Free Web NovelChapter 779: Chapter 750: Gage Grant vs. Maeve [012]
"Since those photos appeared online yesterday afternoon, Maeve has locked herself at home. At first, she was willing to reply to my WeChat messages, but with new photos surfacing online this morning, she’s completely cut off! Ah, everyone is so worried, but even though we know she’s at home, there’s no way to have someone unlock the door!"
Gage Grant sped his car towards Maeve’s apartment, with her manager’s words still echoing in his ears.
He wanted to scold her awake!
Apart from wanting to teach her that actions have consequences, if you’ve done something, don’t be afraid of it being found out! If you feared exposure, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place! He also wanted to ask why she wouldn’t rely on him, someone safe and resourceful, and instead got involved with that disgraceful and ugly old man.
In the end, he didn’t feel sorry for Maeve facing online abuse this time! He just wanted to teach her how to be a proper person!
.
"Knock knock knock!" Gage Grant forcefully knocked on the old apartment’s door. "Open up! I know you’re inside!"
Ten minutes passed with no movement.
He started pounding, shouting, "If you don’t open the door, I’ll call Sienna Thorne over!"
A moment later, the door opened.
Maeve’s face appeared from behind the door, evidently showing signs of a hangover yet still looking pure.
This was the first time Gage had seen Maeve in over half a month since their encounter at the airport, and now so up close.
His heart inexplicably fluttered.
He regained his composure and tried to push open the door, but it wouldn’t budge as she was holding it shut.
"Open the door! I have questions for you!"
Maeve raised her chin slightly, looking at him, "What do you want?"
Listening to her tone, Gage knew she definitely recognized him.
He became even angrier, "You won’t open? Do you want me to call Sienna Thorne over so she can see how you look now, and then you’ll open it?"
As soon as he said that, the door which was tightly held shut, loosened. Maeve turned and went inside.
Gage followed and locked the door.
She was wearing a silk nightdress with a significant portion of her back exposed. Her prominent vertebrae wrapped in thin skin were tantalizing.
Gage forced his gaze away.
An empty bottle of foreign liquor lay on the coffee table in the living room, and there was a glass with half a cup of orange-yellow liquid inside.
Maeve sat down on the sofa, reached for a cigarette box beside her, took out a cigarette, put it in her mouth, and lit it.
"Click," a small flame brought a touch of warmth to the dimly lit environment.
Maeve took a fierce drag on the cigarette, then leaned back, stared at the ceiling, and after a few seconds, slowly exhaled thin white smoke from her mouth.
She wore a black silk strap nightdress, and her limbs were slender, giving off an almost sickly whiteness, her thin neck prominently displaying her throat bones as she leaned back.
Even in her ultimate decadence, she was a very seductive woman.
Gage clenched his teeth and sat down beside her on the sofa.
After a moment of silence, seeing that Maeve didn’t intend to speak, he cleared his throat and asked, "What are you planning to do next? There are photos of you and the old Chairman Crowley from Kingsbridge all over the internet."
Maeve took another drag on the cigarette, the scarlet flame like a prairie fire in the dim surroundings.
But this flame didn’t represent hope, more like a descent.
She smoked aloofly, not casting a glance at Gage, just staring into the void in a daze.
In Gage’s eyes, this was a tacit acknowledgment.
He was very uncomfortable, looking at Maeve’s desolation, a frustration akin to anger over one’s inability to live up to expectations.
During those times writing PR pieces, he knew she went through tough stages to achieve today’s accomplishments, but now due to a moment of misjudgment, she’s paying the price.
Because he had written a lot of PR content for her, spent over half a month editing photos, and personally argued against toxic fans to defend her, his feelings for her were very complicated now, with none of the carefree attitude from before.
"If you’re going to take shortcuts, at least choose a reliable path. An old shady guy like Chairman Crowley from Kingsbridge is obviously untrustworthy. Did you gain any benefits from sleeping with him? Not only did you not gain, but you’re now disgraced! You, as a young woman, are rumored to have traded favors with an old man for resources—how are you going to find a husband in the future? Those things online won’t disappear even after ten years or more!"
Gage grew increasingly angry, raising his voice, completely forgetting that he was just a nobody to Maeve.
Whether Maeve listened or not was unclear, but her expression remained indifferent, smoking as if all this concerned someone else. It wasn’t until she finished the cigarette that she frowned and extinguished the butt in the ashtray.
Gage’s gaze followed to the ashtray, full of cigarette butts.
Maeve lit another cigarette, continuing to puff clouds, treating Gage like he was invisible.
Gage was used to being the most dazzling star among people, this kind of neglect almost drove him mad.
He mocked, "Does your boyfriend know about all this?"
As soon as he spoke, he regretted it.
Originally he wanted to question why Maeve ignored his advances and went for Chairman Crowley, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask directly.
Maeve blew out a puff of smoke, chuckling, "I don’t have a boyfriend, and my parents have passed away. So no matter how unruly I am, no one can control me."
Gage was stunned for a few seconds, recalling Zion Quincy from Simon Forrester and Maeve’s wedding reception, and reflexively asked, "Broke up?"
Maeve smiled, too lazy to clarify.
In Gage’s view, this was likely tacit acknowledgment. He felt a bit pleased, "No boyfriend? That’s good."
Maeve glanced over with a seductive lift at the corner of her eyes.
Gage swallowed, his gaze becoming increasingly bold.
In order to restrain himself, he had no choice but to change the subject, "What are you planning to do now?"
Maeve continued to puff smoke, the lingering white clouds enveloping her subdued voice, "As an artist caught in scandal, if not quitting the field, what else can I do?"
Her voice sounded calm, just like she presented herself, indifferent, detached.
But Gage seemed to see sadness at the corner of her eyes.
"Just like you said, ten to eight years later, the internet will still have stories about me using an old man for resources," she smiled self-deprecatingly, "If I don’t retire and get a good gig later on, the netizens will say ’Must’ve been due to shady deals’; if I have no luck and no work then, the netizens might say ’Look, relying on dubious practices won’t get you far’. No matter what, I’m doomed."
When she started speaking, she was smiling, but towards the end, the bitterness in her tone was palpable.
Gage wanted to say "You sure have things figured out clearly, if only you considered the consequences back then," but he couldn’t bear to.
Women at her age, in such a tumultuous entertainment circle, avoiding temptation is too difficult.
Maeve crushed the cigarette butt in the ashtray, nonchalantly grabbed the glass beside her, and downed the remaining foreign liquor in one gulp.
"Foreign liquor isn’t drunk like that." Gage wanted to stop her, but it was too late, watching her down the forty to fifty-degree liquor at once.
Gage realized something and smiled mischievously, "You’re in for it, brace yourself for the high."
Maeve hadn’t eaten in two days; she had already drunk a lot before Gage arrived, and now with that half cup of foreign liquor, within less than half an hour, her vision turned blurry, her head spun.
She struggled to stand up, wanting to sleep in her room, but her limbs felt like they were standing on a rolling ship deck, swaying left and right—she couldn’t even stand properly...
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Today at Shadowsweet recommendation, there will be three Chapters. Two Chapters are posted first, one more Chapter and a small theater will be released in the evening.
