Chapter 223: Chapter 223
Jonah Hansen was sitting on the sofa not far from Ariana Lynch, flipping through the personnel reports. Noticing something seemed off with Ariana, he promptly turned off his phone screen.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It’s all because of you! If you hadn’t been flirting with Quinn Lockwood, none of this would have happened!" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novęlfire.net
"Not only has our relationship been exposed, but it’s even affected me. I thought I could bring that bitch down, but she managed to dodge it again!" The thought of Quinn Lockwood flaunting her success in front of her made Ariana’s heart fill with resentment. Her beautiful eyes were filled with a sinister glint, and the spoon in her hand was bent out of shape.
Hearing Ariana’s words, Jonah felt a twinge of fear, but quickly composed himself and moved to sit beside Ariana.
Holding her hand tenderly, he said, "Ariana, how could I be flirting with her? I only know Savannah Lowell, and at that time, I thought you and she were on good terms."
"If I’d known she was in your way, how could I possibly have paid her any attention? As for others knowing about our relationship, you can rest assured. We haven’t responded publicly, so everyone can just dismiss it as the baseless gossip of marketing accounts."
Jonah was casually dressed in light gray loungewear. His slightly tousled hairstyle complemented his fair and handsome face, making him appear gentle and composed. His clear eyes were filled with gentle ripples, and a subtle smile lingered on his lips.
Those around him were unconsciously wrapped in a cocoon of his gentle affection.
Ariana’s anger was suddenly quelled. She merely furrowed her brows slightly at Jonah, not continuing her outburst.
Jonah left a light kiss on Ariana’s forehead before claiming he had matters to attend to at the office. He had just changed his clothes and was yet to head downstairs when Ariana saw news about Jonah carousing at a nightclub.
"Senior executive from a certain group found late-night mingling with several women, shocking scenes revealed!"
Ariana’s face turned ashen when she saw photos of Jonah cuddling with a group of women, the veins on her face pulsing in anger.
"Freeze all of Jonah Hansen’s accounts and funds immediately," she ordered with a darkened expression over the phone, and then proceeded upstairs to confront Jonah.
With Quinn Lockwood’s popularity and schedule back to normal, she arrived at the set early the next morning to begin shooting a new drama invested by Elias Sinclair.
Boss Sinclair originally wanted to come to the set with Quinn Lockwood, but when he knocked on her door early that morning, the servant informed him that Quinn had left at dawn.
In fact, Quinn deliberately wanted to avoid Elias Sinclair, as she didn’t want to arrive at the set with him and be subjected to endless gossip.
After a brief introduction by the crew leader, an assistant was assigned to take Quinn Lockwood to the makeup room for a fitting.
"Hey, did you guys know? The reason Savannah Lowell is playing the lead is because she slept with the investor and director. Haven’t you noticed the manager even personally assigned an assistant to take care of her?" A woman dressed in a red crop top and black wide-leg pants, looking both poised and refined, was standing in the corner disdainfully gossiping about Quinn to those nearby.
Initially, Quinn Lockwood thought it best to ignore such remarks, but since the woman made no effort to conceal her words and spoke loudly, letting it slide might make others think she was too guilty to defend herself.
Her expression turned cold and stern as Quinn raised her chin and approached the woman, arrogantly sizing her up from head to toe.
"What’s your name?" Quinn asked, her tone displeased as she lightly furrowed her brow.
Caught off guard by Quinn’s approach, the woman initially looked startled but quickly straightened up and assumed a defensive posture, replying, "Wendy."
"Oh? Then, Miss Wendy, which eye of yours saw me sleeping with the manager or the director? Do you know that for such behavior, I can have my lawyer draft a document to sue you for defamation and even seek compensation for my losses?"
"I lost quite a bit of money not having any gigs for several days due to that scandal," Quinn tilted her head, glancing at Wendy with a faint smirk. She then rubbed her temples, feigning pondering over her financial predicament.
Never expecting Quinn to confront her in such a manner, Wendy panicked, quickly nodded, apologized, and hurriedly left.
With a helpless shrug and a slight scoff, Quinn returned to her seat to continue getting her makeup done.
Once everything was set, the formal shooting began. Since Quinn was an experienced actress, the director arranged for the first scene to be an outdoor wire-fighting scene.
Shortly after being rigged to the wires, Quinn started feeling backaches and fatigue, her spirits not quite what they should be. It took several takes to finally complete the first scene, leaving Quinn’s complexion looking rather pale.
"I’m sorry, director. I think I just started my period, so I’m not quite in the zone. Please don’t be upset," Quinn said, now feeling a dull pain in her abdomen. This being her first day in the crew, she worried the director might be displeased with the numerous retakes.
"Would you like to rest, or resume shooting when you’re feeling better tomorrow?" The director asked while reviewing the footage, showing no signs of irritation, but rather concern.
The director had vaguely noticed something off about Quinn earlier. Despite several retakes, the emotional delivery was on point, capturing the exact feeling he wanted to convey.
Touched by the director’s concern, Quinn shook her head and said, "It’s okay, director. I’ll drink some hot water and be ready to shoot shortly."
Nodding, the director instructed an assistant to fetch hot water for Quinn, also thoughtfully getting her some warming pads. Observing Quinn sitting weakly in a chair, covered in fine cold sweat, some crew members began gossiping.
"It’s just a period; is that necessary? She’s being so dramatic."
"Dramatic? Look at how she’s got Assistant Chandler running around, fetching hot water and warming pads. Who else in the crew gets such treatment?"
Leaning back in her chair clutching her stomach, Quinn retrieved a painkiller from her bag, swallowed it, and gritting her teeth, stood up to continue shooting.