Chapter 100 - 99
Later, after Simon Lockwood returned to the country, he had him investigate the girl named Joanna Kennedy.
He found out a lot—about her high school days, after she dropped out, and when she entered the entertainment industry. It was only then that he vaguely understood the true meaning of a clumsy imitation.
All of Serena Sutton’s methods for pursuing Simon seemed like a shoddy mimicry, moving no one but herself.
Having experienced a truly passionate and sincere pursuit, how could Simon Lockwood possibly fall for an imitator?
Jack Warren let out an almost imperceptible sigh. Meeting the young woman’s expectant gaze, he chose his words as diplomatically as possible. "Mr. Lockwood said he wishes Manager Sutton the best in her future endeavors."
In other words, he accepted her resignation.
Serena Sutton struggled to control her expression. Her hands, hidden at her sides, clenched into fists, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms. Yet, her face wore a pitifully fragile look. "Alright. Thank you, Special Assistant Warren."
"You’re welcome."
Serena Sutton left. The moment she turned around, the fragile, heartbroken expression vanished, replaced by sheer bitterness.
She had expected this outcome, but she still found it hard to accept.
Jealousy and resentment swarmed over her heart like a plague of ants, leaving her breathless and twisting her delicate, pale features into a grimace.
’Why?! Why her?!’
Joanna Kennedy had won Simon Lockwood’s love so effortlessly, while she had pursued him for years only to end up with this.
’It shouldn’t be like this.’
Serena Sutton was filled with regret. She shouldn’t have joined Southland for Simon Lockwood. It only made him overlook her, treating her just like any other employee.
No one falls in love with someone insignificant.
She should have listened to Charles, focused on her own career, and made Simon Lockwood see her worth—made him obsessed with her.
Then, one day, Simon Lockwood would realize that Joanna Kennedy, with her pretty face and empty head, wasn’t worthy of his love at all.
Meanwhile, Joanna Kennedy arrived at the hotel arranged by the film crew. After unpacking and eating dinner, she opened her phone and saw a flood of messages from a certain someone.
’Heh, Simon Lockwood is so clingy.’
An unconscious smile spread across Joanna Kennedy’s lips. Her heart felt as sweet as honey, yet she still feigned indifference.
’He sent so many messages. I suppose I can begrudgingly take a look... and maybe begrudgingly reply.’
Having found her excuse, Joanna eagerly tapped open the chat window. But when she saw what Simon Lockwood had sent...
Joanna: "........."
’This has to be a crime.’
’Simon Lockwood has changed so much—he’s become such a pain, so sharp-tongued, such a rogue—so why hasn’t his obsession with her studies changed one bit?!’
Page after page of handwritten math formulas, classic example problems, and notes on common mistakes.
Joanna felt her soul leave her body. Utterly dejected, she flopped onto the bed.
’Has Southland gone bankrupt?’ Joanna found it utterly baffling. ’How could a big-shot CEO like Simon Lockwood have this much free time?’
Just then, her phone screen lit up with an incoming video call.
Joanna glared resentfully at the caller ID: "A - Lockwood the Mutt".
One second, two seconds... she finally crawled up, resigned to her fate. She sat down at the small hotel desk, pulled out a book to prop up in front of her, and instantly got into character the moment she hit the accept button. "What’s up? I’m studying."
Simon Lockwood had just gotten out of the shower. His short, black hair was still dripping slightly, water trickling down the elegant lines of his neck.
He stared for a few seconds at the pouting, coquettish girl on the screen, then glanced at the book on her desk. Simon Lockwood’s eyes narrowed slightly, his tone unreadable. "Am I interrupting you?"
"Yes! It’s all your fault. I was in the zone, I’ve been studying for two hours, and then you just had to video call me."
"Two hours?" Simon Lockwood’s speech was slow and deliberate. "Tell me, what have you been studying?"
"........."
As if not noticing her guilty conscience, Simon Lockwood casually began to dismantle her story. "You arrived at the hotel around 5:10 PM. Unpacking took half an hour, dinner took an hour. It’s now 7:00 PM. Did you study for two hours in your dreams?"
Joanna: "........."
Joanna: "!!!!!"
"You... you... you!" she stammered in disbelief. "You’re spying on me!"
"Who did you bribe this time?! Walter or Julie?!" Joanna was furious. "Simon Lockwood, don’t you go too far!"
"You’re overthinking it," Simon Lockwood said coolly.
Joanna didn’t believe him. "Then how did you know when I got to the hotel and what I did?" she demanded.
"Logical deduction."
What Simon Lockwood didn’t mention was that, aside from tracking the change in her IP address, he had also secretly linked to her social media account and could check her step count at any time.
Joanna’s mind was racing. On the one hand, she felt what Simon Lockwood said was absurd. On the other hand, she knew his intelligence was off the charts, so it was entirely possible he could deduce all that from a few clues.
Before she could figure it out, Simon Lockwood had already switched to interrogation mode. "Studied for two hours? Hmm?"
The low, trailing "hmm" was unexpectedly seductive. Joanna rubbed her flushing cheeks, hung her head, and pouted. "You already know I lied to you, so why are you still asking?"
"And you think you’re in the right?"
A flicker of guilt shot through Joanna, but she still grumbled unhappily, "You think I wanted to lie? It’s just that I was afraid you’d lecture me. You’re so fierce..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, sounding inexplicably wronged.
Any trace of annoyance Simon felt at being deceived completely vanished, replaced by a heart full of helpless affection. "If you haven’t done anything wrong, why would I lecture you?"
"But I didn’t study seriously," Joanna admitted proactively.
An unconscious smile touched Simon Lockwood’s lips. "It’s okay to relax when you’re tired. This isn’t like before. You have time now, so you can take it slow."
Joanna was still living in fear of the strict study schedule Simon Lockwood had imposed on her six years ago. Hearing him say this, she froze for a moment.
She was skeptical. "Are you sure?"
’This isn’t some kind of conspiracy, is it?’
’Once I actually relax, he’ll have something to hold over my head, and then he’ll have an excuse to lock me up at home and make me... study... day and night.’
How could Simon Lockwood not know what she was thinking? He found it both exasperating and amusing.
"I’m sure," Simon Lockwood said. "Just don’t lie to me again, understand?"
’I’ll let it slide this time.’
Joanna immediately beamed, her eyes crinkling into happy crescents. She flopped onto the desk and drew out her reply, "Mmm-hmm..."
’As for next time... we’ll see about that when next time comes.’
The air was still, the light soft.
Separated by thousands of miles, through the screen of a phone, Joanna whined clingily about how hard studying was—much harder than memorizing lines. She felt like she just didn’t have the brain for it.
The man’s voice came from the other side, unexpectedly gentle and doting. "What part is hard?"
"Every part is hard..."
"With me here, it won’t be hard," Simon Lockwood said, his tone as casual as if he were stating the most ordinary fact.
Joanna let out a "PFFT" of laughter, her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes sparkling like stars. Her voice took on a wavy, teasing lilt. "Scholar Lockwood, you’re so amazing~~"
"Mm," Simon Lockwood agreed without a shred of modesty. "As long as you know."
"You’re so shameless~~"
Simon Lockwood’s expression didn’t change. "Mm."