Seri managed a smile. “Hey.”
She tried not to think about the fact that Vassi and the other girl had arrived together – again.
Inching forward, she looked past Vassi to smile at Daniela. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
She blinked at Daniela’s strained smile. Was something wrong? She immediately looked at Vassi, but he kept his gaze straight ahead, deliberately ignoring her.
Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the crowd as well. Had the two of them fought?
Almost half an hour passed before the press conference began, and it couldn’t have come earlier for Seri. Those thirty minutes had been the worst, with Seri unable to stop listening to the way Vassi and Daniela continued with their cute and witty banter.
The first part of the conference involved a short introduction from the two directors followed by a ten-minute Q & A for each member of the cast. The third part of the conference allowed the press to ask questions of the cast as an ensemble, and the first one had everyone either smiling or hooting outright.
“Any real-life romance between any cast members?”
Everyone, including Seri, although it was taking everything for her to continue smiling.
Vassi did his best not to react at the question. Beside him, he sensed more than saw Daniela stiffen, and he reached for her hand without hesitation. He squeezed her fingers, telling her without words that he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass her.
“I think you should ask our dear Daniela about that,” Malinda was saying. “Right…D?” The other actors grinned at her deliberate use of Vassi’s nickname for Daniela.
The moderator turned to Daniela with a grin. “Well, Ms. Martin?”
“I’m…” Daniela’s voice faltered and she turned towards him helplessly.
Without missing a beat, Vassi said, “In one of our rehearsals, Malinda says I’m every girl’s type—-”
The girls in the crowd cheered.
“So as far as romances go,” he drawled, “I think every girl in the cast, with the exception of my sister, is in love with me.” He looked at Malinda. “And that includes you, Malinda, even if you won’t admit it.”
Malinda only rolled her eyes even as the crowd of reporters laughed.
The questions continued, with one reporter asking the inevitable question about how awkward it was for Vassi and Seri to play lovers when they were siblings in real life.
Vassi answered first. “Work is work, and it makes no difference to us.”
Seri shook her head at the crowd. “To be honest, my only complaint is that I have to spend even more time with the most arrogant guy in the world.” She turned to face Vassi to smirk at him—-
Or at least that was what she wanted to do until she saw Vassi holding Daniela’s hand under the table.
She quickly faced the crowd, saying brightly, “Other than that, it’s not a problem.” The reporter next in line came forward, his question about voice acting techniques, but Seri barely heard him at all.
Right now, there was only one thing she could think about.
Vassi was holding Daniela’s hand in secret.
“And Ms. Devereaux? Any tips you wish to share about voice acting?”
She heard herself answer, feeling all the while that the words were coming from someone else’s mouth.
Vassi was holding Daniela’s hand in secret.
She couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Vassi was holding Daniela’s hand in secret.
Did it mean he was starting to fall for the other girl? Did it mean he would start being indifferent to her? Did it mean—-
Vassi was holding Daniela’s hand in secret.
“And now,” the moderator said excitedly, “it’s time to unveil the trailer. Without further ado—-”
Vassi was holding Daniela’s hand in secret.
“Here’s the world premiere for Drawn!”
All the lights in the function room went out.
And without even thinking, Seri reached for Vassi’s dick under the table.
Vassi stiffened.
Swallowing, Seri leaned towards him, pretending to accidentally brush her breasts against the side of his arm. Squeezing his dick, she whispered, “It’s me.” Even though it stung her pride to have to say the words, what would be even more unbearable was Vassi mistaking her touch for Daniela’s.
Vassi said under his breath, “I know.” Never in his wildest dreams had he thought Seri could ever do something like this, and if it had been any other time, he would have been damn glad about it.
But things were different now.
It wasn’t just his family who would be hurt. There was Daniela, too, who even now was on the verge of breaking down – and if she did, he would only have himself to blame.
Seri’s heart started to beat hard when Vassi’s hand suddenly covered hers—-
Only to shatter into pieces when she felt Vassi firmly remove her fingers from his body.
The trailer ended, and the lights switched back on.
Thunderous applause filled the function hall, and when KC, the young mangaka, burst into tears as she threw herself in her Russian-Japanese boyfriend’s arms, people began to sniff and dab at their eyes.