Love Contract

"Okay." Barry nodded. As he watched Selah walk farther away, he felt an indescribable ripple in his heart. "Be careful!" he blurted out. Hearing his voice, Selah walked faster with her suitcase.

As soon as she was out of the villa, she could not help but cry. She did not know why she was so aggrieved and full of tears. Tears kept dripping down her face relentlessly.

Holding a delicate lighter in her hand, she continued to walk away from the villa, and most importantly, away from Barry. She recalled the time she had spent as she walked on the streets and lanes just to find the most suitable gift for Barry. Instead of resting on her free time during her shooting, she chose to find a gift for him. She was so excited to see his expression if he would like it, but she did not even have the chance to give it.

"Woo! Woo! Barry Gu..."

Selah cried as she walked. She wanted to throw the lighter away several times, but she could not make up her mind.

"Everybody! Put your hands up!"

"Handsome, come and have a drink!"

"Wow! Let's get high!"

In a bar at the center of the city, Selah was so drunk and her cheeks were extremely flushed. She handed the

empty wine glass to the bartender and said, "One more! Give me your strongest one!"

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Suddenly, her phone rang. It rang for quite some time before she swiped the screen to answer the incoming call. "Hello? Who is it?"

"Why is it so noisy? Where are you now?" A familiar male voice came through.

"I... I'm drinking! I'm having a great time! Ha ha! Jaime, why are you calling me?" she asked with a sluggish voice.

"Where are you? Answer me, Selah!" On the other end of the line, Jaime was pissed off.

"I... Shush! I won't tell you! Ha ha ha!" Selah laughed and hung up the phone quickly before Jaime could even respond. Then, she started drinking again.

"Hello? Hello! Selah..."

When Jaime found Selah, she was dancing on the dance floor. Her waist was swinging to the dynamic music, surrounded by several men.

Jaime gasped slightly. He worked so hard to find her, but why was she like this now?

"Come with me!" He squeezed through the crowd, and grabbed Selah's arm forcefully.

"What are you doing?" She was about to resist, but when she saw it was Jaime, she grinned, "Oh, it's you! How did you find me? You are awesome!"

As she was speaking, Jaime dragged her away and stuffed her and her suitcase into the car.

After that, he got into the car as well. Seeing that Selah was groaning in the backseat in protest, he asked her in an unhappy tone, "Didn't you just go back to Mr. Gu's villa? Why did you come out to drink alone?"

The smile on Selah's face immediately disappeared. She no longer looked like a drunken woman. With a trace of calmness in her eyes, she muttered, "He said he would set me free."

"Free?" Jaime frowned as he was trying to figure out what the word meant. Did Selah mean that Barry had abandoned her?

"He said he would set me free! Ha ha! Burp!" Selah burst into laughter suddenly which made her burp. "I'm so happy! I don't have to be his secret woman! That's why I'm here to celebrate! Ha ha!" "Congratulations!" Jaime said through gritted teeth.

"But here," Selah said as she placed her hand on her left bosom, "it hurts so much! Do you think I'm insane? Am I stupid? I'm free now, but I don't want to leave."

"You are indeed stupid."

"But he promised he would wait for me! He asked me to be his woman!" Selah suddenly shouted. Her beautiful eyes were wide open, and tears streamed down her face one after another. "But why would he marry someone else? Why did I have to witness his proposal to someone else? Barry Gu! You big jerk! Woo! Woo! I don't want to be free! Bastard!"

"You are drunk." Jaime took off his glasses and pursed his lips hard.

"No! I'm not drunk!" Selah immediately retorted. She kicked and hit the backseat and cried, "I've always been so sober! I like Barry! I like him! But he wants to marry someone else!"

All of a sudden, Jaime tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Looking at Selah from the rearview mirror, he asked, "What's so good about him?" "Yes, what's so good about him?" Selah snorted. Until now, tears were streaming down her face in an unceasing manner. "He likes to give orders and play tricks on me. He is so fierce to me. He even showed me his worse side! But no matter what he does, I just can't help but like him!"

"Stop it," sighed Jaime. "Just sleep. Everything would be fine. Where are you planning to go?"

"Where else can I go?" Selah slumped on the backseat and did not want to move anymore. Without answering, Jaime turned a corner and drove towards his house.

"I know I don't deserve him," Selah said in a cold voice while sobbing. Her eyes were closed because of dizziness and pain. "I already have a son and he is such a wonderful man. I know he deserves better. I just wish I could stay with him. I don't want anything else. But even if I could stay with him, it doesn't change the fact that he doesn't want me. Now, I don't even have the right to stand by his side." Selah just laughed at herself like a fool. She did not say anything more in the end.

Squeak!

The car stopped in a high-end neighborhood. After getting out of the car and looking around to make sure that there was no paparazzi around, Jaime opened the door of the backseat. Selah had already fallen asleep.

He picked her up and carried her on his shoulder. "It seems that I'm luckier than you. At least, I'm qualified to stand by your side. Also, you didn't ask me to leave," murmured Jaime. The next morning, the warm sunshine illuminated the room. Selah turned around on the bed, and stretched herself. It was a bit of a struggle to sit up.

'Hmm? Where am I?'

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. When she was about to speak, a few scenes from the previous night flashed through her mind. Proposal, getting drunk, Jaime...

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Before she could scream or cry, there was a knock on the door. With a click, it opened and Jaime came in. "Are you awake?"

"Yes." Selah nodded awkwardly. While scratching her head, she said, "Thank you, Jaime. Where am I now?"

"My home," Jaime answered as he handed a cup of tea to her. "Drink it. This will help sober you up. You have a shooting this afternoon by the way. You can't be late."

"Oh, thank you." Selah took the warm cup with both hands. Unable to think of what to say next, she began to gulp down the tea.

"So you like Barry?" Jaime asked abruptly.

"I..." Selah paused for a moment and pulled the corners of her mouth. "Do all agents talk in such a direct way?" She put the tea on the bedside table and got out of bed. "Sorry for bothering you last night. Thank you very much for taking me in. I should leave now."

"I'll ask Felicia to pick you up later. Don't worry," reassured Jaime.

"Okay, I see." Selah nodded and walked to the living room, followed by Jaime.

"Selah! Wait!" He suddenly pulled her to stop. "What do you like about Barry? His money? His position? His appearance?"

Confused, Selah turned around and asked with furrowed eyebrows, "Why are you asking such questions? I won't have anything to do with him in the future anyway. Let bygones be bygones."

"I asked these questions because I want to know why he is better than me." Jaime went straight to the point.

"What did you say?" Meanwhile, Selah did not seem to understand his words. Or perhaps, she just did not want to understand.

"I believe I, myself, am good looking as well. I make a lot of money. Regarding the position, although it's not comparable to Barry's because he is the CEO, mine is still a promising one." Jaime snorted and said in a selfmockery tone, "Why do you have a crush on him but not me?"

Ever since Jaime became Selah's agent, Selah had seen his sharp tongue. He never beat around the bush. Also, his words were flawless and accurate.

But what was going on now? What did Jaime mean?

"Well, look at your confused eyes." Jaime smiled and added, "Am I hiding too well in front of you? Or are you just stupid? Selah, I have a crush on you."

With her eyes wide open, Selah shook her head and waved her hand in bewilderment. "No. No. No. You... I..."

"Mr. Gu wanted me to be your agent so that you can have a better career in this circle." Ignoring her, Jaime continued, "In fact, I don't have to do everything by myself. I can leave many things to Felicia and my assistant. But I still take care of you wherever you go. Don't you still understand why?"

Selah stood frozen and petrified in spot. What Jaime had said just now extremely surprised her. Jaime had a crush on her? She never expected him to say something like that!

The night before, it was Jaime who picked her up. He knew everything about her and her personal life. How could he still confess his love to her? What the heck?

I..." Selah opened her mouth to speak. "I'm sorry. I..." "I know what you mean. You don't have to respond to me now. I just told you this because I want you to stop being sad about Barry. There are other men in this world who could treasure you." Despite confessing his love for Selah, Jaime still looked expressionless. "You just have to remember that I am always here for you. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me. If you want to get married, you can also come to me."

"Well... Thank you, Jaime. Thank you." Selah did not know what else to say so she just thanked him profusely.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

All of a sudden, Jaime's phone rang. He picked it up and answered curtly, "Okay. We'll be downstairs right away. Sure."

"Well, it's time for us to go downstairs. Felicia is already here to pick you up."

"Okay." Selah heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.

"I'll give you some time to think about it. I won't accompany you in your shooting this afternoon." Jaime finally smiled and added, "I'm afraid you'll feel stressed when you see me there."

'How can Jaime be so calm after all of this?! He just finished what he wanted to say in a few minutes. I don't know what to do with his confession though,' Selah thought. However, she did not have energy to care about others now. All she thought about was the man named Barry.

Selah sighed silently. 'Barry..."

In Barry's villa.

Barry was instructing the housekeepers to collect Selah's things.

"Mr. Gu, how about the flowers in the balcony?" "Hmm?" Stunned, Barry walked to the balcony, and looked at the half-withered flowers. "No need to take away this one."

"Okay, Mr. Gu."

Staring at the flowers, he slowly picked up the small watering can beside and poured some water into it. Behind him, there was a rustling sound of packing up things. For some reason, his heart felt empty.

"Mr. Gu, everything is packed up. We are going downstairs now," a housekeeper told Barry and carried Selah's belongings downstairs with others.

He did not respond. With his hands in his pockets, he turned around silently and looked around the bedroom.

The room decorated in black and white was neat again. Although it was his favorite style, Barry felt a little unaccustomed to it. 'What's missing? Why doesn't it look right?'

Author's note

Sophy James rjniiBU

Translator: Jessie Chen