Chapter 42: Chapter 42

"A man who is right by your side through everything makes you happy. But he can leave your side to make dinner once in a while."

-Faith Hill-

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"Every woman deserves to feel beautiful. With our new hybrid night cream with hyaluronic acid and green tea extract to brighten your complexion. Hydrate and nourish your skin as you sleep, and wake up to a soft supple skin. Indulge in the experience yourself today, because you deserve the best" Jovanna moved her fingers alluringly as she held the tube in her hand. The studio lighting enhanced her light complexion making her skin appear brighter. There was also a fan on the side that added the flowing hair effect to the scene.

"And cut" a small round of applause was heard from the director. He smiled in satisfaction as he saw how the shoot had turned out. As expected from a world class model, her facial expression matched perfectly with the request. They had not regretted making her the face of the product, a lot of her fans and followers would surely want to support her, it would help to boost the sales.

Jovanna had just done her skincare advertisement for a major Asian beauty brand in Hong Kong. Thanks to her mixed face she often received plenty of modelling opportunities outside Europe and US, because faces like hers are high in demand in Asia for some reason. Once she was done, she stepped out of the photo stage as a bunch of staff quickly approached her to help her getting ready to leave. She was led to the changing room as usual where her belongings were placed. As she was getting dress, her mind wandered to how the experience was. She liked to analyze how her performance was because it helped her to improve.  Although it was a tiring shot since they needed to take several shots until it was perfect, it was worth it.

She thought after that she would just continue her day as schedules, so she expected nothing unexpected. However, we all know by now that life is full of surprises. She was wearing her jacket when her manager called out to her.

"Someone wants to see you." She said with a smirk on her face. Confused, she headed out to the waiting room and found Laurent seated there waiting for her, he was seen holding his phone on one of his hand while his other hand was clutching a plastic bag filled with what seemed to be taken away.

He did not seem to notice the gazes of the employees there who shamelessly stared at him, not just because he was a lao wai (Chinese people's term for a white person) since Hong Kong in general was filled with white people from Britain. It was mostly because he was quite handsome for a foreigner. The women could not help but stare at him, including the older, married woman who admired his beauty.

Jovanna did not try to lower the sound of her footsteps, making her presence detectable right off the bat. He lifted his face, put his phone back to his pocket when he noticed her presence. A simple yet appreciated gesture. Though she was bewildered by his presence before her.

She had no idea why he was in Hong Kong. The previous day he was still in Paris, they had a little video call right after she arrived. Yet there he was in person. Though she was not complaining. It was always a delight for her to see Laurent. The man might not be the owner of her heart but every time he was there, her mood was always lifted. That time it would not be as different.

"What are you doing here?" she was pleased to see him, though she would never admit it, she was happy that he even bothered to visit her despite his busy schedule. Laurent has always been attentive toward her, his gentle, refined nature had made her felt comfortable around him, though sometimes she could act a little bit childish, stubborn and selfish, for whatever reason it might be, he was the only person beside Yvonne in her circle who had never left her alone. For that, he had soon become an irreplaceable person for her. When in the past, he had given her quite a few surprises as well, but it had to be one she had never thought of before, after all it took a few hours to fly from Paris to Hong Kong.

Laurent was wearing a long sleeve navy blue V neck and jeans. He looked awfully casual, unlike his usual self who were seen mostly in suits and ties. As the heir to his father's company, he had been taught to dress for success from an early age, even at home, he would always be seen dressed properly, perhaps not as formally, but out of all men she had ever known, he was probably one of the most fashionable, that was a huge statement. Yet it was nice to see him relax a bit once in a while. Jovanna approached him and gently stared at him as she playfully crossed her arms.

"I brought you lunch. Let's have them together." he beamed. She took a moment of pause to think. she had planned to have lunch with some of her mother relatives in Hong Kong later on as they had visited the country at the same time. She was worried if they would think she was rude for canceling lunch with them, since it was uncommon for them to meet her since she was mostly in Paris or other parts of the world throughout the year. At the same time, she would feel sorry for rejecting him, he had traveled to the other side of the world just to have lunch with her after all.

"I would love to, but I already have another plan." she felt horrible for admitting it, but she thought it was partially his fault, he should have confirmed to her about his arrival instead of coming without notice. Laurent's face dropped, he was disappointed. He let out an awkward chuckle and told her it was fine. He could just take her out for dinner instead. After all, even he did not wish to waste his time for nothing. She nodded her head. Dinner sounded great.

His persistence was something to be admired, it had always been that way, no matter what she did, he always seemed to pursue his own desire to be with her. She often ignored the signs, to avoid risking their friendship, because she was fond of him, as far as friend went. She had no other excuse to refuse the dinner invitation and he quickly made an appointment at a five-star restaurant in the city. As he was typing in the reservation, her phone buzzed loudly, the only app she allowed for notification was her own personal messaging app. It had to be one of her family or friends texting her.

There was a message notice on her phone, it was from Yvonne.