"Mr. Mason," Beatrice, after talking to Sean and ushering the man away, stopped Mason before the man could walk towards Elara, and the latter raised his brows.
"I think there is some confusion. Didn’t you come here because James Colonel contacted your company to have you act as the third male lead in this drama?" Beatrice asked.
Carla, who stood beside her, bobbed her head up and down as if she could attest to it even without knowing what was happening. That was what they called a dumb woman.
"James Colonel?" Mason asked, and Beatrice nodded.
She noticed how a couple of staff were standing just at the proper distance to hear their conversation, and a smirk appeared on her face.
Yes, hear it all. Elara might be his childhood friend by accident, but she was indeed the one who brought such a celebrity here on the set. Beatrice smiled.
"I have heard that name," Mason nodded.
Beatrice’s smile widened. She noticed how the staff members were starting to talk among themselves. Yes. This was what was supposed to happen.
"It was bold enough for the man to assume I’ll come to any drama and take a small role because a nobody arrived knocking at my company," he said, his words making Beatrice’s smile falter.
Just a nobody? Her uncle wasn’t some kind of nobody. He was a— there has to be some mistake.
Maybe he was thinking of someone else.
"Maybe—" Beatrice started to speak, but her words were cut off when he lifted his fingers to stop her from speaking.
"Do I know you?" He asked.
His icy cold tone made the remaining smile on Beatrice’s face vanish completely.
"We met at the celebration party—"
"I need to talk to her. Please step aside," Mason said, and without waiting for Beatrice’s reply, he moved past her and walked straight to where Elara was about to leave with her bodyguard.
He nearly rushed to catch up to her.
And it became crystal clear to everyone who was more important to the man.
"What’s happening, Beatrice? Didn’t you say you guys know each other? But he is—" Carla started loudly.
And knowing the girl would blow her pride and humiliate her more with her dumb questions, Beatrice quickly smiled.
"He acts good, doesn’t he? I asked him to act close to Elara. I knew they were friends, but he is much closer to me. He will make her believe he is on her side, and when the time is right, we will strike," Beatrice said in a hushed voice that others wouldn’t hear.
Carla’s eyes sparkled at the girl’s words.
"Wow, that’s an awesome plan. No wonder my brother acted like that. Let that bitch believe she has won this round and gloat. We will attack her when she least expects it this time," Carla said.
Beatrice smiled, hiding her bitterness.
At the same time, Mason quickened his steps when he noticed how Elara wasn’t stopping even when he was calling her name.
"Hey!" Mason held her hand, and Antonio, who hadn’t been acting earlier because he was a fan of the celebrity himself, couldn’t take it anymore.
He was a fan, but his duty came first.
He held Mason’s hand and was about to twist it and push him away when, to his utmost surprise, Mason reversed the attack and got him into a chokehold.
Antonio was about to get into full fighting mode and hit Mason when Elara rolled her eyes.
"Quit it, you guys. It’s not easy to catch Mason off guard. He practically performs all his stunts himself. I am the one who trained him personally." Elara looked Mason up and down before scoffing.
"What do you want?" She asked in an annoyed voice.
Mason looked at the girl in disbelief.
"What do I want? That’s what you have got for me after you died for four years? Do you have any idea how everyone mourned your death?! I still go to your house to relive our memories every month, and that’s fucking what you have for me?!" Mason raised his voice at Elara in the parking lot.
"Yes," she said without any expression.
"You!" He raised his voice before taking a deep breath.
"Tell your bodyguard I am your friend and would never hurt you," Mason said.
Elara arched her brows, unsure where he was coming from.
However, seeing how he looked like someone who wouldn’t drop the matter, she nodded at Antonio.
As soon as she affirmed her bodyguard, Mason grabbed her hand and threw her in the backseat of the car before quickly driving off.
Antonio looked at the speeding car, whose tires screeched wildly with raised brows. He knew that if Elara wanted, Mason couldn’t have even gotten into the driver’s seat before she had bounced out.
But seeing how she was voluntarily lying on the back seat like a victim who didn’t know what was going on, it looked like it was best to leave this matter to her.
He got into the car and started following the direction Mason had taken, just to ensure her safety as her bodyguard, while maintaining some distance.
"Where are you taking me?" Elara sat straight before climbing forward to the shotgun seat.
"To a place where I am damn sure you’ll give me all the answers to what the fuck has been going on," Mason said.
"Where?" Elara asked, not liking his tone.
"To your home," Mason said, and Elara froze in her seat for a few seconds.
"Stop the car," She said.
"Oh, hell, nah. This car isn’t stopping anytime soon. I want to tell Uncle and Aunt the daughter they thought was dead is actually living peacefully here while they are crying over you," Mason said.
Elara pressed her lips into a thin line, realizing how painful it was for her friends, even as she thought nothing would go wrong and no one would be bothered by her disappearance except her family.
"Stop the car," she repeated.
"I told you. This car isn’t stopping. They deserve to know—"
"They know," Elara said, and Mason stopped the car with a screech, almost sending her body forward if not for his hand that protected her head from hitting the dashboard at the last second, taking the blow himself.
"Fuck!" He cursed, and Elara looked at him with concern.
She was about to ask him if it hurt too much when he cut her off.
"Just what the fuck is going on? If they knew, why have they been mourning you too?" He asked, and Elara took a deep breath.