Chapter 1201: Chapter 1201: Wounded by Love
As if drifting beyond the clamor and fervor of this world.
Before the assistant could even think about how to relay the news, Jackie Qualls spoke up first.
His voice was as ever, gentle and calm, "She didn’t answer, did she?"
The man turned around, his face exuding a scholarly charm, reminiscent of a noble son from ancient times who had read extensively, as gentle as jade, and although there was a cold detachment in his eyes, his expression was always warm and soft like a spring breeze.
The assistant lowered their head, and only then did they notice the music playing in the room.
It was a very quiet tune.
It was a single from Hannah’s last album that she had completed on her own.
"The word from her side is that Hannah will not accept any scripts for some time to come."
The man stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with a faint expression, looking up at the bright moon above the night sky, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
After a moment, he gave a bitter laugh, "She just doesn’t want to accept me, that’s all."
The assistant understood the implications of his words but dared not respond.
Everyone outside knew that the movie star Jackie Qualls had pined for Hannah Winter for two years, to no avail; his love was always met with rejection, and he even had to watch her fall in love and get engaged to another.
In the end, heartbroken, he chose to leave the industry.
"You can go out now," he said.
The assistant answered and turned to leave.
As soon as the door closed, the room returned to immediate silence.
The window was open, and the sound of the wind brought in the distant bustle of the city.
Jackie Qualls reached for the script on the side, flipped through it casually, then tossed it aside wearily.
He knew all too well that the Hannah of now no longer needed any help from him.
It was just... just that he himself couldn’t let go.
Rebirth was a second chance given by the heavens, but he had let it slip away again amidst his own hesitations.
In his previous life, before dying, he had regretted countless times.
Regretted that he couldn’t see people clearly, to have fallen for a woman like Tiffany Lynch.
Throughout a long and endless sea of regret, he found himself thinking of Hannah Winter.
Thinking of the girl whose eyes were always filled with admiration for him.
She looked at him as if he were the only light in her life, her only salvation, and then willingly gave her heartfelt devotion and love.
But he had let her down.
He had betrayed someone who loved him wholeheartedly for someone who did not love him back.
Maybe it’s true that the older people get, the more stingy they become with their affections, especially people like him.
Did he really like Hannah Winter?
The nostalgia born within his regret was more selfish than affectionate.
After tasting the pain of being betrayed, he too began to crave the genuine feelings others offered to him.
With this mindset, Jackie Qualls, reborn, simply wanted to keep Hannah by his side.
Perhaps as one would a beloved pet.
But as for true affection, that was non-existent.
That was before, but now...
In the photograph, the girl wore a simple white dress, her eyes cast down, humming softly, with the river breeze blowing gently behind her and neon lights flickering.
Despite the distance, the teeming crowd in front of her seemed to exist merely as a backdrop to highlight her presence.
It was a road show from a year ago. He had hidden in a corner, watching her shine brilliantly, watching her drift further away from his world, and also watching her fall into someone else’s embrace.
Even in another life, he still missed the chance.
He had realized too late.
*
Stepping into this old residential building again, Brother Davis still felt out of place.
The building was only six stories high with no elevator, and the corridors were narrow.
In a corner, there was a crude plastic bucket serving as a trash can.
