Chapter 413 Where the Heart Leads
Jessica downed a big ol' glass of iced tea, grabbed the pitcher from the coffee table, poured herself another, and chugged it. She plopped the cup back down and looked up at the three folks staring at her.
"What's up? Didn't y'all ask me to come in the morning to check out the ad stuff?"
"Jessica, that tea's been sitting out all night. We haven't changed it yet. You're usually so health-conscious and never drink cold stuff. What's going on today?" Zoey asked, eyeing Jessica's face and even sneaking a peek at her neck.
After all, Jessica had definitely left the mall with Mr. Harriman yesterday. Who knows if any old flames got reignited?
She'd heard some pretty blush-worthy sounds outside the dressing room yesterday. Maybe it was her imagination, but Zoey had definitely seen Jessica's face when she came out.
While thinking that Jessica and Kevin's on-screen romance was totally over, she was also kinda pumped about the possible rekindling of Jessica and Mr. Harriman's thing.
But looking at Jessica now, she didn't seem like someone who had a wild night, but she was definitely off her usual game.
Jessica glanced at the pitcher, quickly pulled her hand back, and said coolly, "I'm hot."
Zoey was confused.
Mackenzie, sitting behind the desk, gave Jessica a knowing look. "It's freezing in Xyleria today. I'm in a wool coat. How can you be hot?"
Lynn nodded. "Yeah, I even threw a down jacket in my car just in case. It's really cold."
Jessica looked at the three of them. "Can't a girl just be thirsty?"
Lynn put her phone on the table. "We're dealing with another wave of bad press. You should tell your nanny to be careful when picking up Danielle from preschool. She's gonna be in the spotlight again."
Jessica got up, took Lynn's phone, glanced at it, then looked at Mackenzie.
Mackenzie shrugged, like the studio had already done a ton of PR for Danielle's situation, but the old tricks weren't working as well anymore.
"You gotta understand how popular your recent movies and shows are. Fans love to ship on-screen couples, not just you and Kevin. You've been shipped with a bunch of co-stars in other shows, but since you're married, those ships sank. Fans are curious about your mystery hubby who never shows up."
Lynn kept going, showing Jessica more stuff on her phone. "Lately, some business deals probably ticked off someone big in the industry. There's some serious hype, trying to dig up why your daughter was born abroad. Now, people doubt you were ever married. Some even say you were a mistress, had a secret kid, never married, and got sent back by the guy's wife. They think your 'married' status is just a cover."
Jessica frowned. "Where are these mistress rumors even coming from?"
Lynn glanced at her phone. "There's some so-called informant saying that during your time in the U.S., you went to a fancy university with crazy high tuition. If you were really struggling when you went abroad, how'd you afford that?"
Jessica stayed cool. "That university was on a global hunt for art students back then. They could verify all my awards from back home. Plus, I crushed the written and oral exams, which gave me time to apply for loans and scholarships. Even though I switched majors later, my scholarship records are still there."
"If we can prove that, it makes things easier. We can ask the university for a scanned copy of the records," Lynn said softly. "But right now, there are more and more rumors about Danielle's origins. Even without evidence, the stories sound convincing. The rumor mill's got no proof, but neither do you to clear your name. What started as gossip has been fueled by big money and actresses who don't like you. The rumors are practically brainwashing people. Fame comes with trouble, and you can't dodge this one."
Lynn looked at Mackenzie and then at Jessica. "Mackenzie and I have talked to the PR team to step up efforts to squash the rumors online. But just debunking them isn't enough unless you have solid proof to shut them up."
Mackenzie raised an eyebrow. "Solid proof? At this point, the best thing would be to show them a marriage certificate. But Jessica, you don't have one."
Jessica paused, about to pull out her phone, her face unreadable.
"What if I do?"
As soon as she said that, she saw three stunned faces.
She didn't have one before yesterday, but today, she finally did.
"What do you have? The fans online are sharp. If you show a fake marriage certificate, they'll roast you out of the industry!" Mackenzie frowned.
Jessica was about to speak when her phone, still in her bag, buzzed twice. She took it out and saw a message from Gabriel on WhatsApp.
Gabriel: [(photo)]
Gabriel: [(photo)]
Gabriel: [Here you go, no need to thank me.]
He had sent two photos of a marriage certificate.
Jessica looked at the photos, silently opened them, and saved them to her phone's album.
From the moment she saw the marriage certificate at breakfast until now, she didn't know if it was the iced tea or the emotions she'd bottled up for two years bubbling up. From initial shock to not being able to process it immediately, Jessica had regained her calm and rationality.
What could Gabriel not foresee?
The marriage certificate was already obtained, even though Gabriel had taken advantage of her while she was drunk. She still didn't know how to explain it to Michael.
She didn't understand why Gabriel, who had always respected her choices and never forced her, suddenly became so assertive and pulled her back into his world.
But since it was set in stone with no way out, why not look forward?
It's not that she didn't love him; she just didn't dare to.
After holding back for so long, with her path clear right in front of her, why looked back when there was no retreat?
