"Kat, be nice, be beautiful, and be elegant. And don't forget to smile!" Josie whispered as they finally arrived at the courtyard of Raventon Hall that afternoon.
Even before they stepped out of the house, Josie had repeated those words over and over, as if programming her sister like a puppet. She had to be nice, beautiful, and elegant. And she mustn't forget to tell her to always smile sweetly.
"You are the greatest theatre artist I have ever seen. Of course, you can do it!" Those were the words Josie often used to coax her, like a talent agent encouraging her star before a big performance.
At first, Kat flatly refused. Her face showed complete disinterest when Josie suddenly appeared, interrupting her as she was sewing her stage dress, asking her to go to the residence of a general whom Kat had never even seen up close. However, she finally agreed after Josie said she would allow the theatre company to adapt one of her works, which the theatre company had been eyeing for a long time, but Josie had continued to refuse on the grounds that there was no actor suitable to play the male lead.
Thanks to their unspoken agreement, Kat then followed Josie's plan. She went with her to Reventon Hall to distract the General with her charm while Josie apologised and asked for her notebook back.
Yeah, it sounded easy enough. At least, in Josie Everhart's wildly imaginative mind, which, as usual, was always a few chapters ahead of reality.
In her mind, Major General Raymond would be transfixed by Katerina Everhart, captivated by Kat's theatrical charm and distinctive beauty. Then, in an instant, he would forget all of Josie's mistakes and return her notebook with a gentlemanly smile and perhaps a little sarcastic praise.
"How easy life would be if everything went according to a novel's plot," she thought.
But in reality, that plan fell apart the moment they arrived at Raventon Hall.
After passing through the tall iron gates and walking down the corridor to the classic-style waiting room in the east wing, they were greeted by a black-and-white-uniformed servant who invited them to sit down. Kat crossed her legs with her characteristic grace, while Josie sat restlessly like a defendant awaiting her verdict.
Time passed as they waited. Three minutes, five minutes, and fifteen minutes had passed, until finally the servant who had greeted them reappeared with a piece of news that immediately froze Josie.
"Major General Raymond only wishes to see Miss Josieanna Everhart privately. Miss Katerina Everhart, please wait here."
Kat turned quickly to Josie, and Josie looked confusedly at the waiter standing calmly in front of them.
"Excuse me? Just me?"
The waiter nodded politely. "That's right, Miss. A direct request from the General."
Kat opened her mouth to interrupt, but Josie spoke first—her voice rising between nervousness and a slight defensive tremor that couldn't be hidden.
"Does ... does he know I'm not coming alone?"
"Yes, ma'am. He knows."
Damn. If he knew she wasn't coming alone, why did he still tell her to meet him alone? Josie's mind began to wander, wondering what other devious scenario the general was plotting to trap her.
The waiter, who didn't even care about his own fate, immediately signalled for Josie to follow him.
Kat remained silent, clearly unhappy about being left alone in a strange place that somehow made her feel uncomfortable. She took a deep breath before giving Josie a sharp look, as if to say, "You owe me a long explanation after this."
Josie looked at her in panic, then shrugged as if to say, "This is not part of the plan. I didn't expect this either."
Then, with hesitant steps, Josie stood up and began to follow the waiter down the long corridor, leaving Kat alone in the waiting room, looking confused because who would have thought that she was no longer needed.
All the way there, Josie, who was always following behind the waiter, continued to argue with her own thoughts. She began to guess what other accusations she would face when she met the Major General alone.
Would it really be just the two of them meeting? she began to wonder. Although in her heart she hoped that the soldier, the man who had interrogated her yesterday, would be there during their meeting.
When they stopped in front of a tall, heavy, dark carved wooden door, the servant turned to her. "He is waiting for you inside, Miss. Please go in." Then, without waiting for a reply, the servant stepped back politely, leaving her alone.
Josie immediately panicked at his departure. She stared at the servant's retreating back with a pleading expression, hoping that the man would turn around and accompany her inside like a guide to the execution chamber—er, she meant, the host's private room.
Honestly, for God's sake, she wasn't ready to come face to face with the Major General. The reason was not because she had begun to dislike the man—why would she hate the man who had been her best muse so far?—but because she was not ready to face reality.
She was embarrassed, really! Very, very embarrassed because she had been stalking the general for a whole week, recording his every move without permission, and almost getting herself arrested as a spy. Just imagine how the man would see her now? A strange girl, a little crazy, and very suspicious. In Atlas Raymond's mind, she might have been considered a lewd girl with an obsession with men in uniform.
Damn it!
Standing still in front of the door would only prolong her suffering. The only way she could free herself from this feeling was to push this door open. Go in, meet the host, apologise, then go home after getting her book back.
"Yes, that's right! You can do it, Jo," she whispered to herself encouragingly, patting her cheeks gently like a warrior going into battle.
Praying silently and perhaps also invoking the names of several guardian angels of literature, Josie slowly pushed the heavy, carved door. The first thing that greeted her was her sense of smell. Her senses detected a variety of aromas, ranging from the scent of wood, books, and something vague and masculine—perhaps the scent of Major General Raymond's cologne, which was too expensive to mention aloud.
The room had not changed much since she last set foot in it. It was still spacious, quiet, and too neat, perfectly matching his identity as a Major General. Her attention was immediately drawn to the figure standing in the middle of the room.
Atlas Raymond.
The man stood tall and silent in front of her. Seemingly unaware of her arrival, he did not look up or invite her in. Instead, only silence greeted Josie's arrival in the room. She caught a glimpse of a slightly surprised expression on Atlas's face, as if he was thinking about something in the middle of their meeting.
Perhaps that was why he hadn't noticed her arrival, she thought as she slowly closed the door behind her.
As Josie was about to greet him, her gaze stopped and her attention was now completely drawn to the object in Atlas's hand.
That's her notebook!
Without thinking twice, Josie darted forward, her feet as swift as the wind, driven by a burning sense of panic. "That's mine!" she cried, her voice shrill, filled with a mixture of anger and despair.
Atlas glanced briefly but didn't have time to react before Josie, like a child protecting her last treasure, was already in front of him. Her hand reached out, trying to snatch the book with a quick movement, as if it were her life.
"You can't read it! It's private!"
Atlas raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of subtle mockery. His hand gripped the notebook tightly, lifting it high in the air, out of Josie's reach as she tried in vain to grab it. "Considering how many pages you dedicated to my jaw," he said, not wanting to let the girl get her hands on the book. "I feel I have the right to know what's in it."
Josie's hand froze in mid-air, her fingers stretching futilely to reach the notebook that was now floating far away in Atlas's grasp. Her movement stopped after hearing those words come out of Atlas Raymond's mouth. Her blue eyes widened, her pupils dilating in horror, staring at the man with an expression that could not hide her panic.
God, he read it. HE READ IT!
Actually, Josie had suspected before that Atlas might have read the contents of her notebook. What she never imagined was that this man had read the entire contents, especially the intense notes about herself.
"You—you read it all?" Josie's voice sounded like the panicked whisper of a twelve-year-old girl whose diary secrets had been exposed in front of the class.
Atlas just nodded slightly, the corners of his lips curving faintly—a smile more dangerous than the muzzle of a gun. Casually, the man opened the notebook in his hand, his fingers turning the pages with the precision of a skilled war tactician. Then, in a flat voice but loud enough to echo in the office, he began to read.
"His jaw was like a newly carved statue—firm, structured, and even more frightening when lit from the side. I wonder if a jaw like that could soften when kissed ...." Atlas stopped abruptly, his eyes shifting from the page to Josie, who was standing so close that she could feel the chill from his clothes. "Before I continue, Miss Everhart, is there anything you would like to say to me?"
At that moment, awareness flooded Josie's mind like cold water splashed on her face. She was still standing too close to Atlas, her hand hanging in the air, frozen in a futile attempt to reach for her notebook. Panicked, she pulled her hands back, then took a few steps back, creating distance from the Major General, who remained standing calmly like a statue, undisturbed by the girl who had just rushed into his room and nearly collided with him.
Josie bowed her head, her gaze fixed on the floor, silently praying that the earth would split open and swallow her whole. Shame hit her like a hammer, burning her face until her ears felt hot. Oh my God, bury me now! she thought, her heart pounding wildly, as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.
Why couldn't she control herself better? Be more graceful, or at least not like a girl who had been caught writing someone's jawline in dramatic handwriting, which had been horribly read aloud by the man himself, who was now standing less than a metre away from her, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
If there was a crack in the corner of the room, Josie would have crawled into it without hesitation. This embarrassment was too real, like a spotlight shining on her foolishness.