Chapter 3
Jason got back in the car after finishing his shoot and saw Nora, her eyes all puffy from crying.
"What's wrong? Weren't you in such a good mood this morning?" Jason frowned in confusion.
Nora tried to speak, but as soon as she opened her mouth, tears spilled down her cheeks. She looked so helpless and vulnerable.
She said, "Does Ms. Quinn not like me?
"No one's ever treated me as well as you have, so this morning I posted something to share my happiness with my fans. But Ms. Quinn got upset because of it."
As she spoke, she started to get up, ready to leave.
Before leaving, she said, "Mr. Winters, can I call you Jason before I go?
"Thank you for taking care of me all this time. You'll always be irreplaceable to me."
Hearing that, Jason finally realized what I had done to Nora.
After a quick glance at Jason's face, Nora lowered her eyes and said nervously, "Jason, I'm sorry. Ms. Quinn isn't going to blame you because of this, right?
"If I'd known she would get angry so easily, I never would've shared that happiness."
She lowered her head in guilt, but everything she said painted herself as innocent and pitiful, and made me look petty.
*****
Jason's assistant never told me how Jason reacted at the time.
But when Jason came home that night, his face was so stormy that it was almost scary.
The whole villa felt suffocating. Even the maids cleaning up were holding their breath, trying not to make a sound.
I ignored Jason's anger and kept pruning the flowers.
My indifference only seemed to make him even more frustrated.
After a few deep breaths, he finally sighed and said, "Linda, why bother arguing with a kid like her?"
Before I could respond, he continued, "Can you keep tomorrow night free?"
I kept my eyes on the flower branch, trimming it carefully, not even bothering to look up at him. "Why?"
Jason's resolve wavered a little under my icy tone. "I think there's been a misunderstanding between you two. Nora wants to apologize to you and talk it out face to face."
I set down the scissors and headed upstairs.
"There's no misunderstanding between us," I said. "She was the one who provoked me first. I just gave her a little taste of her own medicine.
"But I do have something to say to her. Since she's showing up herself, I don't have to bother with my secretary passing the word."
*****
The next day, when I got to the private room, Nora was already waiting for me at the door.
She bowed to me in the hallway, looking genuinely apologetic.
Her voice trembled with apology. "Ms. Quinn, I'm sorry.
"It was the first time someone treated me that well, so I couldn't help reposting that announcement to show off.
"I didn't know you would care about something like that. You weren't wrong, but if you wanted to blame someone, you should've blamed me alone. I hope you won't be upset with Jason because of me."
Jason stood beside her and gave me a quick wink, hinting that I should accept the apology and stop making things difficult for her.
I didn't respond.
After handing my coat to the server and taking my seat, I finally said in a nonchalant voice, "I think you misunderstood something.
"You're not enough to ruin what Jason and I have."
I gave Nora a piercing look. "But I hope you understand one thing.
"I'm a possessive woman. To me, another woman getting cozy with my husband is the same as challenging my authority and pushing my limits.
"Trust me, you don't want to find out what I can do."
Nora had probably seen plenty of fake smiles in the industry, so when faced with such a blunt threat, her expression held nothing but fear and embarrassment.
Jason wasn't very happy about it. "Linda, Nora's trying to make peace with you. Why are you scaring her?"
He knew exactly how ruthless I could be, but he also knew I never went after people for no reason.
So even though Nora was already shaking, tears welling up, Jason didn't say anything else after that.
I took the coat the server handed me and stood up to leave. "There won't be a next time, whether she means it or not."
Before the car pulled out, Jason followed me in and sat beside me.
He still thought I'd been too harsh.
"There's nothing between Nora and me," he said. "You know, you didn't have to humiliate a young girl like that."
I closed my compact mirror and turned to look at the man I had loved for ten years.
He looked just the same as ever, but deep down, he wasn't the man he used to be.
I said, "Jason, at the end of the day, this was never about me.
"The spark that set all this off was your attitude.
"You knew exactly how much effort I put into designing our wedding rings, yet you handed the symbol of our love to a girl who's clearly trying to get close to you.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice what she wanted."