A Night of Desire

Clara patted her shoulder and smiled. "So you can’t come to a private party? Ryston, I’m telling you, you need to go to more events besides just work and mandatory appearances. You might find a nice surprise. Take today, for example. If you hadn’t come, how would we have ever met?"

Rhys Ryston looked down and gave a noncommittal smile.

"Oh, by the way, Ryston, speaking of you and Brother Sterling, I’ve always been curious—how did he finally convince you to sell the rights to Aegis after all?" Clara was genuinely curious about it but never had a chance to ask.

It was a simple enough question, but Rhys Ryston’s face suddenly flushed red. Fortunately, her complexion wasn’t as fair as Clara’s. She had a healthy, sun-kissed tan, and since the lighting in the private room was dim, it wasn’t very noticeable.

But Rhys Ryston still instinctively lowered her head to hide her discomfort. "...Well, he just agreed to the conditions I proposed. You know, that I’d be the screenwriter, that I’d have a say in casting, things like that..."

"That’s all?"

"That’s all!"

"And here I thought it was the sincerity of Brother Sterling’s apology that won you over."

"..."

Rhys Ryston said nothing, but an image flashed through her mind: the morning after she and River Sterling had gotten drunk, when she woke up to find them lying together in her twin bed.

’An apology? I wish River Sterling had never even thought of apologizing to me!’

’I regretted letting River Sterling into my room that day, and even more, I regretted how, on some strange impulse, I had ended up having a few drinks with him.’

’River Sterling, that bastard! He didn’t show the slightest hint of guilt when he woke up the next day. Instead, he used what happened to threaten me! He said if I didn’t accept his apology and sell the rights to Aegis, he’d pin me down and sleep with me again. If once wasn’t enough, he’d do it twice. If twice wasn’t enough, three times—he’d keep at it until I agreed!’

’Pressured by his threats, I had no choice but to pretend to agree, planning to back out as soon as he left. But I never expected him to see right through my act. He actually took out his phone, snapped a picture of us in bed, and said that if I went back on my word, he’d tell the whole world I’d slept with him!’

’I knew he was a bastard, capable of doing anything, so I had no choice but to meekly sign the contract.’

"...Ryston? Ryston!" Clara had to call out her name a few times before Ryston finally looked up at her. "What’s wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about Everlasting going into production, and I’m feeling... excited. It’s my work, after all. Clara, are you ready?"

Clara smiled. "I’ll give it my all to portray the perfect Yulia you envisioned. I won’t let you down."

"I believe in you."

In stark contrast to the women’s lively, cheerful conversation, the men were much quieter. They would exchange a few words now and then before they each went back to watching their own woman.

"Hey, what do you guys think they’re talking about? They look so happy," River Sterling couldn’t help but ask, his eyes fixed on the smile on Rhys Ryston’s face—a smile she had never shown him. There was a clear note of frustration in his voice.

He was frustrated. ’Hadn’t he said plenty of nice things to her, trying to make her happy? Sure, it was all to put her in a good mood so she could work properly, but he’d still put in a lot of effort. So why couldn’t she just smile for him once?’