Chapter 63
Whispers of Destiny His Belated Love
No one spoke further; both of them were breathing heavily, Rosemary out of sheer frustration.
Rosemary couldnât see Maxwellâs expression and didnât have the bandwidth to guess what he was
feeling. It took a good half a minute before she managed to calm her turbulent emotions, âThe
contract has been signed; you canât just back out now.â
The response came in his calm and collected voice, âA dealâs not done until the follow-upâs in place.
Why donât you check with Mr. Ferber, see if heâs still keen on working with the Templeton Group?â
Mr. Ferber would obviously agree; for him, the companyâs future was more important than his face.
But after what heâd done to Rosemary, how could she possibly go ask him!
Anger surged in Rosemaryâs chest again, âMaxwell, have you no shame!â
Maxwell, likely unused to such direct insults, replied with a chilling voice, âRosemary, where are
your manners?â
The woman retorted sharply with a cold laugh, âMight as well have been eaten by you.â
Calling him a dog was an insult to the poor pups!
After a few seconds of silence, Maxwellâs voice seemed to be restraining something, âSend your
account details to Christ. Heâll transfer you ten million hardship fees, and Iâll add an extra five million
on the top of that as compensation.â
Rosemary clenched her teeth, knowing full well Maxwell wouldnât budge on the three hundred
million, âI donât want the extra five million. First, go through the divorce proceedings with me. Iâll pay
back the three hundred million in installments.â
âDo you really think youâre in any position to negotiate with me?â
Rosemaryâs throat tightened, hit again by that same lineâthere was clearly no room for negotiation!
Since there was no room for negotiation, she didnât want to waste another word on him and hung up
the phone.
She closed her eyes, tallying up her current finances, growing more agitated with each thought,
wishing she could drive over and punch Maxwell to death.
How could there be such an annoying and shameless man in the world?
All his money must have come from swindling and deceit!
Rosemary blocked all of Maxwellâs contact details and calmed herself in the restroom for over ten
minutes. Only when her emotions had eased did she open the door and walk out.
She hadnât gone far when she ran into Hans, who was hurting over, seemingly looking for someone.
His gaze swept around until he saw Rosemary and let out a sigh of relief, âRose, Iâve been looking
everywhere for you. The filming at the program team is almost done. The spotlight is now on you
and me.â
The artifact restoration show that Oswald had mentioned before - Rosemary had eventually agreed
to participate, but on the condition that she wouldnât show her face. Yet, it was too good of a
publicity opportunity for the studio to miss, so they decided to have Hans join her in the restoration
segment, letting him be the face of the studio.
âSorry, I just went to the restroom. Letâs get going.â
They entered the restoration room, and Rosemaryâs workstation was all set up with the artifact for
this session - a vase with moderate damage. They planned to film over several sessions and later
edited the footage together into a single video.
The director came over to brief them, âJust focus on the restoration work as you normally would.
Thereâs no need to pose specifically for the camera.â
Rosemary nodded, âSure, thanks, Director Madden.â
Director Maddenâs gaze lingered on the womanâs face, unable to hide his regret, âRose, are you
sure you donât want to show your face? This is a great opportunity. With your beauty, you might
attract film and TV offers.â
He began to sell her the dream. A young and beautiful girl like her could be a ratings magnet. What
a waste to just show her hands!
Rosemary smiled politely, âSorry, but Iâm an introvert by nature and donât really fit in with other
circles. Just filming my hands is fine. Participating in this show is merely to raise awareness about
our industry. Whether or not I show my face doesnât matter.â
Though Director Madden was disappointed, he didnât push further. He nodded and returned to his
camera, âReady everyone. Letâs start!â
Filming a documentary is different from shooting a drama. Thereâs no need for acting or a script;
Rosemary just has to do her thing, and how to shoot and edit was the directorâs concern.
She and Hans were working on the same piece of porcelain but had different tasks. Since
Rosemary didnât want her face on camera, they were mostly filmed separately, rarely together in the
same shot.
Midway through, she handed something to Hans, who was intently focused on his task. He
accidentally grabbed her hand without looking.
He paused for a moment, then quickly let go, âSorry.â
âItâs OK.â Since they were filming, Rosemary kept her voice very low.
The filming went smoothly, and after Director Madden recorded an interview with Oswald. After
everything was over, Oswald saw the crew out and invited them for a meal, but Rosemary didnât
participate in any of these activities.
Hans glanced at Rosemary, who had seemed distracted since the shoot ended, and asked, âRose,
you seem down. Did something happen?â
Rosemary concealed the worries in her eyes; she and Hans werenât close enough for personal
chats, âNo, just a bit tired.â
âThen donât overwork yourself,â Hans advised. âWe have so many artifacts in storage, we couldnât
finish restoring them all even if we had eight hands each. When you can slack off a bit, take the
chance.â
Rosemary simply smiled but didnât continue the conversation.
At that moment, Christâs call came through. The mere sight of his name made Rosemary think of
Maxwell, and she answered the phone with a trace of annoyance, âWhat is it?â
Christ, unaware of what had happened, was taken aback by her aggressive tone, and paused for a
few seconds before speaking, âMs. Chambers, could you send me your bank account? Mr.
Templeton asked me to transfer your compensation for this engagement.â
So, it was about the money. Rosemary provided an account number. The three hundred million was
a lost cause, but she was definitely going to take the compensation. She wasnât about to let Maxwell
get off that easy!
Over the next few days, Rosemary and Hans were all caught up in fixing that vase. The program
team came twice more for additional shots. Unlike a drama series that requires complex post-
production, the documentary was broadcasted on an online platform within a week.
That day, Christ came out of the presidentâs office, heaving a big sigh.
He had been having a tough time lately because he hadnât thoroughly investigated Rosemaryâs
position at Heritage Revive Studio and had reported incorrect information to Mr. Templeton.
Recently, every time Mr. Templeton glanced his way, well, letâs just say he looked at him like he was
a total screw-up.
No, he had to try hard to keep his job!
Heading to the break room, Christ happened to overhear two secretaries whispering and giggling
with their phones out.
âI can't believe I'm fan-girling over a pair of hands!â
âBut what if they belong to some ugly creature or a middle-aged auntie? You canât ship a pair of
hands without seeing the face!â
âNo way, with the dudeâs good looks, anyone who pairs up with him and has such gorgeous hands,
the person definitely can't be ugly.â
They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didnât notice Christ entering.
Christâs gaze casually swept over the phone screen, and just as the camera zoomed in, he caught
sight of a pair of slender hands.
He paused momentarily, feeling a sense of familiarity with those hands. He couldnât help but ask,
âWhat show is this?â