When he saw Julia in the bathroom, he immediately stopped in his tracks, standing there in a daze.
Julia had fallen asleep with her head resting on the edge of the bathtub.
Her body was still soaking in the cold water, rising and falling with her breaths, causing gentle ripples on the water's surface.
She was utterly exhausted. Filming during the day and working at the July Blossom Nightclub at night. Although the nightclub job paid well, it was incredibly tiring.
Now, even with her body submerged in water, she could still fall asleep.
Royce felt a twinge of pity for her.
Just as he was about to lift Julia out of the water, she woke up.
"Hmm? How did I fall asleep?"
"You're asking me? How would I know! If I hadn't come in, you could have drowned in the bathtub and no one would have known! Get up, dry yourself off, and go to bed!"
Royce scolded her before walking out.
Julia dried herself off, changed into her clean clothes, and walked out of the bathroom.
The roses on the bed had disappeared at some point, and she looked at Royce warily.
"Look at how tired you are! You sleep here. I'll go to another room. I'll take you to the set tomorrow morning." With that, Royce left the room.
Julia was too exhausted. She locked the bedroom door and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.
Rachel slept soundly until the early morning light began to filter through the windows.
Royce drove her back to the film set at dawn. Rachel felt groggy but still managed to wave at Royce.
"Thanks for last night," she said.
"No need to thank me. Just remember to cook for me sometime. See you," Royce replied, turning his car around and driving off.
**Obsidian Empire**
**CEO's Office**
Behind Royce's office was a lavishly decorated lounge. When work got too hectic, he would sometimes sleep there or take a quick nap during lunch breaks. The doors and windows were tightly shut, not allowing even a whisper of wind to enter.
"What did you say? Harry is your wife's ex-boyfriend? And your wife is Rachel Bennet?!" Lionel was visibly shocked after hearing Royce's account from the previous night.
When Lionel found out that Harry had dropped off Royce's wife, he had been calling Royce non-stop. But Royce had turned off his phone.
Royce instinctively frowned and looked at Lionel.
"You know Rachel Bennet?"
Lionel nodded. "I've seen her a few times. Harry used to bring her around. They were together for many years!"
Royce clenched his fists. For some reason, hearing this filled his chest with a burning anger that he couldn't quite understand.
Lionel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Wow, Rachel broke up with Harry a little over a year ago, and you and your wife got married around the same time. So that means..."
Seeing the look of imminent explosion on Royce's face, Lionel swallowed the rest of his words.
Even without Lionel saying anything, Royce understood.
Julia had just broken up with Harry and immediately got married!
"Why did they break up?" Royce's voice was deep and commanding, exuding authority without anger.
Even Lionel, who was familiar with him, felt a twinge of fear seeing him like this.
"I'm not entirely sure. They said it was due to personality differences. But they were together for five years, and during that time, they were inseparable!"
The phrase "inseparable" made Royce even more uncomfortable.
Lionel patted Royce on the shoulder. "Your wife is really something! But let me remind you, the time she was with you might not have been her first."
Royce frowned at Lionel. "I saw the blood on the sheets with my own eyes!"
Lionel looked at him with a knowing expression. "You need to get out more, see the world. Stop burying yourself in your games! You've got more money than you could spend in several lifetimes!"
Royce grabbed Lionel by the collar, almost lifting him off the ground.
"Hey, hey, let go, let go!"
"If there was blood, why wasn't it her first time?" Royce asked through gritted teeth.
"Let go of me! Cough, cough... Don't you know who you are? You could kill me like this!"
Royce immediately released his grip, and Lionel's feet touched the ground again.
He straightened his clothes and said, "You know your strength is three to four times that of an average person. You know what you are... and yet you still do this to me! Are you trying to kill me?"
"Spit it out!"
"A woman's hymen can be repaired. A simple surgery costing three to four hundred bucks can do it. It's not necessarily the first time if there's bleeding," Lionel answered plainly.
Royce slammed his fist onto the table, leaving a deep dent in the surface.
Lionel flinched in fear. He knew Royce was a dangerous man. No, he wasn't just an ordinary man; he had a special identity.
"I'm just saying it's possible. After all, Harry was with her for over five years. Think about it, what kind of man is Harry Edwards?
Being together for that long, could he really have kept his hands off her?"
Royce remained silent.
"But, this Julia has a peculiar personality. It's hard to say for sure. Doesn't she know you're her husband? Why don't you just ask her directly?"
Royce let out a deep sigh. It seemed he would have to continue his disguise around her.
***
Swan City Film Base
After returning, Julia plunged into a hectic filming schedule. By the end of the day, when she got back to her hotel room, she felt like her body was falling apart.
Having taken cold showers and soaked in cold water for so long the previous night, she felt heavy and feared she might catch a cold.
Julia immediately went to the nearest pharmacy to buy some medicine. At this time, she absolutely couldn't afford to get sick!
After taking the medicine, she went to bed early.
The next day's filming continued to be just as intense.
After a few days of getting used to each other, the film crew began to operate smoothly, and the shooting process became more intense.
Julia still felt a bit groggy and had a sore throat, but she managed to get through the entire day of filming. After wrapping up, she took her medicine and prepared to sleep.
Because Julia's scenes went smoothly, they finished earlier than expected.
Tonight, there was a grand palace scene to be shot, and it was a night shoot. After they wrapped up, everyone finished together.
Bailey had her assistant buy some late-night snacks and invited everyone to her suite to enjoy them.
"Sister Bailey, thank you so much for the treat! It's amazing to have something good to eat after wrapping up!" Isla said, munching on a donut.
"Oh, by the way, Sister Bailey, I heard that Mr. Edwards once gave you a beautiful string of South Sea pearls. Since everyone is here, can we take a look?" Unaiza asked tentatively.
"It's nothing special, but sure, why not. Celeste, go to my bedroom and get the necklace from the dressing table," Bailey instructed.
Celeste immediately went to fetch it. As everyone was chatting and laughing, a sudden scream pierced the air. Celeste rushed back into the room.
"Sister Bailey, the necklace is gone!" she exclaimed.