Chapter 700 The Pain Within 1
"Mark, are you available?" Grace asked him seriously.
"Yes, I do!"
"Then let me buy you a cup of coffee."
"With pleasure."
Once the coffee was served, Grace took a sip and got straight to the point.
"Mark, first, I want to express my gratitude. Thank you for saving me at the hotel last time; thank you for taking me out for hotpot, and for all the care you showed me on set. I am very grateful."
"But, in my heart, you are like a child, like a younger brother. Do you understand?"
Mark sipped his coffee, a smile playing on his lips. "I understand. So, Grace, are you afraid that I might fall for you?"
Grace couldn't help but cough a few times.
"Your silence means I guessed right?" Mark remarked confidently.
"Regardless, given your status, we should keep our distance. You know that I'm making a comeback, and my past scandals are still there. Being too close to me will only affect your image."
"I don't care about that."
"But I do," Grace replied firmly.
She looked at him seriously. "Because I've been through that darkness, I know how terrifying, suffocating, and hopeless it can be. And since you've helped me, I don't want to bring you any trouble or negative impact."
"What about Quentin?" Mark suddenly asked. "Aren't you afraid of affecting him? Don't forget, he has a fiancée."
Taking a deep breath, Grace tried to stay calm. "I know."
"But you two are different."
"How so?"
Grace stroked the rim of her coffee cup, gently rubbing it for a long time.
It seemed like she had been through a lot before she finally spoke softly.
"When he marries Caroline, I will leave."
"Do you think someone like him will let you go?" Mark asked, pained.
"He will. If one day I'm not even afraid of death, then there's nothing to fear."
Grace continued, "You and he are different. He's a businessman—shrewd and profit-driven. He has power and status. Even if our relationship is exposed, it would just be a minor blemish in his life, something he can easily erase. He can have a happy, harmonious, and perfect family."
"But you can't. If you get involved with me, my scandals will be enough to destroy everything you have—your popularity, reputation, future, everything, until your career completely collapses. So, I absolutely cannot drag you down."
"Mark, thank you. I will always remember you as a kind, wonderful, warm, and handsome younger brother, but you shouldn't get close to me."
"That's all I have to say. Once this movie is over, we won't have any further connection."
After Grace left, Mark downed his entire cup of coffee in one go.
Then he ordered a lot of alcohol.
By the time his agent, George, arrived, he was already very drunk.
"Mark, you've had too much. Let me help you back."
"No."
When Mark got drunk, he was like a child, especially stubborn.
George tried everything, but nothing worked.
In the end, they were kicked out when the place closed.
Mark sat on the steps outside, refusing to leave.
Seeing his distress, George couldn't help but speak up. "It's just Grace. If you like someone a few years older than you, there are plenty of women out there. Is it worth being so upset over her?"
"Shut up," Mark glared at him angrily. "As long as I'm around, no one is allowed to speak ill of her."
"I like Grace. I only like her. What's it to you?"
"Mark, I'm just worried about you. Does she like you?"
Mark muttered under his breath, "I never expected her to like me. I just want to be with her, protect her, and see her happy. But Quentin, that jerk, he can't give Grace the happiness she wants."
"Bastard."
Cursing, Mark reached out to George. "Give me my phone."
With the phone in hand, Mark, drunk, called Quentin.
George realized what was happening and tried to stop him, but it was too late.
"Hello!"
Hearing an unfamiliar number, Quentin's tone was particularly cold.
"It's Mark."
"What do you want?"
"Quentin, listen up. I like Grace."
"Calling me in the middle of the night just to tell me you're competing for Grace?" Quentin raised an eyebrow, displeased.
No man would be happy to hear that another man was eyeing his lover.
"But I know she likes you. I never thought of being with her, but I'm warning you, if you dare hurt Grace, I'll fight you to the end."
"And your fiancée, do you know how much pain Grace is in because of her?"
"If you like Grace, break off the engagement. If you don't, let her go. Don't give her false hope."
"Do you know how Grace described you today? She said you're a businessman, profit-driven, and that your relationship with her is just a blemish in your life, something you can erase with a flick of your finger. But for her, you've brought nothing but destruction and disaster."
After hanging up, Mark's eyes were red.
George, worried, leaned in and called his name a few times. "Mark, Mark." But Mark suddenly grabbed him, a faint smile on his lips.
"George, listen carefully."
"Grace and Quentin's relationship is a secret. Now that you know, if you dare leak a single word and cause any harm to Grace, I won't let you off the hook."
For the first time, George was scared by the cold look in Mark's eyes.
For the first time, George felt his legs go weak.
Because he knew Mark wasn't joking.
"Let's go. Help me back!"
In the end, George helped Mark back.
On the other side, Quentin leaned on his desk.
Mark's words kept echoing in his mind.
Quentin tried to suppress his feelings, but he couldn't help it.
He picked up his phone and made a call.
When Grace answered, it was already past eleven at night.
"I want to ask you a question. Can you answer me honestly?" Quentin went to the point.
"Okay, ask."
"That day, you came back not because the set was on break due to rain, but because you were worried about me, right?"
After a moment of hesitation, Grace nodded. "Yes."
A simple, straightforward word.
But it made Quentin's mood improve instantly.
Yet soon, his heart sank again.
"If that's the case, why did you tell Mark that our relationship is just a blemish in my life, something I can erase at any time?"
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