Chapter 11

When Luke heard that, he remained on the spot in front of the couch. Zayn frowned. "I asked you to call her, didn't you hear me?" Luke sighed once again. "Sir, please have a look upstairs." "What's upstairs?" Luke wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start. Seeing his behavior, Zayn was pissed for some reason. He pulled on his tie as he took big strides upstairs. When he pushed the bedroom door open, he was stunned. Why was it so empty? "Where's the custom doll I gave Josephine?" He personally custom-made it for her, which looked exactly like the young Josephine. Luke lowered his head. "I don't know." Zayn suddenly had a bad feeling. He sped toward the closet and opened it. There were a lot of clothes, yes, but those were his. He found that none of Josephine's clothes was there. Even if she was leaving home, she wouldn't take all her clothes, right? He squatted down and looked at the drawer. Well, her bras were gone too. Everything was gone. He then ran to the door and pushed Luke away before he went into the walk-in closet. It was as if nobody had used it before–clean and quite empty. "Where's Josephine's stuff?" Luke slowly spoke up, "Some were sold by Mrs. Forbes while some were thrown away. She took some with her too." Sold? Thrown away? Zayn's face tensed up coldly when he heard that. Even if he did neglect her in some parts, she did not have to create such a huge scene. She was too stubborn. He had spent a lot of effort buying those things for her. How could she just throw or sell them away? How dare she? A flash of cold light crossed his eyes, and his face was full of anger. He thought, "Very well, Josephine. It seems like I've spoiled you so much that you don't even appreciate my sincerity! I'm not going to mollify you this time!" At this moment, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw his father, Joe Forbes, calling him. Then, his face darkened once again. However, he still sounded respectful when he answered the call. "Dad." "How's Nadine?" Zayn replied coldly, "Dad, don't worry about it. I'll take good care of her." Joe snorted coldly. "Be careful. Don't let Josephine find out. Over the past few years, Forbes Group's reliance on image marketing has made its commercial value skyrocket. If something goes wrong, the stock price will take a hit. Don't let a woman jeopardize the company!" Zayn took a deep breath. "Don't worry, Dad. I've always been cautious. Josephine will never find out." "Hmm. Bring Josephine home for dinner this weekend." "Got it." After hanging up the phone, Zayn's face turned cold, his lips curving into an evil arc. Luke noticed Zayn's dark expression. He opened his mouth as if to speak but ultimately decided to remain silent. The next morning, around eight in the morning, Mason was sound asleep on the sofa when someone suddenly woke him. Groggily, he opened his eyes to see a stunningly beautiful woman standing in front of the sofa. To be honest, he was stunned. Yesterday, Josephine appeared barefaced and haggard, her smile faint but lacking any true brightness, leaving an air of melancholy about her. But today, she seemed like a completely different person. She wore light makeup with her long hair cascading over her shoulders, she exuded a captivating charm. Having debuted three years ago and starred in just two films before leaving the entertainment industry, she got married and, at only 24, was in the prime of her beauty. "Why are you sleeping here? Aren't there two bedrooms?" Mason rubbed his eyes and chuckled sheepishly. "I like sleeping on the sofa. This way, if you need anything, you can just call me directly." The truth was, last night, while he got up for a glass of water, he overheard muffled sobs coming from her room. He was stunned, even a little scared, because he had never seen her cry before. Several times, he had the urge to knock on her door, to check on her and comfort her. But in the end, he pretended not to know anything. He took a small blanket and slept on the couch. Still shrouded in drowsiness, Mason vividly recalled that the fragmented, anguished sobbing had persisted until he finally drifted off to sleep. He had assumed she would cancel her plans for the day after such a night. Yet here she was, bright and radiant, standing before him as if nothing had happened. If he hadn't been certain of what he'd heard, he might have suspected she'd taken some sort of miraculous elixir. In reality, Josephine hadn't taken anything. She had simply relied on impeccable makeup skills to conceal the dark circles under her eyes and the faint redness at their corners. "You don't need to guard me like a child. Let's go get some breakfast." When they were heading out, Josephine turned on her phone. Sure enough, the moment Josephine unlocked her phone, the screen was flooded with missed calls and messages from Zayn. She ignored them all without hesitation, choosing instead to enjoy breakfast at the hotel with Mason before heading straight to the airport with their luggage. Mason was on edge the entire way, nervously anticipating that Zayn might pull some stunt to drag Josephine back. Thankfully, they made it into the first-class cabin without incident. Josephine, exhausted from a sleepless night, curled up with a blanket as soon as they boarded, eager to catch up on rest. But just as her eyes began to close, Mason's excited chatter buzzed in her ears. "Ms. Dunn, it's Arthur! That's Arthur!" She opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a tall, foreign man with a model-like physique standing right in front of her, studying her face with great interest. "We're meeting again like this. It seems I should introduce myself properly. I'm Arthur." Noticing she was awake, he extended his hand toward her. He spoke in Francellese. Josephine hesitated for a moment but eventually greeted him in Francellese as well. "Hello, I'm Josephine." "You speak Francellese?" He looked delighted and immediately sat across from her. The flight attendant who had accompanied him over glanced at the nearly empty first-class cabin, decided not to interfere, and simply reminded him to fasten his seatbelt before leaving. Josephine responded calmly, "I lived in Francelle for three years." At this point, Mason interjected in Ingliese, "Arthur, she's a director—a very famous one." "Mason…" Josephine gave him a helpless look. Before her official comeback, she had no intention of revealing her identity. But it was already a bit too late to stop him now. "You're a director?" Arthur's expression shifted slightly, adopting a more serious tone, though his flirtatious demeanor remained. "A director as stunning as you. Well, this is a first for me." Josephine, unwilling to back down, retorted, "A cinematographer with a figure like yours is also a first for me." She mimicked his actions, giving him a once-over. However, unlike his eager gaze, hers was utterly indifferent, as though she were examining a box or a cup. Arthur noticed her detachment, yet his excitement only grew. All his life, every person who had met him in person had gazed at him with admiration, without exception. That was, until now. This exquisite woman was the first. A surge of determination stirred within him. He vowed to make her notice his charm, to fall deeply for him, and then to truly experience his cold, ruthless nature.