[Bonus chapter]
After spending time in the pavilion of the north wing, Butler Fu fetched Heaven and Mercy. He took Mercy back to the greenhouse while Heaven returned to Grandma Zhu's room. When she arrived, Axel was already snoring on the couch. Axel had been tired all this time, and he was supposed to rest and sleep on his day off. However, Heaven dragged him with her, so it was understandable he dozed off. 2
To kill time while she waited for Sebastian to get home with his grandparents, Heaven scrolled through her phone. An hour later, Sebastian came home with Lionel and Ria Zhu. Those two preferred fetching their grandson as Lionel had been doing light office work. Most of the time, he would fetch Sebastian alone. But sometimes, Ria would come with him.
They heard of what happened to Grandma Zhu, but when they arrived, Grandma also woke up from her nap. Axel as well. Therefore, the family spent time together like usual. From time to time, Lionel and Ria would remind Grandma Zhu to not exhaust herself too much, thinking Grandma Zhu fainted due to excessive aerobics.
It was peaceful, nonetheless.
They all stayed in Grandma Zhu's room with Heaven, helping Sebastian with his homework. Axel accompanied them, spewing side comments from time to time. Meanwhile, Lionel and Ria just stayed there chatting with Grandma Zhu about some people they knew. It was as though none of them had any worries.
This had already become a part of their daily routine. Therefore, they had grown comfortable with each other's presence until dinner rolled in, and Dominic arrived.
*
*
*
DING!
Heaven's brows rose as she glanced at her phone on the surface of the vanity mirror. She put down a small jar of moisturizer, picking up her phone to see the message.
"Hmm..." she hummed, not replying as she placed the phone down to continue her night skincare routine.
"Everything alright?" Suddenly, Dominic's voice came from behind her.
Heaven snapped her eyes up, looking at him through the mirror. Dominic stopped behind her, planting his hands on her shoulders to massage her.
"Do I look like I am not okay?" she humored, setting her eyes back to her reflection. "I'm okay, Dom. I was just worried about Grandma, but I'm glad she's alright."
"Grandma is not young anymore, so I kept telling her to take her health seriously." Dominic sighed, watching his wife do her skincare like usual. "Are those brands new?"
"I'm pregnant, so I need to replace some products."
"I see..." Dominic rocked his head while still massaging her shoulders.
After a minute, Heaven's brows rose. Her fingers stopped on her cheek, lifting her gaze to his reflection.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, sensing this odd air from him. "Or was there a problem in the company?"
"Nothing." He shook his head. "I was just thinking about something."
"About?"
"The person who texted you."
"Oh..."
"Who is it?"
Heaven blinked and blinked, assessing the look on his face. Dominic wasn't the type to pry into her business, saying he trusted his wife and respected her privacy. Thus, this question sounded strange coming from him.
'Is he worried that I am being threatened as well?'she wondered, as that was the only thing she could think of for him to ask such a question.
"It's Director Guan." Heaven smiled in understanding, resuming her activity to finish her skincare. "He told me that he wants to meet me with a few friends. It's been a while since I met him, after all. The filming was delayed because of Paula, and they had to redo all Paula's scenes with another actor."
"It's probably about the film," she added as she closed the jar's lips, looking at Dominic through the mirror once again. "It's about time it'll be released to the public. Knowing Director Guan, he usually hosts dinner with close friends and actors before the release of his movies."
"I see." Dominic smiled in satisfaction as if a thorn was plucked out of his throat. "Are you going to meet them?"
"I haven't replied, though I think it's good for me if I meet a few friends."
Dominic hummed as he thought about it. "Why not invite them over?"
"Huh?"
"With your current condition, I'm afraid you'd over-exhaust yourself with the travel. The old residence is huge enough to host parties and gatherings. I'm sure Grandma will not mind if you invite some friends over."
"..." Heaven could only stare at him for a moment, only to see his gentle smile.
"Tell me when it will be, so I can help you with the dinner."
'You mean you want to be present if I meet my friends?'she wondered, translating his words to how she knew him. 'Wait. Hadn't he gotten over Leo Wu?!'
Her face twitched slightly at the thought.
When that incident happened with Paula, Leo Wu was the first to say a statement about Paula Shen. Obviously, Leo Wu didn't spare Paula any mercy, especially after hearing that the victim was Heaven. The production team wanted to visit her in the hospital back then. However, Dominic didn't allow anyone to meet Heaven at that time.
She nearly died, after all. Or rather, she died and miraculously came back to life. Hence, Dominic's overprotectiveness.
'Now that I think about it… Amid all those crazy headlines at that time, some weird articles came along with it,'she thought, recalling an insignificant detail back then that made her scrunch her nose slightly. 'The rumors are about me and Leo because my participation in the film was leaked.'
The only reason that rumor didn't blow up was because Paula Shen's murder case was too explosive. That rumor and article also quickly died, and she could guess who deleted that article.
"So?" Her train of thought halted upon Dominic's voice. "Should we host a dinner here with your friends?"
"Friends…" she repeated under her breath, realizing her first guess was wrong. 'Ahh… It's not Leo Wu, but he doesn't trust any of my 'friends' in the entertainment after what Paula did.'
"Sure." She nodded, flashing him a subtle smile. "I'm also not in the mood to go out."
"Very well." Dominic nodded in satisfaction, and just like that, he arranged a dinner with Heaven's friends from the entertainment industry.
pqdm.com