Chapter 202: Has She Mutated?

[Chapter 202: Has She Mutated?]

After rushing out of the restaurant, Elisabeth discovered that Eric had vanished without a trace. Disappointed, she returned to her hotel.

"Julia, what are you doing?"

Back in her hotel room, Elisabeth saw a suitcase lying in the middle of the bedroom -- Julia was packing her clothes. Julia folded a small T-shirt and stuffed it into the case, then looked up to explain, "I... I'm leaving. I think it's time for me to head back to Los Angeles."

Elisabeth stamped her foot in frustration and pulled the flustered girl down into a chair. "Look at you! You look like a little creature that's been chased by its predator, desperate to escape!"

Julia's eyes darted around in panic, and she eventually mustered the courage to complain to Elisabeth, "It's your fault! You saw him behind me and didn't warn me. Now that I said those things, that guy is definitely going to come after me."

Elisabeth couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! How is he going to come after you? Spank you? Come on, Julia, that's all in your head!"

Julia shivered and retreated slightly. "You... you don't understand, Liz. That guy is really bad news."

Elisabeth couldn't make sense of Julia's behavior. After a moment of contemplation, she finally pulled the girl upright. "Come on, follow me."

"Where to?" Julia asked as she stood up, still following Elisabeth's lead.

"We're going to find Eric Williams. Since you're worried, I'll speak to him directly and make sure he doesn't bother you anymore."

Upon hearing Elisabeth's words, Julia slumped back onto the chair, refusing to get up. She clung tightly to the armrests and protested, "He's... he's never bothered me!"

"Then tell me, what's really going on with you?"

"I... I'm not quite sure either. I mean, I feel a bit uneasy around him. And after that time I got drunk and now this... I just don't want to face him, Liz. Can we please just drop it?"

Julia hesitated, even though she and Elisabeth were already close friends. She still hadn't confided her deepest secret, which only she and Eric knew. And she wasn't certain if her emotions stemmed from some sort of Stockholm syndrome; she had casually read a few books on the topic, but the symptoms seemed... different somehow.

Had she mutated?

Elisabeth paced a few times on the empty bedroom floor in distress, then suddenly clapped her hands. "Julia, what if you're looking at this all wrong?"

Curious, Julia glanced up at her. Elisabeth continued, "Maybe it's just that you haven't had many interactions with him, and during the few times you did, he seemed overly dominant, which left you with that impression?"

"Or... or maybe," Julia nodded, contemplating. It was true. She hadn't really been alone with Eric all that often. Even from the very beginning, they had only slept together once. Although that encounter was particularly memorable, it was still just that one time.

Then there were the other impressions...

That first night they met, he had looked down at her and said he could take her to the top of Hollywood...

While filming, she had given him hints, and he'd said, "Forget it. I need to get back..."

During Al's invitation, she had tested him. He had casually remarked, "Go ahead, but don't hold up tomorrow's shoot..."

In the trailer, he had raised his hand, and she actually felt a surge of anticipation. Then he had swung the door open...

After their success together, she had strutted over to confront him, and he had scolded her, saying she was too impatient, asking what she was trying to do...

The company had assigned her a driver and bodyguard, and she found it thrilling. She had run over to show off, and he had merely scoffed at her.

It felt like from the very beginning, she had always been beneath him, gazing up in awe while he seemed like a god, unreachable and blocking out the sunlight, casting her in his shadow.

Elisabeth noticed Julia lost in thought and snapped her fingers in her ear.

"Huh?" Julia blinked back to reality, looking puzzled.

"Julia, don't you want to change your current situation?"

"How... how could I change it?"

"It's simple," Elisabeth said confidently. "Spend more time with him. I think Eric Williams isn't as scary as you think. He's in Venice right now and isn't busy with filming. You can hang out with him more, get to know him, and maybe you won't be so intimidated anymore."

With a flicker of apprehension mixed with hope, Julia finally lifted her head. "Can that really work?"

"If you don't try, how would you know?" Elisabeth noted Julia's wavering resolve and quickly took her hand. "Let's go find him now."

"Wait! I think I should change my clothes," Julia insisted.

Elisabeth looked at Julia's oversized pink sleeveless T-shirt and jeans and shook her head. "That's fine just as it is. Besides, it's already past nine, and if you dress up nicely, you'll just have to take it off again. Why make it so complicated?" With that, Elisabeth tugged Julia out the door.

...

Eric had just finished showering and changed into some comfortable clothes. He switched on the TV and flipped through the channels a few times. While the hotel had cable from the major North American networks, there wasn't anything interesting. He couldn't understand the local programming either, so he turned it off and picked up the book Drew had given him before getting on the plane.

As a middle-aged man with a psyche beyond forty, tangled in life's complexities, Eric found it increasingly difficult to engage with such a light collection of essays. He had skimmed it on the plane, but ultimately dosed off to sleep. Now, looking back at it, it seemed pointless, and he quickly felt drowsy once again.

Just as he was about to doze off, the phone rang. It was the hotel front desk saying that someone was looking for him.

...

"Come in! What brings you here so late?" Eric said, welcoming the two women into his suite.

Ignoring Julia, who appeared a little nervous behind her, Elisabeth confidently paced the spacious living room, glancing at the book Eric had left on the coffee table. She looked back up and said, "Wow, I didn't expect you would be into this book!"

Pouring juice for both ladies, Eric casually replied, "Not really."

*****

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