Jasmine did what she daringly declared.
Quite often, she would turn up at the penthouse unannounced, and sometimes she would stick around for hours until Leon arrived home, despite living nearby in a luxury seaside resort hotel, much to Leon's displeasure, but he had no choice. After the movie was released could he then end this nonsense and dump her once and for all.
If it had not been the secret confidentiality agreement between Avon Music and the movie company, he would have protested. But it was too late. That sneaky snake of an Arnold signed the agreement on his behalf without his consent, for he knew he would have rejected this absurdity. He had already screwed it up with Mia Marlene, and Avon was making sure he won't mess it up again. The movie he starred in had paid an extra million dollar to him in advance for the early relationship publicity, even though the movie was still in post-production.
The press was hot on chase about the pair who were spotted hand-in-hand, exactly what the big players wanted, a much needed eye-catching publicity for the upcoming movie to propel future profit margins and improve Leon's image from a playboy to a committed boyfriend. The headlines were glowing about how compatible the couple was - Hollywood's sexiest babe with music's hottest bachelor. At last, he was settling down!
...If only they knew what a nightmare it was being with Jasmine Ferne.
Whenever they went out, Leon was both her tour guide and "boyfriend". He found Jasmine's addiction to constant shopping a chore, her mean girly gossip exasperating, her taste for the superficial nauseating, her stuck-up attitude towards those "beneath her" condescending and her clinginess onto him a creepy encounter. This lady was so full of herself! Sure, she was very pretty and if he did not know her long enough, he would have boned her. However, working with Jasmine on set and now in private life had proven too much for Leon to handle. He was glad not to bed with her, despite her constant attempts and hints. After all, she lacked the magic that Ariel could cast upon him. Ariel's genuine smile, her no-makeup, flawless dewy skin, her down-to-earth personality, even her smooth porcelain hands were divine unlike the skinny and veiny bejewelled hands of Jasmine's. He could talk with Ariel for hours but could not hold a minute with Jasmine.
Without the press around, Leon was mostly silent around Jasmine, too tired and bored to reciprocate any kind of conversation or gestures she expressed towards him.
"Must I constantly remind you that this is all an act and not for real?" Leon snapped at her one time after she kept on kissing him once the press was out of sight.
"Com'on, no harm with a bit of fun," she giggled and resumed her kisses but he held her away at arm's length.
"Not interested, so get over it!" he emphasised through gritted teeth, irritated that no common sense was entering into her head.
"One day, darling, I'll have you. You'll see," she smacked a kiss with a winking smile before heading back on her hotel.
Leon wiped her kiss off his lips. This woman won't give up! If there was a pair of lips he could kiss, it would rather be hers.
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Whenever Jasmine was in the penthouse, she acted like she already belonged here, meddling with stuff and not bothering to clear up the mess she made. At first, she greeted Andy with a friendly smile. But gradually, she ignored him just as she ignored Ariel and the other nobodies, only giving her deserved attention to Leon.
Jasmine was also bossy with Leon's staff, especially towards Ariel. She would only do so when he was not looking, hell-bent on making Ariel's life miserable by making unreasonable demands such as making her serve her food the way she wanted, and then picking faults in her food despite having no such problems as she claimed when Ariel checked it, and not finishing her food or throwing it away altogether in front of Ariel as an insult.
It was getting unbearable for Ariel. Both Jasmine and Leon were alike in wasting good food!
They're so made for each other!
There was not much Ariel could do. Jasmine was Leon's princess, after all.
"I don't like that lady, mum," Andy groaned one day as he eyed the actress who just left the house with Leon.
"Well, she's Leon's girlfriend. And to be honest with you, I don't like her either," Ariel sighed.
"Really, mum? Then, why is it Leon hates her?"
"What do you mean? Of course, he doesn't hate her. They're in love."
"I think he does. He gets irritated around her, doesn't kiss her at home and doesn't really like talking to her. He seems to dislike her. She's not once stepped into his room."
Ariel expressed surprise at Andy's observation. He was right. Leon did not appear lovey-dovey towards Jasmine inside the house like they were in the news. Since they started dating, she had accepted that they were now a couple and that Jasmine was right, stars only date stars. Of course, she and Andy were unaware of the publicity arrangement made. Neither Leon nor anyone from Team Waltz divulged the details to them. It was none of their business anyway.
"I hope so too, cos I really can't stand the sight of her either! Look at the mess she made in the bathroom," Anna lifted the dustpan to show the coloured powder inside, "I cleaned the bathroom not too long ago and in fifteen minutes, she messed it up with her make-up and lipstick stains. She's sloppy! Can't believe how the media portrays her as this neat, sexy, desirable woman!" Anna shook her head in disgust. "And I hate it when she bosses me around. Who does she think she is?"
"Same!" Ariel vehemently agreed.
Everyone broke into a giggle, realising they shared similar sentiments. Even Ariel's friends questioned the validity of their relationship, to which Ariel proved the point that they made a mistake thinking Leon ever fancied her.
"It won't last, you'll see!" said Camila confidently.
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Ariel sat in the plush sofa in the library corner reading a book while everyone was asleep. It was a peaceful, cool night where she enjoyed the time much to herself and this was so much better than going out into a nightclub anytime. Sipping on her cranberry mint tea, she untied her hair to let down her tresses, twirling her hair ends with her fingers while she read. She let out a soft laugh as she read through the comedic novel.
Unknown to her, Leon was observing secretly her from afar. He had been doing so since he 'dated' Jasmine. Ariel hair, her smile, her laughter - boy, she looked captivating! Leon held his breath so as not to arouse her attention. He originally planned to head to the kitchen to fetch some snacks up to his room but got distracted by her presence. He could not help but glue his eyes upon her, yet his rumbling stomach could not take it any longer. Snapping out of his spying, he walked down to the kitchen, behaving as indifferent as he usually was.
Seeing his presence, Ariel's smile vanished and she quickly twisted and clamped her hair up, sticking her nose back to the book. Her heart beat faster when she realised he was approaching towards her direction with a plate of her homemade oatmeal bars.
"Why not let it all down?" Leon quizzed as he plopped into a plush sofa seat right opposite hers.
"It's messy. Getting in the way of my reading," she excused.
"Oh, really? I thought you were enjoying twirling those pretty tresses of yours," he took a bite off a bar.
Realising that he must have observed her, she blushed, "Well, erm. That's just me," she gave out a short laugh and looked away from his electrifying gaze.
Can you go back up to your room and leave me in peace? She wished. Yet, he remained seated while eating an oatmeal bar and continued fixing his eyes on her.
"Anyway, what's that you're reading?" Leon asked.
"This?" she flashed the cover, "Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Really funny story."
"Ah, that one. My mother bought that for me. Used to read to me when I was a kid."
"Wow! So you kept this book since you were a kid?"
"Yup."
"I didn't know you love reading. I just don't see you read that much."
"When I have the time. That's what a library is for. Despite that everything's now on the phone, I still like to pick a good book and smell its pages."
"That's true," Ariel nodded in agreement. "Reading a book brings back memories of my own mother reading to me. During the winters, I would snuggle with her in the duvet and we would read a good book by the window with snow falling outside, holding cups of hot chocolate with melted marshmallows in our hands."
Leon coughed at the mention, almost choking on his food. He coughed relentlessly with one hand on his throat, and the hand steadying himself on the armrest.
"Oh no, you okay?!" Ariel's rushed towards him, patting and stroking his back to help cough out the offending food. Finally, the food stuck in his gullet sank down. He shut his eyes at the pain of the food slowly making its way down his gullet.
Ariel dashed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and raced back. "Here you go," she offered to him. Leon gulped down the water while Ariel continued stroking his back until he felt much better.
"No, please continue," Leon begged. Ariel nodded, thinking he was still in pain. In truth, he did not want her to halt her soothing touch, surprised by how she was handling it almost professionally as she gave his back a few pats and strokes, with her fingers going in circular motions. It was so comfortable!
"Your experience with your mum is exactly what I had with mine. Me and my bro would snuggle up with hot chocolate and melted marshmallows in our hands in the winter while our mother read to us," he continued.
Ariel giggled at the coincidence.
"Anyway, now that mum's the word, my mum's birthday is next week. I'll be heading off to see her outside the city. You'll be coming with me as I need you to bake her a grand cake."
"Alright, noted," Ariel continued on her mini massage on his back and stopped once she realised he was okay again. She began to feel sleepy.
"Good night, Leon, I'm tired. See you tomorrow," she turned to leave but felt his hand on hers. She looked back to see his eyes begging her.
"Ariel, I ... I.."
"Yes, Leon?" she searched within his gaze. Was he wanting to open up to her about his troubles?
Leon struggled to construct his sentences, but could not utter a word. He finally released his hold and managed a smile, "Thank you...for just now."
Ariel smiled back, "Glad you're fine now. Have a good sleep. I'll make sure you'll have a nice breakfast tomorrow morning. Good night."
When she left, Leon sank further into the seat, a tear streaming down his face as he wondered how his life was cruelly dictated to do something he did not like at the moment, that he could not have her instead.
He headed to the minibar and helped himself to some drinks to suppress the pain inside.