Chapter 5

"Don't think you can catch Maisie's attention by acting like you're going to leave, Sirius. She's showering now, so stop texting her and disturbing us. I bet a substitute like you can't even imagine how happy we are when we're together. Keep an eye on the trending topics, then." The reply was from Jason. Maisie had never allowed Sirius to touch her phone, let alone tell him her password. It looked like Jason would always be her only exception. Sirius didn't reply. As Jason had mentioned, he and Maisie started making the trending topics every other day starting the next day. They were caught being affectionate with each other and interacting sweetly. They visited popular cafés, took selfies on a Ferris wheel, caught the sunset on a hill… Those were things Sirius had always wanted to do with her, but she'd never agreed. Yet there she was, looking excited while doing them with Jason. Fortunately, those things no longer hurt Sirius. The day of his departure was approaching, so he only wanted to complete one more thing before then. He was an actor in this world. Initially, Steven and Lila had forced him into it. Later, he'd continued with it because he didn't want to let Maisie down. However, scriptwriting was where his true passion lay, not acting. After gaining experience over the past five years, he'd written his own script. Short dramas were the trend nowadays, and he'd written a script for one based on his own life. It was titled "Lonely No More". It didn't take long to film short dramas—a week or two was enough to wrap things up. Sirius wanted to leave behind something that was meaningful to him, so he got to work. He was efficient and quickly set up a team. All he needed to do was head home to pack some things before heading to the set and commencing filming. He sensed the lively atmosphere as soon as he entered the house. Everyone was there—his parents, Jason, and Maisie. Their smiles froze when they saw him. Then, Steven and Lila greeted him warmly and asked him to join them for dinner. This was surprising because they'd never cared about him. Maisie even gave him a box. "I saw it during our trip and thought it suited you." Sirius recognized it as a tie clip that he'd seen on the trending topics. He remembered that she'd bought all the tie clips in that particular store because Jason had told her that he'd liked one of them. This tie clip, in particular, was the only one he'd discarded. "What's wrong? Don't you like it?" Jason asked, the smugness in his eyes evident. Maisie's gaze darkened. "Are you starting to be picky now? I remember you loving everything that I got you in the past." She was right. She'd given Sirius expensive watches and fallen leaves, but he'd loved them all. The reason was simple—he'd loved the person giving the items to him. But now, things were different. He wouldn't like any gift from her, even if it were a star from the sky, let alone something Jason had discarded. "It's pretty nice." Sirius didn't want to waste his breath. He accepted the box and put it away. His mind was still on the things he had to do before commencing filming. Jason was surprised to see him so calm. The photos of Maisie buying him the tie clips had been on the trending topics for so long that he was sure Sirius would've seen them. Yet the latter wasn't mad or upset—it was almost as if he no longer cared. Maisie also noticed this. Her heart clenched, and she couldn't help thinking something was wrong somewhere. She was about to ask Sirius what was wrong when Jason tugged on her sleeve and blinked at her. He was hinting at something. Only then did she remember the reason for the gathering that night. She looked at Sirius and said, "Jace loves the new short drama you've been working on. Let him act in it this time." He looked at her in disbelief. He couldn't do anything about her forcing him to give up his gigs so Jason could have them, but this was different. The short drama was based on a script he'd written himself, and the team was one he'd put together. Did Jason want to take even this from him? When Sirius didn't immediately agree, Steven and Lila deigned to put some food on his plate. "It's not a big deal, so just do as Maisie says. Stop trying to take everything away from Jason." "Jason's been through so much hardship that it's only right for us to give him whatever he wants. We're his family, after all." It was then that Sirius realized people really would laugh when they were speechless. He laughed mockingly and said, "I'm not the one who caused Jason's hardship. Besides, a scriptwriter considers every script they write to be their child. I'm not giving this up." Jason lowered his eyes and sighed. "I knew you didn't like me. Perhaps I should never have returned." He stood up and made to leave, but Maisie grabbed his hand and stopped him. Her gaze was icy as she looked at Sirius. "Jace has already asked some experts to read the script—it has a high potential of becoming the next big thing, so you have to give it to him. "You're part of my company, so you must do as I say. Otherwise, I can exercise my right to have you benched." "Do it, then," Sirius said. Steven and Lila grew angry when they saw how stubborn he was being. "Don't bother being so nice to the brat, Maisie. We're his parents, so we know what he's scared of. Leave this to us," Steven said. "Yeah. Just wait—we'll make him cry and beg Jason to act in his drama!" Lila snarled.