkward smile.” Martin was quite flabbergasted at the sight of the two stiffs in his viewfinder. He decided that he had enough and put away his camera, keeping his fingers crossed for some usable footage by the end of this ordeal.
It was nighttime in Horington by the time they got off the plane. The production crew went around to shooting the couple at dinner.
To foster the mood, the production crew had rented a villa ahead of time for them to use. Once they arrived, Megan was requested to prepare a meal on her own.
“I have to make dinner for Jonas?” Megan’s eyes widened as she spoke.
It was a tough task for her be it in the past or present, she could not cook to save her life.
Her expression told the director all there was to know. He waved his hand. “It doesn’t need to be that great. Just follow your heart. No pressure.”
Megan seemed to have come to some understanding after hearing Martin out. She pursed her lips and nodded nonchalantly. “Alright. I’ll do as you ask, but no promise.”
She went into the kitchen and swiftly fashioned up a few dishes. Soon, Megan had them tabled before Jonas, who was spacing out in the garden.
“It’s ready. Go ahead and help yourself.”
Megan turned on the light in the terrace and all the lamps along the path in the garden simultaneously illuminated as well. With the warmth of the lightning accentuating the contours of the blossom petals, the entire place was transformed into a kaleidoscopic dreamscape.
Jonas swirled the wine in his glass and casually glanced sideways. The burnt dishes on the table hardly looked appetizing.
“I’m not hungry. Let’s drink a little first.”
He tactfully conveyed his reluctance to eat and passed the wine in his hand to Megan. The pale-yellow light scattered across his forehead was cast back by his pupils.
“I’ve aerated this for you. Try it.”
As Megan lowered her gaze toward the claret liquid inside the glass, the piquancy of the grapes licked at her nostrils. The chilliness of the vessel upon her fingertips was numbing to the touch.
“Oh, okay.”
Megan received the cold glass of wine and, gave it a light swivel too. All the fragments of her emotions were stirred gently into those waves of reflections inside as they rose and fell between her fingers.
In her esteem, the wall which had seemingly been erected between Jonas and herself might not necessarily be a bad thing for her.
As for the matter of vindication, she could only do what was within her control and to the best of her ability.
“A lot has happened today. I’m really sorry that I got carried away.”
Jonas remained sedate as he watched Megan’s face bask aglow under the lighting. The frostiness in his eyes had quietly begun to thaw.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 3320
To Dial Or Not To Dial
He averted his gaze, not wishing for the mental defenses he had worked so hard to build up to simply fall to pieces in that instant.
Megan was quite stumped at hearing Jonas’ apology. Pertaining to that call in the morning, she was more upset with Jake than she was with him.
But right now, the only thing she had left was self-reproach.
“It’s okay. There’s no need to dwell on it. I’m not that angry anymore.”
Megan took a sip of wine as she lay back in the rattan recliner, and her eyes drifted aimlessly toward the deep blue sky.
She wondered what Jake might be up to right now.
Seeing how distracted she was, Jonas lowered his gaze. Light and shadow mingled upon his downcast face as he did.
He got to his feet and sampled some of Megan’s cooking with a fork. They were downright awful and unpalatable, but Jonas swallowed them anyway.
“Not bad.”
Jonas was expressionless when he placed down the fork, but the corner of his lips lifted when he saw Megan’s look of surprise.
“What? Is it that inconceivable that I was able to eat it?”
Megan took another sip of wine. She could not imagine how he had done that because even she would refuse to eat her own cooking.
“Uh yeah, your courage is… commendable.”
“That’s right. Some would call that true love.”
Jonas’ brows perked up teasingly. It was not clear whether that was said in jest or sincerity.
Megan could not decide which it was, but she paved it over with a broad smile and a sparkle in her eyes.
Both of them, as well as everyone on the production crew, spent the night together in the villa. Megan lay in bed, wide awake. She brought up Jake’s number on her phone but immediately found herself in a dilemma.
She was not able to get over what happened earlier and wanted very much to call and apologize. It seemed that she had been constantly maligning him in his face of late.
To dial, or not to dial. That was the question.
As Megan was deliberating, her phone lit up. Upon closer inspection, she found that a message had come through.
“Are you asleep?”
After she went through its content, she realized that the sender was Jake.
Her chest tightened as she had not expected that he would initiate contact on his own volition.
The brightness of the screen was especially piercing to the eyes amidst the darkness. Between blinks, Megan considered how she should respond.
Terribly conflicted inside, there was so much she wanted to say. But all she could muster in the end was “Not yet”.
Less than a second later, a new message came in.
Megan could hardly contain herself as she promptly read the text displayed.
“Me too. Why don’t we sneak out. Let’s go for a ride.”
A ride?
Megan was jolted to her senses. She jumped out from bed jubilantly and the worried expression she wore before became a thing of the past.
She got dressed quickly without consideration of the consequences and sat on the bed while she fired off her reply.
“Okay. Come pick me up!”
It was an exhilaration that she had never experienced prior to this, and never had she wanted to do anything this badly. She was utterly wound up by all the vexing matters and poor interpersonal relations piled upon her over so many days in a row.
There was nothing more she would like right now than for a blast of cold wind to knock those unhappy thoughts to the back of her mind.
“Alright. Sit tight. I’ll be right over.”
Jake’s reply came back fairly quickly. Megan chucked the phone aside once she was done reading it and propped herself up with both hands, feeling more at ease.
Megan’s phone blared out shortly after. She picked up the call and heard Jake’s voice coming from the other end.
“I’m downstairs. Hurry down now.”
“Okay. Be right there.”