Night quickly fell.
But the two, cuddled together and still asleep, didn't notice.
The guardhouse kept calling to ask if they should let someone in, but no one answered. Outside the guardhouse halfway up the hill, Darnell spoke to the guard who let them in earlier and was about to change shifts. "How about I go in and check? You said Basil didn't drive out.Nothing unexpected will happen to him in his house, right?He just had a breakup—"
The guard choked a bit. He had seen the gossip about the famous director Basil being two-timed and publicly humiliated. He thought at the time, "Even a handsome and wealthy director like him gets cheated on? Is there any justice in the world?" Could it be... could he really be suicidal?
The guard closed his eyes and waved his hand, signaling Darnell to go in and save him. He would turn a blind eye; saving a life is more important than anything else.
"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir."
Darnell rushed to Basil's door and found it still unlocked as before. He quickly pushed it open and went inside, climbing to the second floor. He glanced at the studio, found it empty, then knocked on the master bedroom door before entering.
As he stepped into the dark room and his eyes adjusted, he saw two motionless bodies cuddled together on the bed. Damn, he was shocked. Could there be something bad happening to them?
He quickly looked for the light switch on the wall. When the light came on, he saw that it wasn't a crime scene at all. The two were just sleeping soundly, only slightly twitching their eyelids when the light turned on before continuing to sleep.
Alright, he caught them!
Although they were fully dressed, it didn't stop him from taking pictures of them cuddled together to blackmail Basil—no, to force him to take responsibility. Click, click! He took over twenty photos from various angles before putting his phone away, satisfied, and then decided to wake them up.
"Basil, Basil, wake up." Darnell walked around to the other side of the bed and shook Darnell.
Whether it was because he hadn't slept well for many days, Darnell had to shake him for almost a minute before Basil groggily opened his eyes.
"Why are you here?" Basil sat up, and only then didDarnell notice that he was still tightly holding the young girl's hand. How shameless!
"How did I fall asleep?" Not bad, the dark circles under his eyes look much better.
"I've been too tired these past few days. I fell asleep right after lunch without realizing it."
Darnell gave Basil an ambiguous look, noticing he was still holding Cierra's hand. He teased, "Shouldn't you let go by now? You've been holding her hand for so long; who knows if you've crushed it?"
Unexpectedly, Basil replied calmly, "I'll take responsibility." But he still didn't let go.
"Are you crazy? Who told you that holding hands means she'll agree to let you take responsibility?" Darnell curled his lips and suddenly changed his mind. "Do you think a long road to redemption is that easy?"
"What do you mean by a long road to redemption?"
Darnell looked at him disdainfully. Basil was half in the entertainment industry. How could he not know the popular terms circulating online recently? Too lazy to explain, he quickly stepped forward and pulled Basil up.
"Get up quickly. You're corrupting an innocent young girl, you old wolf. Get up! You may have the face to do this, but I don't have the face to watch. Cierra might not even like you, so why are you pestering her?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cierra turned slightly, pulling the hand Basil was holding tightly, and woke up.
Seeing Darnel and Darnell, her first thought was to check her clothes. Fortunately, she wasn't half-naked like last time. She breathed a long sigh of relief, but seeing Basilstill holding her left hand, she was suddenly startled. She remembered earlier in the afternoon when Basil said he wanted to hold her hand to sleep. She had sat on the bed's edge, watching his sleeping face, and soon after, her eyelids started to droop, and she fell asleep too.
She glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window and saw darkness. "Oh my god, it's so late?" She was flustered and lifted the blanket, wanting to jump out of bed, afraid of missing Cynthia's curfew.
"Are you hungry again?" Basil thought Cierra was hungry again.
Cierra shook her head, then looked at Cierra's face. Suddenly, she was delighted and cupped his face. "Bas, you look much better."
"Of course, haven't you heard that monsters rejuvenate instantly after absorbing a girl's essence?" Darnell said coolly from the side.
Why did these two affectionate people treat him like he was invisible or a wallflower? He was once again annoyed at his lack of presence.
Darnell's words made Cierra embarrassed. She lowered her long eyelashes to hide her pounding heart, so she didn't notice Basil and Darnell's silly and disdainful expressions.
The long winter had passed, and the room was filled with the scent of spring. Could it be that the famous director Basil's happiness was just around the corner?
