Chapter 121 Devastation
May threw the magazine she held on the floor before leaving. Erin stared at it for a full five minutes, unable to muster the courage to look at it. Finally, after she exhausted her patience, she walked over and picked up the magazine.
Startlingly, she saw a photo of Chandler and Alana together in the most famous business celebrity magazine in the country. The photo was taken in Chandler’s study. The two of them looked like a match made in heaven. They were like the moon and stars, making one
marvel at how God created two people so perfect for each other.
Chandler, with his extremely handsome face, had a radiant smile that could light up a galaxy. Alana, with her captivating beauty, leaned affectionately in his arms. They both looked dazzlingly beautiful.
With a heavy thump, the magazine slipped from Erin’s hands and fell to the ground. She felt a wave of weakness and dizziness. She’d known all along that Chandler would hold that engagement banquet. But when the engagement banquet was published in an authoritative magazine like this, it felt like the final verdict for Erin’s love had been made.
The engagement was like an hourglass licking away in Erin’s heart, and the sand inside the hourglass felt like drops of blood that dripped continuously, suffocating her. The wound was much deeper than she’d imagined; it ran so deep that the marrow was visible.
In a daze, Erin walked out of the dressing room. Along the way, she passed by some people in the film and television industry who wanted to flatter Roman. Erin’s identity was already known by many, and she forced a weak smile at everyone.
It felt like a long time had passed before she finally returned to her hotel room. She closed the door and went straight into the bathroom. turning on the cold shower and letting the icy water flow freely to cool down her chaotic and bleeding heart.
Only when her brain, which was on the verge of breaking down, finally registered the coldness and realized that her body was absolutely enveloped in a trembling sensation, did she turn off the water mechanically.
After taking off her clothes, she put on a robe and lay down, trying to sleep. But sleep did not come to her. Her mind was filled with that
heartbreaking photo of Chandler and Alana together. She felt her headache intensifying, indicating that the side effects from standing
under the cold water were taking effect. She was sick.
Her initially freezing body gradually became feverish, and Erin’s consciousness started to blur. Gradually, she slipped into
unconsciousness.
At 1 pm in the afternoon, Roman returned to the dressing room after he was done shooting his scenes. He saw the magazine on the floor and picked it up. Just by looking at the cover, he could imagine what Erin must have felt at that moment. He asked Ken to inquire if anyone had seen Erin because she didn’t answer her phone when he called her.
Ten minutes later, Ken entered the dressing room and said, “Roman, a crew member said they saw Erin return to the hotel.”
Roman frowned and thought for a moment before asking. “Is the 16th scene in the afternoon scheduled at 3 pm?”
Ken nodded and said, “Yes, we still have two hours until then.”
Without removing his makeup and still wearing his costume, Roman said, “Let’s go back to the hotel now.”
“Okay, Roman!”
Fifteen minutes later, after Roman arrived at the hotel, he found the hotel manager and explained Erin’s situation. He mentioned that she might have fallen ill in her room without anyone around to assist her. Only by saying this could he get the hotel staff to give them access
to Erin’s hotel room.
When the door to the hotel room was opened five minutes later, Roman didn’t let the stall and Ken go inside. He instructed Ken to wait at
the door.
Roman, dressed in a black robe, with his long hair slicked back into a low ponytail, appeared like an ethereal elven prince descending from his mythical forest.
He walked into the bedroom and saw Erin curled up under the covers. Her cheeks were flushed, and there were beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. Roman crouched down and touched her forehead. Lo and behold, she was having a lever!
Without hesitation, Roman immediately walked out of the room and called for two female hotel attendants to help dress Erin.
Ten minutes later, Erin was dressed up neally. Roman carried her in his arms and left without hesitating. Ken followed closely behind him. They took Erin directly to a hospital in Fleuverton City.
An undercover reporter, who had been waiting outside the hotel, photographed the whole process of Roman personally carrying his female assistant to the hospital. Within an hour, the news about this incident was all over the Internet.
Two hours later, in the president’s office of Frost Building. Kyle stood before Chandler’s desk and reported the online incident involving Erin to him. Chandler listened attentively, his dark eyes deep and inscrutable. He immediately checked the news on his computer and saw a photo of Roman, dressed in his set costume, carrying Erin into a van.
He’d known Roman for a solid fifteen years, and this was the first time he’d seen Roman carrying a woman in his arms. Even in film and television dramas, such a situation would never occur. That was how Roman maintained a zero–scandal record for so many years; he refused to film intimate scenes with actresses. The most he would do was hold hands in a scene.
Therefore, when Chandler saw the scene of Roman carrying Erin into the car, he was shaken to his core! He immediately took out his phone and dialed Roman’s number.
Roman quickly answered, “Did you see the news?”
“It seems you’re aware you were secretly photographed. Aren’t you afraid of breaking your zero–scandal record by openly carrying Erin like that?” Chandler felt a mixture of complex emotions while facing this close friend of his for the very first time.
At the moment, Roman was sitting beside Erin. Looking at her arm that was hooked up to an intravenous drip, he felt a twinge of heartache. His voice turned cold as he asked. “Chandler, do you know why Erin is in the hospital?”
Hearing that the woman he loved was in the hospital, coupled with the fact that he couldn’t be by her side, Chandler’s face turned grim.
Not getting a response to his question, Roman answered it himself, “Erin has a fever. She must have been exposed to the cold for an extended period of time. Chandler, no one can stop you from doing what you need to do, but I hope you can refrain from causing potential harm to Erin. She saw the photo of your engagement with Alana.”
His words caused a dull ache to spread across Chandler’s heart. Although he’d anticipated Erin’s reaction upon seeing the magazine, he didn’t expect her reaction to be this intense. He even had a moment of excitement and joy, knowing that she would somehow react to this news because it proved that Erin truly cared about him.
But he didn’t wish for Erin to fall sick. This wasn’t an outcome that he wished to see. Chandler said with difficulty. “Take care of her for me and give me some time.”
Although he wanted to fly to Fleuverton City immediately, all the effort he’d put into appearing as a loving couple with Alana in the city would be wasted if he did so.
Roman said, “I’ve only known Erin for a short time, but I know I’m not wrong about her. She’s a good girl, and if you don’t cherish her enough, I believe someone else will.”
The words that Chandler had on the tip of his tongue ultimately remained unspoken. He hung up in a very bad mood. In fact, he really wanted to ask Roman, “When you said someone else would cherish her, did that include you as well?”
Chandler stood up and walked to the window wall, looking down at everything beneath him. The weight of his responsibility was enormous in order to secure his position. His father, Quentin, had accumulated a significant amount of influence within the board of directors that couldn’t be removed overnight. He needed time to fight back.
Seeing Roman breaking his usual pattern and going above and beyond for Erin, Chandler fell like it was a blow to his heart. He could only silently pray that Roman wouldn’t fall for Erin and was taking care of Erin on his behall.
Meanwhile, in the hospital room in Fleuverton City, Roman’s eyes were fixed on Erin. When he calmed down, he realized that he’d said things he shouldn’t have in his conversation with Chandler.
Erin belonged to Chandler, and he was merely Erin’s boss. He was just standing in for Chandler to take care of her. But why did he hastily and personally carry her into the car when he found out that she had a fever?
He could have let Ken do it.
Roman recalled his concern at that time. He decided that if he let Ken carry Erin into the car, Chandler would very possibly get angry when
he found out later. It wasn’t until he sat in the hospital room, gazing at Erin’s face, that he understood something–he was unwilling to let Ken carry Erin.
Just the mere thought of it made him annoyed.
