She stared blankly at the ceiling above her, as if his figure appeared in her mind once more.
"Sophie, you’re being pathetic again." She closed her eyes. He’s gone, just let it go, don’t think about anything.
She was sleeping soundly when the abrupt ringing of her phone interrupted her sweet dream.
With her eyes closed, she fumbled around her bedside, finally getting hold of the phone.
"Hello..." Her voice was a bit lazy, responding in a daze.
"Sophie, it’s me, Eva."
Hearing Eva Miller’s voice, Sophie Smith’s mind instantly cleared up. She sat up from the bed, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"I..." Eva hesitated, unable to find the words.
"Eva, if there’s something on your mind, just tell me, I’m your friend."
"Alright then." Eva had made up her mind to tell Sophie about it, but it was just hard to speak up.
"It’s , last time at the hotel, you saw me and President Land, you know..." Eva spoke tactfully, but Sophie naturally understood.
"Actually, President Land and I did not do that."
"What are you saying?" Immediately, Eva puzzled Sophie again, "What do you mean by ’didn’t do that’?"
"This is a long story. Yesterday, I received a video from President Land. It was surveillance footage from that day at the hotel, showing both President Land and I were drunk and were taken to the room by the hotel staff. President Land didn’t do anything to me."
"But, what about your clothes?" She clearly saw the moment Eva entered the room, her clothes were thrown on the floor.
"I don’t know about that, but I’m sure that President Land didn’t do anything to me."
"Eva, you don’t need to defend him anymore."
"No, Sophie." Eva’s voice immediately turned much more serious, "I’ve never had a boyfriend, I know my own situation very well. My first time is definitely still with me. Do you remember? When we left the hotel, there were no traces on the bed. It was just that our minds weren’t clear at the time..."
So did she really misunderstand him?
He kindly agreed to see Eva on her behalf, but...
There’s no need to think about it anymore, Sophie, you already have nothing to do with him.
"Alright, Eva, as long as you’re okay, I’m hanging up now."
"Okay, Sophie, if you see President Land, please apologize for me."
If she meets him again, he’d probably be a stranger by then.
Sophie considered herself someone who can pick things up and put them down, especially when it comes to Asher Land, why would she struggle to let go? She has finally broken free from him, hasn’t she?
This should be something worth celebrating, so after hanging up, she decided to go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients to make a good meal and celebrate for herself.
She wore a pair of large sunglasses and a baseball cap, pulling the brim low. Her fame wasn’t too high, so she was not too worried about being recognized, although doing so gave her a sense of security.
She passed by a shopping mall, where a huge poster was hanging—a promotional poster for "City of Desire," with her prominently featured as the lead actress. Looking at herself on the poster, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.
If it weren’t for "City of Desire," there wouldn’t have been this complicated entanglement with Asher Land. It wouldn’t have made her suffer in agony, living in the shadow of four years ago.
Meeting Asher Land changed so much for her. In just a few months, she experienced so much.
Fame, spotlight, despair, pain...
Even after leaving him, his influence on her remains, and she realized clearly that it’s impossible to completely walk away unscathed.