Key Card
Fenella’s POV
“Why was your face gloomy?” Jessy asked.
“It’s nothing,” I replied.
“This morning, you signed a contract as Gene’s main model. You got Oscar de Ragetti as your first client for the entire fashion brand and his clubs. Just an hour ago, you secured a second client for a cosmetics collaboration,” he asked quickly.
“What else is bothering you?” he asked irritably.
I just shook my head and hugged my knees to my chest. It was already 8 p. m. tonight, but Laird had only responded to my messages briefly, seeming reluctant to communicate with me again. Slowly, my tears started to flow, and I could only bury my face in my knees.
Seeing my tears, Jessy immediately sat beside me on the couch. He put his arm around my shoulder and rubbed my back, which jerked with each sob.
“What’s really going on? Tell me,” Jessy coaxed softly.
After holding it in all day, I couldn’t contain my sadness anymore. I let my tears flow after waiting so long for a message from Laird. Now, I felt thankful to be back at Jessy’s apartment instead of crying alone on my bedroom floor.
Jessy didn’t ask much, but after my tears had subsided, I finally recounted this morning’s events to him.
“Oh, dear. Poor girl,” he said, squeezing me tightly.
“Truly, I envy you,” he said.
“It’s not that I’m not grateful, but I’m just afraid.” I wiped my tears with the tissue Jessy handed me.
“It’s okay, darling. I understand. Sometimes we need time to heal our heartaches,” he patted my hand.
“But I don’t know if I still have time or not. I don’t want Laird to avoid me, but I still feel this trauma. What should I do?” I asked between sobs.
Jessy continued to gently rub my back. He paused for a moment, as if carefully choosing his words.
“Fen, try talking to Laird calmly. Maybe earlier he wasn’t thinking clearly because he was in a rush to the office,” he said softly.
“One thing I know about fear is that you can’t get over it if you never start facing it,” he said, looking at me intently.
“If you truly like Laird and want your relationship to work, give him a chance to prove himself. Trust him little by little,” Jessy said.
“If you shut yourself off because of trauma, your relationship is guaranteed to fail 100%. If you open up to him, you still have a 50% chance to heal all your wounds.”
“Yes, Jess. I want this relationship to work. I’ve dreamed of being with Laird since high school, and I don’t want to fail. Now that he’s angry with me, I don’t know what to do.” I grew more restless thinking about my mistake this morning.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Laird will understand if you communicate well with him. He might have just been momentarily upset. Try going to his apartment now. He asked you to come, right?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid he’s still angry and will reject me.” I bit my lower lip.
“Has he already returned to his apartment?” he asked.NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.
“Yes, he said he’s already home.” I nodded.
“In that case, what are you waiting for? Chop chop! Go now.”
I looked at Jessy, who smiled and urged me to go. I was still hesitant, but I finally gathered the courage to get up from the couch and hurriedly head towards Laird’s apartment.
***
I rang the intercom bell at Laird’s apartment. He didn’t reply to my messages, but I could see that he had read them. Even though he didn’t respond, I knew he had arrived at his apartment at this hour. I took a leap of faith.
Just as I was about to press the bell for the fifth time, suddenly the door to the apartment building opened. I immediately saw Laird at the door. His face was no longer as tense as it was this morning, and the gentle look in his eyes had returned.
“Laird, forgive me,” I said as soon as I saw him.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have pressured you,” he said with a soft nod.
“Are you coming up?” he asked.
“Yes. Give me your card.” I reached out my hand to him.
Laird raised an eyebrow as he saw my hand in the air. “Didn’t you say you weren’t ready to accept the card because you were scared?” he asked.
“It’s okay. I still want to hold it now,” I said confidently.
“So, are you okay if I suddenly come to your apartment without notice?” I gave him a little warning, and I’m sure Laird understood.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
We stared at each other for a long time. I thought he would be angry, but his gaze didn’t show any hint of that emotion at all. Instead, I saw a hint of fear in the corner of his eyes and tension in his jaw. I nodded in response.
“Yes, Laird. I’m giving you my trust.” I nodded, and my smile widened.
Slowly, Laird’s smile widened too. He breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a light chuckle. He leaned forward slowly and hugged me tightly.
“Thank you, Fenella,” he whispered in my ear, kissing my temple.
“Er, but I don’t think I’ll stay here this week,” I said softly, feeling embarrassed.
“Why?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“I just had my period.” I blushed.
“Oh, that explains it,” he murmured with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I know. My emotions are unstable,” I said, covering my face with my hands.
“It’s okay. Come in and stay. I gave you the access card, not just for sex.” Then Laird put his arm around my waist and led me into his apartment building.
“This is yours,” he said, handing me a white access card.
I touched the access card to the elevator sensor. Automatically, the elevator selected the second floor, where Laird’s apartment was located. When we finally arrived at Laird’s floor, I immediately touched the card to the apartment door sensor. The door opened with its distinctive mechanical sound.
“It really works,” I said with a fleeting laugh.
“Of course,” he said, letting me in and walking ahead.
After the apartment door closed with the same sound as the door mechanism, I immediately hugged Laird and stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips. In an instant, desire ignited our passion as our lips clung together and our tongues sucked on each other.
“You said you’re on your period,” Laird said as he momentarily leaned back.
“It’s okay. I know other ways to satisfy you,” I said with a crooked smile.