Love’s New Bloom By Simone Hastings - Season 1 Episode 83

Erin could tell from Matthew’s voice that he was pleasantly surprised; somehow, she felt bad about it. She chuckled awkwardly. “Do you find it strange for me to call you?”

“Yes! Very strange indeed! You never once contacted me of your own accord even though you’ve got my number, and I make sure that my phone’s never switched off,” Matthew teased.

Erin found herself at a loss for words.

“Erin, is there something you’d like to know?” Matthew probed.

Erin was amazed. “How’d you know?”

“That’s because I’m on the same wavelength as you!” Matthew laughed, sitting in the VIP lounge like the rockstar that he was. His manager gestured for him to take note of the time, waving their boarding ticket in his hands.

Erin giggled. “Alright then, maybe that’s true.”

“Can you give me a few minutes, Erin? I’ll call you back right away!”

“Yeah, sure. You go ahead.”

Matthew swiftly ended the call and told his companions, “I’m not attending the music festival anymore. You guys have fun and enjoy yourselves. I’ll be staying back for a month!”

The rest of his team were stunned. They were finally done with all the concerts, and he was passing this chance to wind down overseas?

It went without saying that his manager had to stay back with Matthew, so he left the waiting lounge glumly as he trailed along. They hurried through the VIP lane, and Matthew immediately returned Erin’s call as soon as his phone received a signal.

The fact was, Erin was able to ask what she needed to know, but Matthew insisted on speaking to her in person and that it had to be tonight. Erin glanced at the clock on the living room wall and found that it wasn’t too late yet, so she agreed to his request. They decided to meet up at a jazz bar nearby.

Erin stepped into the bar an hour later. The black range rover that was shadowing her pulled up a little way down the street. Hans Feinwell, who was in the car, kept a close eye on Erin.

Half an hour later, a blue imported sports car pulled up to the entrance to the bar. A tall young man dressed entirely in black exited the driver’s seat. He had a black cap and a black mask on, and he looked around cautiously before entering the bar.

Hans picked up a pair of binoculars and took a mental note of the car plate number before he made a call. Five minutes later, the person called him back to give him information on the owner of the car. He immediately called Chandler up.

Chandler was still working when he received the call, so he looked at the caller ID and said, “Kyle, it’s a call from Hans.”

Kyle’s brows furrowed ever so slightly as he got up from the sofa to pick up the call.

“Put it on speaker.”

“Yes, Mr. Frost.”

“Mr. Frost, Miss Lane is meeting Matthew Burgess in a bar right now,” Hans reported.

Chandler’s hand that had reached out to flip a page froze. For a split second, a glint of coldness flashed in his dark eyes.

For the past week, he had been waiting for Erin to come to him and apologize. Who would have thought that not only did she not come to him, she even found a new place to stay with her cousin? He couldn’t even be bothered to contact her when he thought of how silly the wench was.

He had been the one who told Erin to get the hell out of the mansion back then, so naturally, his pride would not allow him to go to her. All he did was to get Hans to keep an eye on her every move and report back to him.

“What should I do next, Mr. Frost?” Hans asked after a long stretch of silence.

Chandler slammed the document close and said, “Continue watching them. Go ahead and deliver the information about May to her. Remember to send it anonymously.”

“Got it.”

Kyle put the phone back on the table before asking, “Mr. Frost, why didn’t you let me give the documents to Miss Lane straight up?”

Chandler scoffed. “Seeing how daft Erin is, she might think that I made those up to drag May through the mud!” That was highly likely!

“Mr. Frost, the chairman of the board is back in town. We found out that he has received an anonymous letter. I’m afraid he’s found out about Miss Lane’s presence.”

Chandler’s gaze sharpened at Kyle’s words. “I guess my father won’t be going back so soon this time round, then.”

“Is there anything we should prepare?” Kyle asked gravely.

Chandler simply crossed his fingers and looked at Kyle. “We’ll play by ear.”

Over at the bar, Matthew confirmed what James had said about May to Erin. She was nothing but disappointed when she found out the truth. It turned out that everything James had said was true.

“My manager even found out that May wasn’t even my fan to begin with. She had managed to blend in with my fans and found out about your presence. Then, she bargained with the person who hired her and demanded ten grand before she promised to post the photo of you online. I had let her off the hook only because she was your cousin. Furthermore, I somehow managed to benefit from it too.” Matthew teased, “That photo even got me quite a few endorsement offers. But I declined them all.”

His amber eyes were especially enticing under the dim lights, like two rare gemstones. Erin lost herself in them. He winked playfully at her. Erin snapped awkwardly out of it. “Why didn’t you take them up on the offers?”

Matthew couldn’t hold back and reached out for Erin’s alluring face, caressing it as he said gently, “Because I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear the thought of our moment being monetized for commercial profit.” He kept his steady gaze on hers. “And most importantly, the actresses they cast wasn’t the one I hoped for.”

Erin’s cheeks went red. Though she looked like she was just a college student or even a high schooler, Matthew was five years younger than she was. She saw him as nothing more than a young, brotherly figure.

His slender fingers slid over her face like he was playing on a precious instrument. Erin felt a fluttering sensation within her. She took his hand away from her face.

“It tickles,” she said awkwardly.

Erin didn’t get it, either. She felt repulsed by Caleb’s touch on her arm and would reflexively recoil from him. But with Matthew, she did not dislike physical contact with him and even felt a sort of closeness to him.

Matthew drew his hand back and leaned on the table. A satisfied expression graced his face. “I’m glad you don’t hate me, Erin.

”

“Why would I hate you?” Erin chuckled.

“You mentioned that you’re no longer living with Chandler. Where do you live now? I’ll send you home.”

Erin stared at him. “That won’t be necessary. I live just nearby. It won’t take more than 15 minutes on foot.”

“No, it’s late now. I can’t let you go back alone. I’d be worried. Let me send you back, alright?” Matthew’s warm tone and sincere gaze made it hard for Erin to refuse.

“If it isn’t too much of a hassle…”

“There’s no hassle at all! Excuse me, get me the bill please!” Matthew said with a snap of his fingers.

7/7

A waiter quickly came over with the bill. Both Matthew and Erin had only ordered fruit juices.

One of the waiters suddenly recognized Matthew and was about to call out to him but was quickly stopped by Matthew. He didn’t want his whereabouts exposed, so he refused the waiter’s request for a picture, but he gave him an autograph. Then, he

left the bar with Erin.

Just as they left the bar, it started raining heavily before Erin even managed to get into the car.

Matthew immediately opened the car door and helped her in. Shortly after, the sports car pulled away from the bar.

About two minutes later, Matthew suddenly asked Erin, “Since you’re not working tomorrow, can I take you somewhere else tonight, Erin?”