King of Hollywood-Chapter 162 - : Leaving

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Leaving

As if a bolt of lightning had exploded in Kate’s head, she felt dizzy and disoriented, and if she hadn’t clung to the railing, she might have collapsed on the stairs.

Although Kate had a bad feeling after unintentionally overhearing part of the conversation between Adrian and Monica, as well as seeing ambiguous gestures between him and Drew, the sudden admission from Adrian was too much for her to take in.

In Kate’s memory, Adrian had always been a man of humor, passion, talent, and gentleness. Though initially sharp when they met, it was because she provoked him first. Over time, as they dated, she’d grown fond of him and fallen in love. He was talented, knew how to cheer her up, and was considerate—how many men would learn to cook for their girlfriends? He understood her, knew what she wanted, and always acted in accordance with her wishes, even stopping disputes before they went too far…

Until now, until midway through today’s party, Kate had felt lucky and happy to have such a wonderful boyfriend. But the two conversations she overheard made her increasingly uneasy, an unease that had slowly built long ago but she’d always ignored. As Adrian became more successful, her roommate Emily had hinted more than once to keep an eye on her boyfriend, but Kate never took it to heart.

Whenever she curled up in Adrian’s arms, the overwhelming sweetness and affection made her forget to think. Now, the jar of sweetness suddenly shattered, and the confusion and loss made her not even feel the pain.

“Why?” Kate asked softly, “Why would you be with her?”

...

Adrian walked up a few steps to the stairwell and shrugged, “It was just a deal.”

“Just… a deal?!” Kate’s eyes widened in disbelief, “What does ‘a deal’ mean?”

“That’s exactly what it means,” Adrian said, pointing to his temple and twirling his finger, his tone unnervingly calm, “I think you understand.”

Kate’s face instantly went pale, recalling the hints Emily had made—those previously unnoticed obscure things. Now, remembering them… She trembled, unable to speak, something inside her crashing down.

“Don’t be so tense, Kate,” Adrian came forward to support her, “Relax, this kind of thing is normal in Hollywood.”

“Normal?” Kate stepped back sharply, avoiding his hand, biting her molars, uncertain how to face Adrian, “How can you speak about this with such detachment!”

And then she thought of something, her expression growing even darker, “What about Monica? Is she the same?!”

“Uh… sort of,” Adrian nodded.

Kate, nearly laughing from fury, stared at him, her body trembling slightly, “I never thought… I never imagined… you could be such a person! Ed! You kept saying you loved me… God, I believed you deeply…”

“I do love you, Kate,” Adrian attempted to embrace her, but Kate dodged and glared at him with indescribable loathing, forcing Adrian to stop and raise his hands, “You are my girlfriend, only you.”

“Girlfriend? Oh, yes, the perfect excuse to cover up a deal!” Kate scoffed with a bit of a choke.

“Calm down, Kate, keep calm, you’re too tense, relax and try to remember, okay?”

“What else is there to remember?! You’ve been deceiving me all along! Ed! I never knew, you’re really scum!”

“You can call me scum, Kate, but I’ve never lied to you.”

“Oh really? So what you just said was false?!”

“Of course not,” Adrian looked at her calmly, “It’s just a personal little secret, everyone has their secrets, right? Whenever you asked me, I answered truthfully.”

Kate was instantly stunned, her lips moved twice, but she couldn’t say anything. The two just looked at each other quietly, and after a while, Kate suddenly walked downstairs, brushing past Adrian as he grabbed her arm.

“I don’t want to stay here, I just want to leave,” Kate struggled to say.

“Don’t be like this, Kate, calm down and then we can talk, okay?” Adrian showed no signs of letting go.

“Let me leave this place, I don’t want to see you, Ed, I don’t.” Her head was lowered, and although her tone was filled with hatred, the previous choking was even more apparent.

Adrian watched her for a long time, and finally said softly, “It’s already too late, it’s not safe to go out now. Spend the night here, at least. If you still want to leave in the morning, I won’t stop you.”

Kate finally stopped her slight struggle, looked up at Adrian, her pale face devoid of any color. Then she shook off his hand and walked upstairs without looking back.

Adrian watched her figure disappear at the stairwell, then shrugged his shoulders.

The next morning, Kate was waiting outside the villa with her suitcase, her eyes clearly red from lack of sleep, having spent most of the time packing. Adrian, as he had promised, did not stop her, but just stood at the door quietly watching everything.

A taxi soon arrived at the villa, Kate said nothing as with the driver’s help, she put her luggage in the trunk, glanced at Adrian, mumbling her lips, a glint in her eyes. Despite that, she ultimately remained silent, got into the taxi, and then left the villa.

“Some things are beyond control, so there’s no need to dwell on them,” Adrian murmured, sounding detached, but even tens of minutes after the taxi had departed, he still stood outside the villa, motionless.

It wasn’t until Mrs. Galen and the cleaning company staff arrived that Adrian came back to his senses and gave a few instructions to the housekeeper before heading to his study. He picked up the phone and started dialing.

“Roger, it’s me, keep an eye on her, I don’t want to see anything undesirable… in any case, of course, I’ll help you if it comes to that… Very well, that’s all,” Adrian hung up after making sure his message was clear, but he didn’t return the receiver to its place, instead, he carefully toyed with it in his hands.

The experiment had failed, hadn’t it? Oh, of course, feelings are always uncertain, but that does not matter.

“Do you really think I’d let you leave, Kate?” A slight, indistinct smile crept across his lips, “You were the first woman I met in this world, how could I easily let go? A fledgling cannot stay in the nest forever, you’ll understand what reality is. You belong to me, Kate!”

The Golden Globe Awards, despite continuous behind-the-scenes manipulation, never resulted in any sensational scandals and thus remained one of the United States’ most prestigious awards, and the media’s pursuit never waned. Newspapers published the next day were mostly focused on Pacino winning Best Actor again; he had first won it back in ’74, and more than a decade later, capturing this prize again, well, the implications compared to the Oscars were profound.

“Although I seldom speak out on this, at this moment I must add: the Oscars truly owe Al an Oscar statuette.” The host of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” said while discussing the Golden Globe Awards.

This was a widely held view, though the Oscar nominations were not yet announced, it was unanimously agreed that Pacino’s nomination was inevitable, and that he was the frontrunner for Best Actor. Besides the Oscars owing him, Pacino’s captivating performances and his win of the Golden Globe for Best Drama Actor were reasons enough. The label of the Golden Globes as an “Oscar Barometer,” though unofficial, sometimes indeed influenced the judgments of Film Academy jurors.

Apart from that, the most talked-about was Drew Barrymore’s Best Supporting Actress award, which even outshone the lead actress Emma Thompson. While Thompson was undeniably talented and well-known, her performance in “Howards End” had been universally acclaimed; she was, after all, British, and it was enough that the British media praised her. For the American media, a formerly troubled young woman making a comeback was a story worth highlighting.

“She is no longer that fallen, promiscuous party girl, although still rebellious and precocious, Drew Barrymore has completely picked up her acting career again,” reported the “Hollywood Report.”

Of course, many still referred to her past transgressions, these being prime fodder for the press, with some tabloids focusing on her current provocative roles, claiming that her on-screen characters were convincing precisely because they matched her real-life persona.

Adrian received attention similar to Drew’s, sometimes even more, as the most significant categories like Best Drama Movie, Best Actor and Actress in a Drama, and Best Supporting Actress were all from films he created! And both “Scent of a Woman” and “Howards End” were nominated for Best Drama Film.

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“It’s unfortunate that Best Director went to Clint, Adrian didn’t manage to sweep all the major awards; it’s fortunate that Best Director went to Clint, otherwise Adrian might have been resented by many. It’s really intriguing, although everyone knows he is talented, no one thought he could reach this height, what will he achieve in the upcoming Oscars?” a media outlet remarked.

Yes, no matter how much the reporters focused on the Golden Globe Awards, it was the upcoming Oscars that intrigued them more; though Adrian had lost at the Golden Globes, who knew if he could clinch an Oscar for Best Director? After all, he had already been nominated last year. (To be continued, for further information, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)