Chapter 6 Pervert, What Are You Looking At

Jacob finally sprang into action, swiveling just in time to see their retreating backs disappear among the crowd. His fists clenched tighter. There was an inexplicable anger raging inside him, which showed in his eyes.

After Lola left with Ryan, it was as though exhaustion had set in over her body, and she lost all interest in the cocktail party.

"Ryan, I'm really sorry to involve you in this. Let me treat you to dinner one of these days as an apology." She gave him an embarrassed smile.

"Silly girl," Ryan replied lightly. "I'm willing to let you take advantage of me."

"Well, that's not very smart of you." Lola leaned against the wall and glanced at the time. "I've done what I came here to do -- I showed up. I'm quite confident that someone will contact my agent soon. I have to go. My assistant is here to pick me up, too. See you another day, Ryan."

"No, let me drive you home tonight."

Lola was touched by the gesture, but she shook her head. "If anyone from the press gets wind that you've driven me home, I'm dead meat. I've only just come home, so..."

Ryan was quick to understand her point, so he didn't insist.

Lola had lied, however. Her assistant had, in fact, already gone back home early. And so it was that she walked out of the hotel by herself and wandered over to the street.

Her heart was in a mess,

and she could use the long walk alone to calm herself down.

She had already anticipated that she would run into him once she set foot back in the city; it was practically inevitable. But she had never imagined that they would meet immediately after her return, and under such horrible circumstances, too.

For a total of three times:

back at the airport, during the fashion show, and then even at the cocktail party.

Did she succeed or fail?

Never mind, she had at least won the first battle.

She hugged herself tightly as she kept walking. She was wearing a formal dress, so she was bound to catch some attention. Fortunately, very few passersby were aware that she was a celebrity, so she managed to enjoy her freedom in peace.

She had gone through so much in the past two years, the number of setbacks and difficulties barely outweighed by her overall success.

But she had always believed that she would emerge a better person tomorrow.

It had kept her going, and she had never once retreated from her goals.

'I laughed and cried for you for nineteen years, Jacob. All of that is in the past. I am Lola now, a star by my own right, and I will burn even brighter in the future. I will never allow myself to revert back to who I was before.'

As she kept on walking, she ended up spraining her ankle by accident.

She stopped at the sidewalk and leaned against a lamppost to take off her shoes. She thought of the broken glass shards she had stepped on and smiled bitterly.

She had to admit at this point that she was in pretty bad shape. She stayed there for a while, a lone figure in the side walk, before bracing herself to carry on with the long walk. She had just straightened up and smoothed her clothes when car lights flashed at her. It was followed by the squeal of tires in the near distance.

Lola squinted in the dimly lit street to see a man get out of the car.

It was him!

She could feel her face drain of color as his tall and fit figure drew closer. "Jacob? Are you following me?"

Jacob stopped in front of her and gazed down at her with a thunderous expression. "This road is for public use. What gave you the idea that I was following you? I just happened to see a poor, stranded puppy by the side of the road, so I thought I'd do the decent think and stop the car to have a look at her."

Lola's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She moved to get away from him, only to fall over because of the injury on her feet.

Jacob reacted instantly and caught her before she hit the ground.

He was drawn to the woman in his arms, and instead of helping her up and letting go, he held her tighter.

When Lola recognized the glint in his eyes, her face turned hot. "Pervert!" she shouted as

she raised a hand and slapped him in the face.

He could only stare at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe she just did that.

Louisa used to be crazy about him. She had always clung to him and followed him everywhere. How could she have hit him?

This was a different woman from the Louisa he had known.

Putting her arms against her chest as if to cover herself, Lola glared at the man before her. "What do you think you're looking at?"

Jacob ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. "Don't be so self-righteous," he sneered. "I've met a lot of women, of all kinds, from all walks of life. You know this as well. You really aren't worth mentioning in their wake."

His words brought a lance of pain through her and landed in her heart with a dull thud. Of course, how could she have forgotten? He had never once been short of women!

She pivoted and walked on stubbornly, not wanting to have anything to do with him again. But every step she took felt like stepping on rows of upright needles, and the pain only kept getting worse.

She thought she had felt her wounds open up.

Jacob watched her trembling figuring, considering. Her back was fully exposed, and the night was getting chilly. He would also bet that the wounds on her feet were worse off than when he had last seen her.

"Where are you going? Where's your knight in shining armor Ryan? How come he isn't sending you home? It's so late now and he just let you go all by yourself? What are you doing here all by yourself, you poor girl?"

"It's none of your business, Mr. Jacob. I can take care of myself." She stopped at the curb, obviously looking to hail a taxi.

But he could read her expression, and she was enduring a lot of pain.

Without another thought, he strode over and picked her up. He carried her to the car and threw her unceremoniously inside. "Stop struggling!"

"What the hell are you doing? We have no business with each other!" Lola was feeling both ashamed and angry, mostly because she had no idea what this man might think of doing next.

"If you don't sit quietly and behave, I'll send word to my assistant right this moment and we'll release all the information about your involvement with me!"

His threat got through to her, and Lola stopped resisting.

Jacob slid into the driver seat and smoothly went back into the road. "Well..." He glanced at his passenger. "It looks like you care about your future so much! You don't want people to know that you were once married, huh? You're cheating the audience and all of your fans!"

"I have never wanted to lie! I just don't want to bring it up unnecessarily. It was a terrible past anyway, and would only hinder my achievements. I do trust that Mr. Jacob wouldn't disclose my identity so easily. After all, everyone in your family had always been unwilling to acknowledge me as your wife, hadn't they?"

Her lips twisted, not for the first time that night, into a bitter smile. Within the Gu Family, only Jacob's grandmother was willing to take her side, while the rest of them...

She never had a wedding ceremony when she had married Jacob.

As soon as a marriage certificate had been acquired, she had moved out of the family mansion and into Jacob's private villa. Except for the relatives and very few close friends of the Gus, there were only a handful of people who knew that the conglomerate heir had married.

In the first year of her marriage, she thought that she would acquire happiness one day, so she had been waiting for Jacob every day.

Grandma told her that she would have a grand wedding after graduation.

But she would never have that wedding.

She glanced at Jacob; he looked like he was lost in thought. Her words must have brought him to the past, too. The next few minutes passed with a strange atmosphere hovering inside the car.

"Anyway, you've been wandering out in the streets all alone. If someone sees you and recognizes you as Louisa, it would definitely have repercussions in the Gu Family. If so, then doesn't that involve me? Just stay here obediently..." Despite his words, Jacob's voice held no sting.

"You're overthinking. That scenario's pretty far-fetched."

He ignored her and looked straight ahead. The expression in his face didn't change either. But his grip on the steering wheel became tighter, and his palms began to sweat.

For her part, Lola didn't want to argue anymore. She stayed silent and waited to see what he would do.

It was late at night, but a lot of people were still coming and going through the hospital doors. Lola's feet were bandaged and tended to. Now that that was over with, she wouldn't let this man have his way any longer.

"I'll take a taxi. I would never dream of bothering you any more than I already have."

"Did you honestly think I care about you? Even if a kitten or a puppy on the roadside is injured, I won't care! Let alone you. I just... "

"Just what?"

"I have something to tell you. Get in the car!"