Thousands of Brilliant Stars: You Deserve the Best!-Chapter 80: Jonas Kingsley—Where Did He Touch You?
Iris Crawford felt a sudden weightlessness, followed by gravity yanking her down harshly. Before she could react, Lachlan Wyatt reached out and grabbed the rope, holding her as they safely descended from the third floor to the first.
Sarah Shaw opened the car door by the side, "Hurry up! Their people are catching up!"
Looking up at the shattered window on the third floor, sure enough, Jonas Kingsley poked his head out, "Catch them for me!"
The sound of cars surrounding them came from not far away; Lachlan Wyatt jumped into the driver’s seat, saying to Iris, "Find a place to sit in the back!"
James Chesterton took Iris by the hand and pulled her into the car, starting it and closing the door as he glanced ahead. His face changed dramatically, "It’s too late; it feels like we’re about to be surrounded by their cars!"
"We need to divert their attention..." Peach looked at the car that almost collided with them and shouted, "Lachlan, drive carefully!"
This wasn’t just a surround; they wanted to catch up and ram us over!
"I know, I’m accelerating!" Lachlan Wyatt sharply turned the steering wheel and slammed on the accelerator, causing the speed to suddenly increase. Iris Crawford, who had just fastened her seatbelt, was pushed forward by inertia. Looking at the growing number of people outside, she wondered whether they really had to get out of the car to cause another commotion, or if Lachlan could drive them out of the encirclement.
If anything happens, everyone’s lives will be at risk. How can we gamble with everyone’s safety?
As Iris was torn, Patrick Pierce said, "Drop me off at an intersection ahead."
Iris looked at him in confusion, "What are you going to do?"
Patrick Pierce pointed at himself, "What do you think?"
Iris initially didn’t understand what Patrick could do until five minutes later, as they played a cat-and-mouse game with their pursuers, Lachlan decelerated and let Patrick out of the car.
Facing them, Patrick Pierce extended his hand; the other vehicles stopped as well, seemingly wanting to see what he was up to, and cautiously slowed down.
The entire situation slowed for about ten seconds until a passerby said, "Isn’t that Patrick Pierce?"
"Wait a second... it really is, isn’t it?"
"The movie star? No way! What’s he doing by the roadside?"
"It’s a chance encounter with Patrick Pierce! My God, the national heartthrob!"
"Patrick Pierce ahhhhhhhhhh!"
In no time at all, countless people frantically rushed in Patrick Pierce’s direction, crowding the intersection to the point of being impenetrable, like a human barricade separating Lachlan’s car from the ones chasing them. Patrick was squeezed by the crowd; without his bodyguards, he could only force a smile, and accepted all requests for photos from fans. The unusually approachable movie star incited screams from onlookers and fans, making more people rush to take pictures and videos, forming a circle!
The group attempting to keep chasing Iris grew angry and honked their horns at the crowd, "Hey! Do you own the road? Move aside!"
"Make way!"
"You’re blocking traffic! Hurry up!"
"What if they get away!"
As they honked in frustration, Lachlan Wyatt took off with a step on the gas pedal from the other side of the human wall.
Inside the car, Iris and Sarah exchanged glances.
"Is this the power of a big star?"
"Did you see that, the crowd seemed to appear out of nowhere, it was terrifying, gathering in an instant! Such influence..." Peach patted her chest, "Patrick Pierce is a walking billboard."
"Aren’t we taking Patrick back?"
"... He should be fine." Sarah Shaw did a prayer gesture, "Buddha, please protect Patrick from being trampled to death."
"..."
Driving back to the office with Iris, Peach was first to jump out of the car. She took Iris to a room for a check-up, confirming that the anesthetic residue was gone, then said to Iris, "This must have been hard on you."
Seeing Iris tied up like a dog and pressed onto the bed by Jonas Kingsley was infuriating!
Peach gritted her teeth, "Jonas is such a pervert! He looks like Lachlan but is way more twisted!"
Iris, tidying up her clothes, instinctively asked Peach, "Do you know Jonas?"
Peach paused before slowly saying, "I know that Lachlan has an older brother and a younger brother..."
The gossip about the Wyatt Family had also reached their circles.
It’s said that Jonas had a repressed personality from a young age, which was supposedly Lachlan’s father’s doing.
"Jonas’s mom is the fourth mistress," Peach whispered in Iris’s ear, "Lachlan’s mom is the third, and Lachlan has an eldest brother, whose mom is the legitimate wife. But the legitimate wife is now a vegetative patient in the hospital. Now, the fourth mistress stepped into the main house while Lachlan’s mom is dealing with depression, and left unattended by his father."
"..." Lachlan’s father is really that excessive?!
Iris gasped sharply, having been doted on by her father and mother, with a brother and sister who were always kind to her, she had never known that some people lived in such painful family environments and were tormented day after day.
Gradually, how could such people not have their psyches twisted?
What kind of self-redemption would it take to rescue oneself from such a broken family?
Iris took a deep breath, "So... is Jonas now the favored son, envying Lachlan, which is why he wants to harm him?"
"The specifics aren’t clear; James and Martin know Lachlan well and know more than I do. You could ask them." Peach patted Iris’s shoulder, "Birdie, they all say Lachlan is the perfect friend—rich, powerful, handsome, and intelligent. It’s comfortable being around someone like him, but they all agree that he’s not suitable for a relationship."
Iris’s heart shrank a little.
"Lachlan growing up in this environment and not being twisted is fortunate, but who knows if there’s a flaw in his personality."
"He’s not deficient, he’s just lacking in morals." Iris Crawford said with a helpless smile, "I know what you want to say, Peach."
Peach paused, "No, you don’t know. That’s what they think. My opinion is, as long as you’re still young, just do what you won’t regret."
Iris was stunned. So many people had told her not to fall for Lachlan Wyatt, but Peach was the first who didn’t say that.
"You, Iris Crawford, have everything, are you still afraid this bit of love will go unreciprocated?"
Peach hinted, "Anyway, when you disappeared today, Lachlan Wyatt called us in the middle of the night to organize a rescue for you. His tone was so anxious, I just felt he has feelings for you."
After spending so much time together day and night, Iris had also wavered, pondering if Lachlan might like her a bit.
But every time it was brought up, Lachlan responded with nothing but indifference.
"Too late to speak."
Iris tidied her hair and looked down, "The moment has passed."
As soon as these words were spoken, the figure standing outside the door wavered.
He just wanted to come in and ask about Iris’s condition, but upon hearing them still chatting, he waited, never expecting to hear this.
Iris had tested the waters with Lachlan, but Lachlan had rejected her.
Now that she said the moment has passed, why...
Lachlan unconsciously clenched his hand, the emotions in his eyes complex and obscure.
Why does his heart feel a slight pang?
As he turned to leave the doorway, Lachlan coincidentally bumped into Martin Hawthorne. Seeing his expression, Martin asked, "What’s wrong?"
It was rare for Martin to start a conversation. Lachlan, obliging, responded, "In a bad mood."
"Iris making someone touch you put you in a bad mood?"
Martin’s straightforward way of speaking almost overwhelmed Lachlan, who snorted coldly, but Martin strangely laughed.
This icy face not only laughed but did so particularly obnoxiously, "Once upon a time, you didn’t want her when she was good to you, and now you care like crazy."
"Who says I care about her?"
There was a snap in Lachlan’s heart, but he still spoke without thinking, "I just didn’t want to lose to Jonas Kingsley, okay? He went as far as to provoke me with Iris. I can’t just let him step all over me, can I? To put it bluntly, Iris is merely the result of my cost-benefit analysis..."
He didn’t finish his sentence because there was a sudden stop in footsteps from behind.
Turning back, he found Iris standing behind him with a confused expression, listening to him rebut Martin with disdain.
Iris looked bewildered and pained; she opened her mouth, unsure what to say, and could only force a smile in the end, "Thank you for rescuing me."
These five words could be described as a blow to the heart.
The mockery Martin made of Lachlan was nothing compared to the sting of Iris’s five words.
She... heard?
Lachlan hadn’t reacted, "When did you..."
"Just now, checked my body, came out of Peach’s room." Iris’s gaze turned elsewhere. She was just thinking of saying hello, but unexpectedly got close enough to hear such a conversation.
Lachlan, am I just a tool in your rivalry with Jonas?
"I..." Lachlan wanted to explain something, but found there was nothing to say; what was he supposed to explain?
In the end, he said nothing, and the silence, where words should not have been withheld, left Iris thoroughly disappointed.
"It’s late, I’m heading back." Iris’s tone was somewhat flat. After saying this, she directly brushed past Lachlan’s shoulder, heading straight to the car waiting outside. However, just as she opened the car door, someone caught up from behind and grabbed her hand, "I’ll take you." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
"No need." Iris shook off Lachlan, "It’s not like I can’t drive myself."
As she lifted her hand, the strands of hair near her ear flicked back, revealing a faint red kiss mark on her fair neck.
Lachlan’s eyes widened, thinking he must have seen wrong, "A hickey?"
Iris instinctively covered her neck and turned her face away, "It’s none of your business."
"Did Jonas touch you?"
Lachlan once again grabbed Iris, "Where else did he touch you?"
She was confessed to, adored, and kissed by someone else, while he watched from the sidelines, uninvolved.
Clearly, he was the closest to her, yet he was also the most indifferent and emotionless.
He had never left any marks on Iris, and more so, he had never even touched her.
Despite how intimate they appeared, in fact, they had never once crossed the line, and Lachlan would question himself why that was, whether it was because he didn’t want to touch Iris, thinking she was unclean, or...
"I said it’s none of your business!"
Iris forcefully shook off his hand again, and that time, Lachlan’s heart seemed to shudder with her shouted words.
