140 At Jasper City 5 The Sinners's Queen

A little more than ten minutes later...

The scene Alessa had conjured in mind before finally became reality. Except, even with her strong heart toughened by all the scheming and bad experiences she had because of her sister, she still couldn't help but feel self-conscious due to the gloomy stares she was receiving from the guy sitting opposite her.

"Please. Join me for this lunch." She forced a smile, gesturing to the food the waiter had just brought to their table. It was when she could no longer endure the silence that enveloped the two of them.

They were currently inside a decent family restaurant. A man in his thirties was with them standing alert from the distance. It was Diaz, her other assistant and bodyguard.

She chose this place in order to not intimidate the young man, thinking that this would definitely be the case if they entered a restaurant with a very luxurious ambiance, frequented by rich people.

She never once thought that she'd be the one tensing when she successfully managed to have him brought before her. Even now, she was having a hard time believing that the person in front of her was the one she encountered yesterday. Not once did she ask herself where the guy next door in the picture went to...

'...Is this also a talent, or not?' she couldn't help but muse.

"I believe we're not acquainted, so why did you forcefully bring me here, Miss Actress?" He finally opened his mouth and asked, his tone naturally low and a bit impolite.

She maintained her smile and replied, "My apologies, Mr. Meyer. It wasn't my intention. All I want is to talk with you about the incident yesterday. Please treat this meal as my way of making up to you."

Instead of glancing down to the plates after plates of unknown yet obviously pricey dishes before him, he continued staring at her, asking, "Are you saying that all of this happened just because I managed to point out that you're acting?"

Alessa's smiles did not falter. Before replying, she took the initiative to give attention to their food. With a spoon in hand, she ladled out some soup and brought it to her mouth. She did this all elegantly, without leaning to the table just to secure that no drop would spill on her white dress. No, her practiced manners guaranteed that she would not have to worry about that. It was to the point that if Sofony was here, she would surely stare in envy and wonder how many times in her life did she practice to become this graceful when eating.

"Sir, you can try the dishes I ordered. I assure you. This place's cooking is great." She blinked once before continuing, "And about your question, I'm sorry, I know my reason sounds ridiculous to you. But that is indeed the case. Once again, please consider this meal as my apology."

The guy glanced one more time at her before finally looking down to the table and picking up his utensils. She watched as he began to eat, sighing secretly that the tension in the air lessened, at last.

It was such a puzzle for her how this person who appeared so harmless and normal in the photo turned out so cold and intimidating in person. She hated to admit it. But his stares were almost comparable to her half-sister. Just a glare could make her wonder if she just did a terrible crime.

She asked herself how she did not see this aspect of him yesterday. That time, was she so focused on how he saw through her play?

After secretly shaking her head, she also rejoined the guy eating with his head bowed. When she was halfway done, since she never really strayed her eyes off of him for more than twenty seconds, she noticed how fast he was eating, finishing his plate when hers was still half full.

Suddenly, she saw him stopping and placing his spoon and fork on the empty plate. He glanced up at her, his eyes still so dark and gloomy. After wiping his mouth with a tissue, he declared, "I'm done."

Alessa also momentarily stopped and stared at him, agape. A couple of seconds later, when he was standing up, looking as though he was about to leave, she regained her senses and quickly said, "Wait! Please don't leave!"

The young man who was already about to excuse himself to go to the washroom raised a brow. "Oh? Who said I will be leaving? Are you thinking I'm someone who rudely leaves a table when others are still dining?"

'You're someone who is always running away...' she almost grumpily replied.

How thankful she was for being trained to always smile and not let unnecessary thoughts and emotions show on her face.

"That's not it, Mr. Meyer. I was just alarmed that you seem to be going somewhere without formally excusing yourself to your dining partner..."

Chris eyed her before the man standing at the nearby entrance. He didn't voice it out, but his stares were seemingly telling her that she should stop making excuses because even if he wanted to fly away, her bodyguard would definitely apprehend him before he gets the chance to do that. Alessa who saw this gesture dryly laughed. She didn't comment anymore when he properly excused himself to go to the restroom.

When he returned, the woman had already finished her own food. Actually, one of the waiters was already there, clearing the table. Chris sat down with a poker face. His face showing that if weren't for her person manning the only entrance and exit of the place, he should be gone already. Shortly, when they were the only ones left at the table, he opened his mouth to ask, "What now, Miss?"

Alessa met his inquiring gaze and asked back, "I will be direct to the point. I am very curious about how you managed to recognize that I am merely acting yesterday..."

He answered indifferently, no more expecting for this troublesome woman to remember that she had yet to introduce herself. "Does it really matter? I don't get why that worked you up, but can't you just assume that I only did it by chance?"

She was only silent for a few moments before replying, "I don't know why. But I'm having a gut feeling that it's not... Though I did consider that as a possibility, my instinct is not letting me settle the matter just like that."

After she said this, his eyes seemingly told her, 'So what?' hence she sighed and helplessly remarked, "I guess, a woman's intuition makes no sense to you."

"I don't know if I should be glad that you know."

Silence reigned upon this boring conversation between two barely acquainted people. It lasted quite a while until the gloomy bloke who realized that it was he who killed the talk began asking again.

"I'm sure you did not have your bodyguard drop me in front of you just so you can treat me to a meal and ask random questions while at it. So, what now again?" He paused for a bit, appearing as though he remembered something. With a slightly dark expression, he queried, "You know my name but I don't have any ID with me today which you could use as an excuse for knowing. I can only think of one explanation for this. You had me investigated, right?... Why?" He didn't hide the displeasure in his voice. Actually, from the beginning, he never hid his discontentment towards her.

She understood where he was coming from, and felt bad about it. Hence, she sighed and looked at him apologetically. Afterward, she stated,

"I will be honest. I'm really curious how you found out. My mentors and the directors and actors I am acquainted with told me that my performance is already good enough to fool even insiders."

"So when a normal nobody managed to tell it apart, you had him investigated?" He didn't raise his voice, but he scowled so badly that the girl sitting opposite him had her heart drop a little. The young man added, "Is this for real? That's all it takes for a life to be reviewed without permission? Don't tell me you also plan to do this to anybody who managed to do the same?"

A second later, disbelief crossed his eyes when she regained her composure and unhesitatingly nodded, "Yes."

"Come again?" the guy asked, thinking he misheard.

"Mastering acting is very important to me. Probably second only to my life. So I'm willing to do anything if that will help secure anyone who can help me further this skill..." she softly explained.

Alessa naturally noticed the confusion that stayed on his face for quite a long while. She also heard it from his voice when he questioned. "If so, what does this have to do with me?"

"My intuition is telling me that you can be of help to me."

Helplessly shaking his head, he replied, "Obviously I don't know who you are, therefore I also don't understand your reasoning at all. Why are you telling me this? How can I be of help? Are you sure you're not high?"

She frowned and sharply barked at him, "You're rude! I'm about to debut as an actress! What you said can be taken against you in the court, you know? This is about my reputation!"

He froze, recognizing that what he said was very offensive.

"Alright. My mistake." He admitted, "I'm sorry."

The girl sighed and then nodded.

Seeing this, the young man withdrew his gaze and said, "I'm sorry again. All I want is to tell you that I won't be in any way helpful to you because I am no showbiz insider. I am a nobody.'

"I think you're wasting your time talking to someone who will most likely stay this way for the rest of his life..."

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