Chapter 361: Finale

“…Mhm.” Simon Lockwood’s expression softened. “I know.”

The old district had been redeveloped, and the alleyways were almost unrecognizable. Still, Joanna Kennedy followed her memory to the path she had walked so many times.

She could almost hear the ringing of a bicycle bell again. A young Simon Lockwood standing in the doorway, opening the gate for her. That one turn of the key had opened the door to a lifetime.

In the dark of night, Simon Lockwood bent down and stole a kiss. A cool breeze swept by, carrying the scent of plum blossoms from some unknown place. Joanna Kennedy closed her eyes and proactively wrapped her arms around the man’s waist.

She thought, ‘I’m going to be very, very good to Simon Lockwood.’

*

The day after they returned to Jornheim, Joanna Kennedy dragged Simon Lockwood to the Civil Affairs Bureau. The whole way there, Simon sat bolt upright, his expression taut. Joanna felt bad just looking at him.

“Simon Lockwood, relax. Don’t be so nervous,” Joanna said, teasingly tugging at his collar.

Simon Lockwood nodded earnestly, then went right back to being tense.

Getting the certificates went smoothly, aside from a tiny little problem during the photo session. A really tiny problem.

“Hey, handsome, not so close. Just lean in normally.”

“………”

Joanna Kennedy burst out laughing and pushed at the man’s face, which was pressed tightly against hers. “Did you hear that? You can’t be this close. You’re almost blocking my entire face.”

Simon Lockwood stiffened, then reluctantly pulled back a little. The tips of his ears were bright red.

He barely managed to endure the rest of the photoshoot. Joanna was absolutely delighted. When she took his hand, however, she froze for a second. The man’s palms were slick with sweat.

Joanna’s expression grew complicated.

Simon Lockwood explained in a strained voice, “It’s too hot.”

Right, the April weather was certainly much too hot. Joanna nodded in agreement. The tips of Simon’s ears turned an even deeper shade of red. He couldn’t help but lower his head and give her a little nip.

The photos on the little red booklets were vibrant, the official stamp was clear, and the words “Marriage Certificate” on the cover were bright and dazzling. Simon Lockwood stared at them for a very, very long time.

He carefully put the little red booklet away, but couldn’t resist taking it out again two seconds later. After this happened a few times, an idea occurred to Simon. He stealthily reached for the booklet by Joanna’s side and took it into his own hands.

Joanna, who was snuggled on the sofa watching TV, accurately and quickly clamped her hand down on his. “What are you doing?”

“…I’ll put them away,” Simon Lockwood said.

“Not going to admire them anymore?” Joanna suspected nothing and was still in the mood to tease him. The way Simon looked at those little red booklets was so reverent, Joanna was getting a little jealous.

She asked Simon where he was going to put the booklets. He didn’t answer. A day later, a safe appeared in the house. Simon Lockwood placed both little red booklets inside with the utmost care.

The day Joanna Kennedy posted their marriage certificates online, the servers crashed. They were only barely repaired three hours later.

Announcing a marriage at the peak of her career. Only Joanna Kennedy would do something like that. Howard Thorne called, and Simon answered.

Joanna didn’t know what was said on the other end, but Simon’s face darkened. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Simon sitting on the edge of the bed with a grim expression, radiating a gloomy, keep-your-distance aura.

“What’s wrong?” Joanna asked, puzzled. As she went to sit down, before she could even touch the bed, the man pulled her into his arms by the waist.

Simon buried his face in the crook of her steam-flushed, pink neck. He just held Joanna without a word. After a long moment, he finally spoke. “Joanna, you said you’d always be good to me.”

For the usually cool and dignified Simon to say this in such a calm tone was strangely heart-stirring. Joanna was completely smitten, cooing back at him like some kind of heartbreaker, “Mhm, I said that. I’ll be good to you…”

“Then you’ll give me whatever I want, right?”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm,” Joanna nodded vigorously.

“Give me the spare key to the safe,” Simon said.

Joanna’s dizzy mind cleared for a moment. “Huh?”

‘There are only two keys to the safe. She has one, and Simon has the other. If she gave both to Simon, would she ever be able to get the marriage certificates out again?’

“But why?” Joanna asked, confused.

Simon: “I’m afraid you’ll lose it.”

Joanna didn’t speak, her brow furrowed. Simon pressed her down, leaning closer. “Why do you need the key? The only things in the safe are the marriage certificates. There’s nothing else.”

‘That was true, but…’

Joanna was almost taken in by his logic. She pouted and retorted, “Then what do you need the key for?”

It was clear from Joanna’s expression that she wasn’t going to cooperate. The anxiety in Simon’s chest was about to erupt. He knew exactly when Joanna was easiest to get information out of.

The sky was just beginning to lighten. Simon Lockwood got out of bed. His firm back was covered in a series of red marks. Drops of sweat rolled onto the floor, but Simon paid them no mind.

The location the girl had revealed between sobs flashed through his mind. Simon found the spare key in a flower planter on the balcony.

‘Once it’s stamped, it’s for life. He would never let something like a “divorce” happen between him and Joanna.’

It wasn’t until the next day that Joanna Kennedy found out what had really happened. She was so angry she was one step away from marching into the company and slapping Howard Thorne.

Howard was the one who ran his mouth, telling Simon, “You might be married, but you could still get divorced.” Yet she was the one who got “punished” for it. What kind of logic was that?!

Joanna was so furious she couldn’t even drink her brown sugar and egg tea. Her whole body ached so much she was trembling.

She was so angry she didn’t want to speak to Simon for days. It wasn’t until the day of the awards ceremony that she grudgingly acknowledged him.

For her role in *Blossoming*, Joanna Kennedy won the first Best Actress award of her life. The moment she stood on stage, her mind went completely blank. For several seconds, she didn’t know what to say.

Only when the host at her side gave her a smiling reminder did Joanna snap out of her daze and give her acceptance speech. She looked out at the crowd below, at the familiar and unfamiliar faces.

The lights shone, the stage was brilliant. Joanna Kennedy gripped the award in her hand. This was her glory.

Joanna had officially made a successful transition in her career, but her popularity and fashion endorsements didn’t drop at all, which came as a small relief.

After another engagement wrapped up, Joanna went home and fell straight into bed. When she woke up, Simon still wasn’t back. Joanna glanced at the time and remembered he was at school; he wasn’t on break yet.

An idea popped into her head. She got up, got herself ready, bought a bouquet of flowers on the way, and drove to Jornheim University.

She was driving Simon’s car, a black Maybach. Parked by the side of the school road, it attracted a lot of attention from passersby. Around four in the afternoon, students from Jornheim University began to trickle out of the campus gates.

Simon Lockwood stood out from the crowd as if in a world of his own, so handsome he was almost unreal. He took out his phone to call Joanna. The call connected, then was immediately hung up. Simon’s heart tightened.

He almost instantly opened the tracking app on his phone. It showed Joanna’s location continuously moving closer to him, until the red dot started to blink, indicating she was less than five meters away.

His heart skipped a beat. Simon looked up, almost sluggishly. The first thing that met his eyes was a bouquet of fiery red roses. Joanna was smiling at him from behind the flowers.

“Student Simon Lockwood, I’m here to take you home!”

“……”

It was May, the cusp of spring and summer, when all things grow. Simon felt seared by the passionate roses and the love, so much so that he could hardly open his eyes. He could hear the frantic drumming of his own heart.

In a daze, Simon recalled the first time he ever saw Joanna.

The sweltering weather, the creaking fan… Joanna had burst into his world with a bright, smiling face, and from then on—their world became one of endless romance.