Chapter 193: She Is Leaving
Chapter 193: She Is Leaving
“Your name sounds familiar,” Jared commented offhandedly. “Where did the two of you meet?” Random stream of thought.
Katherine turned to Lily with a raised eyebrow. The easy-going behavior and general acceptance of the man coupled with his questions…
Lily shook her head.
It was then they realized… Jared had no clue who Cage was.
“We met online and fell in love,” Cage replied. The two men fell into silent conversation, neither knowing much about the other and that was fine. The four other members of the group, though, watched in fascination.
“Only Jared would have no clue who Cage is. The man is a contradiction. He is a teacher and communicates with his students so well, but he has never heard of Cage?” Lily snickered. “He has no idea about stars and is so geeky…” she sighed.
“Rare specimen,” Katherine commented. “Don’t tell him who Cage is. This is too pure for my soul. I want Jared to bond with Cage without the barrier.” Lily nodded.
Jared and Cage spoke about some technological advancement and laptops, discussing animatedly amongst each other. No one made them stop. No one mentioned the entertainment industry.
About one and a half hours had passed since they started the drive. Angelina had been silent throughout. No one dared to speak to her until she spoke herself.
“I got a call from my modeling agency last night,” she said out of the blue. The others turned to her with interest and didn’t comment. Angelina was looking out of the window, pretending like she had said nothing.
“What about it?” Katherine coaxed her to speak. The other seemed too awkward to speak and Angelina had never met Jared, so she was the only one who could say anything about the situation.
“I’ve been modeling for certain companies for the past years. I got an invite from a famous designer to be the show-stopper.” She said this without feeling.
Angelina had wanted to break the news to the others during their vacation and treat everyone to a feast, but now that everyone was awkwardly sitting and waiting for her to say something, she had no other option but to bring this up. She was ecstatic about the opportunity, but today’s confrontation had dampened her mood, if she put it lightly.
“Holy shit. Really? You’ve been going around the globe but…” Katherine stopped. Something was wrong. Stephen looked perplexed as well.
“Let me know if you need any help. This is your first time as the show-stopper, right?” Stephen asked carefully, trying to gauge the problem. It wasn’t just Damon, there was something else.
“Yeah. I’m excited.” She said that, but her voice was slightly flat.
“Congratulations,” Cage chimed. The others followed.
“Is it in H city?” Stephen asked lightly. Angelina nodded. “How many tickets can you get. Is it invite-only?”
“No. I got three tickets,” she said with a frown.
“Ah,” Stephen seemed disappointed.
“There’s enough for all of you to go. I know Cage can’t show up because…” Angelina trailed off meaningfully (this bewildered Jared beyond belief). “I called my parents. They don’t give a fuck.”
Lily and Katherine stiffened.
So this was the case. Angelina was in a far worse mood today because she spoke to her parents. One of them sighed, but no one could figure out who it was.
“Said they wanted nothing to do with a soiled girl who gave up her talents for fame.” This was said matter-of-factly. There was an eerie silence in the car. Cage had found out Angelina’s situation from Katherine during a conversation.
Angelina had gone to art school like Katherine but modeled part-time while she was in school. Her career took off and her parents who were both professional artists all but disowned her. Stephen had caught wind of the same because Cage had hinted at it and he had done a little digging of his own.
Occupational hazard.
“So, let me know if any of you want to come. Because my family sure as hell isn’t,” Angelina scoffed softly.
“Ah, I think I will buy another ticket,” Stephen said off-handedly, still staring in front of him. He could estimate the curiosity of others. “Lily and Katherine will go. One is for me. And I need another one,” he sighed like he had all the burden in the world.
“Why would you be coming?” Angelina asked dumbly. The people in the back seats straightened up and waited for a good show. Was this the beginning of an explosive romantic scene? Their eyes glowed.
“Obviously, I want to see my girl graduate fulfill her dreams.” The people at the back wanted to applaud. But Katherine and Lily waited with clenched teeth. Oh, no.
“Girlfriend?” she squeaked. “Hell no. You can come to see me, but no girlfriend business,” she said quickly. “And what about the other ticket?” Angelina was growing more suspicious.
“That’s for my mother, of course. So that she can meet you.” Silence prevailed.
“Hell no. She’s not coming for me,” Angelina informed Stephen. Everyone waited curiously.
“I’ll not ask her to come if it makes you uncomfortable.” Stephen’s voice was on the edge. “But you said that you won’t have your family at the show. That’s fucked up. So, I’ll come for you. My mother and I will be your family if you let us.”
Katherine’s jaw dropped. Lily waited for the explosion. Cage was in awe of his manager.
‘Oh my God,’ they thought. ‘This is amazing.’
Angelina made a choking sound. “Pull over,” she managed to say.
“I’m sorry… what?” Stephen’s eyes darted off the road.
“Pull the fuck over,” she said firmly. Stephen drove for a bit until the coast was clear and he moved to the side of the road and parked. Stephen was scared of tickets, but there was nothing that could be done. Damn it.
Angelina took off the seatbelt and darted out of the car.
‘Crap. She is leaving,’ Stephen cursed. He scrambled to open the door and ran out to her. Angelina was standing a few feet away from the car, her expression unreadable.