Chapter 5 Fatal Temptation
Eileen woke up feeling the warm sunshine, and she stretched lazily.
Perhaps it was because she had only slept for two hours the night before. After she drifted off to sleep in the wee hours last night, she didn’t wake up even once.
She had been engulfed by icy desperation after finding out about Fremont’s betrayal.
But now, facing the sunshine, she finally felt a bit warm.
The weather in Palsbury was warm throughout the year, and even the sunlight here was particularly gentle.
She browsed Instagram and saw the photo of Coco Fremont had sent this morning.
He had changed his profile picture, and Chelsea wasn’t one of the people who gave him a like.
It was as if Chelsea had never existed.
But Eileen knew that wound in the depth of her heart could never heal.
The TV was broadcasting news. “Mr. Cottrell has secured a ten-figure order again, pushing the Cottrell Group to a new height.”
The news was drowned by the sound of the running water coming from the bathroom. Eileen washed her face and did some basic skincare.
The smile on her face replaced the previous lifeless look, making her radiant. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she said, “Eileen, time to start over.”
She took a shower, put on the robe, and called the concierge to have her clothes laundered.
Soon, the concierge knocked on the door and then pushed several carts of food as well as women’s clothing.
Apparently, it was more than just room service—Welburn had ordered all the famous specialty dishes in Palsbury to be served on her table.
She had a much better appetite today. Perhaps due to curiosity, she tried every dish earnestly.
Welburn showed up earlier than she thought. He knocked on the door, and she figured it was the concierge again. Figuring that they were both women, she opened the door directly.
But instead of the concierge, it was Welburn who stood at the door. He had folded his suit and draped it over his wrist, his white shirt buttoned to the top. His fatigue from last night was already gone, replaced by nobility and elegance.
She had just taken a shower, and her soft hair cascaded over the white robe. The belt around her waist was tied loosely, and a bit of her cleavage could be seen.
His gaze fell upon the plumpness underneath her robe before he looked away in the next second. She had just enjoyed some milk-based dessert and hadn’t wiped her mouth, and he clearly saw a faint trace of milk stain on the corner of her pink lips.
It was deadly tempting.
His gaze immediately deepened dangerously.
“Sorry. I should have called you in advance,” he said.
Then he turned around gentlemanly, leaving his upright, broad back facing her.
Eileen said, “Give me ten minutes.”
Ten minutes later, she opened the door, already changing into a long white dress with purple flowers sent by the concierge.
“I’m ready, Welburn.”
Hearing this, Welburn turned around, his gaze sweeping over her figure as perfect and attractive as always.
While walking, she tied her hair up. “Thanks for the food. Every dish was so tasty. The restaurant surely lives up to its reputation. But there was so much that I couldn’t finish it all.”
Knowing she was a big fan of dresses, Fremont had bought her a lot of hairpins to match them.
She swiftly tied up her hair with a hairpin.
Under the sunlight, she walked with grace, her curvaceous figure exuding allure.
Her raised arms were slender and tender.
But he knew that in fact, she could leap onto a horse, loop the reins, and ride the horse without any difficulty at all, which created a stark contrast to her delicate demeanor.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as his gaze fell upon the food on the table. Then he said, “I’m here to take you to see someone?”
“Who?”
“Ms. Shaw.”
Bonita Shaw was the director of the film “Me and My Stepfather”—the blockbuster Eileen and Welburn had both participated. Over the years, she had stepped away from showbiz and didn’t know Bonita was sick.
Without explaining much, Welburn took Eileen to the hospital.
Her eyes turned red uncontrollably as she looked at the frail, elderly woman in bed. It had just been three years, yet she could hardly recognize Bonita anymore.
As Bonita looked at Welburn and Eileen standing side by side, she smiled with satisfaction.
Then she took out a script and said, “After ‘Me and My Stepfather became a hit, I wrote a sequel. Who could have known that you quit just because of a man? You regret it now, don’t you?”
She sighed, continuing, “Eileen, I’ve seen many women like you. A woman should never lose her for a man. I’m not saying men won’t truly love anyone. It’s just that their affection might vanish at any second. Who knows? Perhaps what he loves is that dazzling you on stage. But how long will he still love you after you return to an ordinary person? A woman’s youth lasts only a few years. It’ll be too late to regret it once it’s gone.
“Here’s the sequel of ‘Me and My Stepfather’. Your fans and I will be so overjoyed to see you be part of it. Consider this a dream coming true for us.”
Eileen kept Bonita company in the ward for an entire afternoon. When leaving, she took away the script Bonita had tailor-made for her.
With “Me and My Stepfather”, the blockbuster, laying the foundation, and the sequel Bonita had written, she’d make a comeback and rise to fame again as long as Welburn agreed to film.
But he still hadn’t told her his answer, which made her utterly uneasy.
As she walked into the elevator, Welburn pressed the button to the rooftop.
She followed him out in confusion and saw a helicopter on the helipad.
He walked toward it as she looked at him warily. “Where are we going?”
He was tall, and the lights on the rooftop weren’t bright. As he stood next to the helicopter, his chiseled face was in the darkness, and all she could see was his sharp jawline.
On his hanging wrist, the obsidian bracelet was vaguely visible.
At this precise moment, he was like a high-and-might ruler, looking down at her while lowering his head.
The night wind blew, and the hem of her dress fluttered in the air, revealing her slender, straight calves.
She looked up and stared at him warily, as if she were a stubborn doe remaining cautious at any second.
His cold voice cut through the darkness. “Take you to the peak…”
After a pause, he softened his tone. “To see the night view.”
The helicopter passed over Palsbury’s most bustling district as well as the spot where the two rivers converged. As she looked out, she saw countless buildings of different heights ablaze and countless household lights behind them shimmering like stars.
Steamships on the river lined up in a row. All of a sudden, a beam of light illuminated the entire sky.
In the next second, fireworks of various colors burst into bloom, painting the night sky and turning it into a masterpiece.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
For the first time, Eileen realized that other than being dazzling, fireworks could also be majestic and magnificent.
She pressed her hands against the window, exclaiming, “Welburn, look!”
He leaned closer to her, bracing a hand against the glass.
The wood scent exclusive to him enveloped her, somehow making her feel like she was in his embrace.
His warm breath reached her ear as he said, “Yeah.”
His deep voice rang out right next to her ear. She instinctively leaned backward, realizing how close they were.
Yet, she ended up bumping into his firm chest.
Caught off guard, she turned around hastily, her rosy lips almost brushing against his ear.
In that split second, she felt his warm breath on her neck, which was so light yet so scalding…
