Laura’s POV 122
“That’s right, I’m childish and I’m stupid!” I looked at her, “I’m just plain stupid! Why did I lose faith in Cameron when I had the chance to go away with him and get away from this place of wrongdoing just because of an inexplicable piece of news? I never should have believed that he and Queenie would rekindle their old flame!”
“Likewise, I don’t believe Cameron would have any feelings for you!” I laughed, “Fryday, you’re just purposely acting like you’re intimate with Cameron in front of me.”
“Heh, whatever you think!” Fryday looks at me askance, leaning against the dresser and wrapping her arms around her chest.
“Laura, I just want to say one thing to you.” She looked serious, “I’ll be at this presentation! I’ll be sitting on stage watching you. And I already know that you and Cameron are brother and sister …”
She paused and laughed, “If you don’t want a reputation, you’d better publicize it honestly. Think about what to say and what not to say.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Sort of.” She was blunt.
I laughed softly, “You have no proof. With empty promises, who are you going to convince that Cameron and I are brother and sister?”
“Laura, you are so stupid!” She looked at me, “Did you think I wouldn’t be prepared for anything? Would I have come empty handed?”
My heart fluttered slightly, “What do you have in your hand?”
“Just an ace.” She smiled smugly, and with a lift of her body to sit directly on the dresser in front of me, leaned down and whispered, “Laura, you’d better be a good promoter! Don’t say a word that the company hasn’t told you to say! Hehe, George is so hard to hold you up, he’s still waiting for you to make money for him!”
“You …”
Without waiting for me to speak, she patted me on the shoulder, stepped on her high heels and walked out with her head held high.
I sat there, my heart very apprehensive. There aren’t many people who know about my relationship with Cameron, except for the people of The Lynch Family, which are George and Gina, and the two of them are definitely not going to be loud-mouthed.
Then there was Queenie …
Could it be her?
My mind was so messed up that I didn’t even look back when the stylist walked in and reminded me several times that it was time to change.
I went into the conference site apprehensively and followed the program like a robot to interact with the host, the program and lines were all set up in advance, the stage was lit up with flashing lights, the build-up was a great success.
When it came to the reporter’s question session, a large number of reporters bypassed the male and female protagonists and attacked me directly.
“Ms. Laura, it is said that during the filming of the location, Mr. Rafael visited the desert, are you guys dating?”
I was prepared for this and smiled but didn’t answer as instructed by the company.
But the reporter still pursued me, “Mr. Rafael was chasing you?”
“Is it because of you that Mr. Rafael broke off his engagement to Miss Fryday?”
“Do you feel you’re a third party to Mr. Rafael and Miss Fryday?”
The questions were more pointed than the others, and it would be a lie to say that I wasn’t flustered as I was being grilled by the crowd for the first time. I could barely stand up on the stage, the flashing lights were making me dizzy, and I looked to my agent offstage for help, only to see Fryday sitting next to Cameron, her hand gently on his arm.
Then she looked up and smiled at me, her eyes provocative.
My heart pumped hard and I lurched on my feet, violently failing to stand, breaking my heels and sending a sharp pain rapidly down my ankle.
I felt so helpless, I was standing in the spotlight, so many people no one helped me, they just looked at me funny.
They wanted to dig up what was best for their story.
Every pore in my body felt like it was being enlarged, the smiles on people’s faces turned into grimaces as they slowly moved closer to me and kept asking questions that embarrassed me.
I retreated until there was no way back.
At that moment a warm palm supported my waist.
I was startled, followed by his generous embrace, Cameron stood beside me, his strong arms blocking all the reporters who were chasing me.
His low, icy voice was infinitely intimidating, “If there’s anything you want to ask me, come and ask me.”
The scene suddenly quieted down, those reporters looked at each other and whispered, “Isn’t that Cameron?”
Outside the crowd, Fryday stared coldly this way, his face pale.
“Yes, I’m Cameron,” he said faintly, “If there’s anything you want to ask, just come and ask me.”
“And what is Cameron to Miss Laura?”
His gaze was like a torch and he smiled softly, “Did you not look into Ms. Laura’s life before harassing her?”
I looked at him and couldn’t help but tighten my grip on his hand.
“I’m her brother.” He said, “You should know that Laura is the adopted daughter of The Lynch Family. We grew up together, as a child I was her brother, as an adult I hope to become her lover.”
The entire room went silent, followed by a low gasp.
I stared at him dumbfounded as well, my heart nearly jumping out of my throat. He just interlocked his fingers with mine and gave me a firm gaze with an unobtrusive slight smile.
“She’s just the adopted daughter of our family, and I think we can totally be together.” Cameron said, “And the truth is, I’ve liked her a lot for a long time. I’ll be with her and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.”
I slowly wet my eyes and my ears were buzzing. All the complex emotions rushed towards my heart at that moment, and I was at a loss for words, except to hold on to Cameron.
He held me back and it was an incredibly safe harbor.
The reporters at the scene were even more excited, the news was far more explosive than Rafael’s visit. They switched targets to Cameron, seemingly forgetting that this was a movie launch.
Cameron handled the situation with aplomb, answering every question in an organized manner, avoiding the important ones and gagging the journalists without making a fool out of himself.
He also did everything he could to protect me.
An “adopted daughter status” solved all the problems.
However, I didn’t notice a figure slowly walking into the hall, slowly approaching us. He pushed his way through the crowd and stood in front of Cameron and I. I suddenly panicked because the figure looked so familiar. …
He was wearing a ducktail hat that only showed half of his face.
And the curve of his mouth takes me back to that gray memory.
“Laura,” the grim voice came over like a gust of wind, “How are you doing?”
I freeze in place.
A flicker of panic flashed across Cameron’s face as well.
The man eased his ducktail off and his gaze was like a poison arrow.
“Carter…”
“Carter?” he looked at me, “Shouldn’t you be calling me big brother?”
I couldn’t speak.
I catch a glimpse of the smug smile on Fryday’s face not far away, and I realize that the ace in the hole she was talking about is actually him!
Carter holds a piece of paper in his hand, folded in half, and I get a vague feeling of unease.
“Heh, adopted daughter of The Lynch Family?” He leaned in close to me and said in a very low voice, “Would you like me to announce, in front of everyone, exactly what you are?”
My body shook violently.
I stared at his hand as he slowly unfolded the folded up paper, revealing only a little bit, but I could clearly see a few big words: DNA proof.
He looked at me and smiled, his grim eyes seeming to inquire, “Would you like me to display this for all to see?”
At that moment I went all out.
I was terrified, and the extreme fear was like a power drill, drilling a gurgling gush of blood through my heart.
I didn’t really care what people thought of me anymore, but I was afraid that Cameron would be ruined because of it. I was afraid that Sunny would be exposed to the cameras and become the center of everyone’s curiosity and research.
At that time, there might even be good people, under the banner of medical research on Sunny, to see what is different from others when a child is born from a biological sibling …
The vertigo hit me again.
I settled down and saw a determined Cameron beside me, and felt the pain of a million arrows piercing my heart the moment I made up my mind.
Cameron was about to say something when I stopped him.
Carter smiles grimly and meets eyes with Fryday from outside the crowd.
I let go of Cameron’s hand and walked over to the press. The venue is silent and the cameras keep flashing. I took a deep breath and pulled hard at the corners of my mouth to smile:
“That’s right, I’m the … daughter of The Lynch Family.” I turned slightly sideways, “These two are my brothers, but between me and them, it’s just brother and sister.”
“Laura, what did you say?” Cameron called out to me from behind.
I ignored it and said with a flourish, “I’m sorry Cameron, I can’t accept you … I already have a boyfriend, Rafael.”
“Laura …”
“Mr. Rafael is very nice to me.” I laugh, “What the media reported is true, Mr. Rafael did come to visit me in the desert area during my filming and was caring and considerate to me. But I don’t admit that I was the one who broke his relationship with Ms. Fryday … He broke off his engagement with Ms. Fryday first.”
After saying this I blacked out and was a little unsteady on my feet.
I could feel Cameron’s gaze, sharp, despondent, disappointed, and flaming with bitterness.
The agent stepped forward at the right time to block the reporters for me, “Miss Laura has already explained what should be explained, please focus more on this movie, thank you all!”
…
I don’t know when that conference ended. It was as if I was sleepwalking until the venue was empty.
I subconsciously turned around to look for Cameron, but I was the only one left in this huge place, and it was as if I had been abandoned by the world again.
A pair of black leather shoes stop in front of me and I raise my eyes to see Carter gloating and smiling.
“It’s been a long time, my good sister.”
I looked away, not wanting to look at him.
He crouches down and whispers, “You’ve had quite a life! Now you’re an actress … Heh, actually I’ve long realized that you have a knack for acting! Once upon a time, you and Cameron acted under my nose, is that not enough?”
“What the hell are you doing?” I looked straight at him, “You’re not so bad, colluding with Fryday! Can you satisfy her though?”
“Once upon a time the eldest son of The Lynch Family, elegant and golden, even in poor health, he shone in a crowd. Hehe, now that he’s fallen into a mourning dog, do you still want to learn from those rich kids to bag actresses?”
“Laura!”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Carter snapped, grabbing me by the neck.
I stared straight at him, not frightened by the choking sensation. The biggest storm had just been experienced and I was fearless now.
A flicker of trepidation crossed his face and he slowly released me again.
“Heh, looks like you’ve forgotten you’re the daughter of The Lynch Family and mom and dad! I’m telling you, Cameron has taken everything from The Lynch Family in a despicable and underhanded way! Dad is in the hospital, and Mom, who used to be such a noble person, now has to go out and work for someone else!”
I was a little saddened to hear what happened to Mom.
After all, mother and daughter are connected by the heart, even if there was a lot of dissatisfaction with her in the past, it has slowly dissipated over the years.
However, when I think of Anne’s death, when I think of the many misfortunes and sorrows she once brought to The Lynch Family …
I took a deep breath, “Carter, it wasn’t Cameron who caused this situation, it was you guys. I know everything, Patrick has a case there too, it was mom who masterminded the kidnapping back then, and Anne’s death could be said to be directly caused by mom!”
“I just can’t believe it,” I looked at him, “she’s a mother too, she has a daughter too, how could she do this to someone else’s daughter? Besides it was her own sister’s baby too!”
“What do you mean? It’s at a time like this, and you’re still helping Cameron!”
A poisonous light swept through Carter’s eyes as he stared at me, and then he smiled softly, “But even if you still favor him, it’s useless … You two can never be together in this life!”
“Cameron I’m not done with him on this score.” He said, “Sooner or later, one day, I’m going to make him pay back what he owes me and what he owes mom and dad with interest! My good sister, you’ll have to think carefully about which side you’ll be on when the time comes!”
…
For days on end I locked myself in my room.
I didn’t answer my phone, I didn’t answer my work, even taking care of Sunny, Yasmin was doing it for me. Sunny sometimes came to me and asked me why daddy didn’t come home. I don’t know how to answer, a sudden sour heart, I can only reluctantly use the most perfunctory reason to put off, “Dad is busy at work …”
“Mom …” Sunny hugged the bear, two big eyes pitifully looked at me, “they all say … that you and dad …”
“Say what?” I shuddered.
“Said you two are brother and sister, you can’t have a baby at all!”
My scalp went numb, my ears buzzed, and my heart pounded.
The thing I feared most had happened.
I’m afraid that this matter has been rendered by Carter and Fryday and made a big fuss … Sunny is still hurt, and everything I wanted to hide, all of it can’t be hidden …
“Ms. Laura!” Yasmin knocked on my room door, “Mr. Rafael is here, do you want to meet him?”
I was stunned.
Yasmin whispered, “If you don’t want to see him, I’ll go and return it for you.”
“Just a minute …,” I thought for a moment, still planning to let Rafael in.
Yasmin took Sunny out into the garden to stack blocks while I sat in the living room with Rafael.
He looks over at me, takes a gentle sip of tea, and whispers, “You look pale.”
Raising my eyes, I meet his concerned, gentle eyes, and my heart flutters slightly.
“Mr. Rafael …,” I mumbled, “I actually should have taken the initiative to find you. I’m sorry about the other day … I mean that incident at the movie launch.”
“I’m really sorry, did I bring you trouble by saying you were my boyfriend … in front of all the press? I’m really sorry …”
“You don’t have to be sorry.” He laughed softly, then sat down next to me and gently held my hand.
“Actually … I’m willing to be the shield.” The softness of his voice made me feel warmer.