Hollywood: Lights, Ink, Entertainment!

…..

"[Following]?" Gwendolyn murmured aloud, her brow furrowing slightly. "That's the name?"

"Yep." Regal confirmed, glancing at her briefly before returning to his work. "The movie title."

Her eyes rolled upwards with thoughtfulness. "Sounds mysterious."

"Is it about me… following you around like this?" She added eliciting a small, involuntary pause in his typing.

"Not quite." He replied, smirking despite himself. "But if you keep this up, it might be."

"Then better make it good, writer boy~" She chuckled, giving him another kiss on the cheek, before backing off, her tone full of support and a tint of challenge.

Regal nodded at her with a side glance, before turning back to work without any interruptions.

….

After an hour or so, he pushed away from his desk and took a break together with Gwendolyn and shared a quick breakfast.

The clock showed 07:37, still early, but the day was already in motion.

Regal returned to his writing while Gwendolyn flopped onto the bed, positioning herself sideways so she could observe him.

She picked up her phone, casually scrolling through the web novel's Regal had just shared with her.

He had been secretive about it until now, but after reading the synopsis, she chose to dive into [ORV] first.

She had initially considered skipping to [Solo Leveling] if she wasn't hooked by the first one, but fortunately, the story captivated her enough to keep her attention.

She glanced at Regal occasionally, watching his complete focus in finishing the script.

….

Time passed quickly, another hour went by for Gwendolyn, alternating between reading and looking up to see Regal absorbed in his task.

Then, her phone rang.

Her fingers trembled slightly, tension rising.

It was Maggie.

The moment she answered, the sudden scream on the other end made her jump.

Not giving herself a second to process, Gwendolyn quickly dressed, giving Regal a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying out the door.

"I will be back after work." She promised.

Regal nodded, already absorbed back.

….

Five Days Later.

….

The sky outside had darkened a long time ago.

Gwendolyn sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, her posture casual but her gaze intent.

It wasn't difficult to discern what, or rather who, had captured her focus.

Her eyes remained fixed on Regal, still hunched over his desk, lost in his work.

Five days.

Five endless days.

Actually, even Regal himself had been taken aback by how long it was taking him to finish the script. After all, it had taken him less than two days to complete the first volume of [Harry Potter].

But he understood, nonetheless.

He understood the subconscious boundaries he had set for himself while writing [Following], imposing limits on what he could do in order to create something extraordinary within his means.

He was constantly aware of the need to balance ambition with the practicalities of what he had at hand.

When he wrote [Harry Potter], though, things had been different.

There had been no self-imposed limits. He hadn't cared if the story's scope was too grand or its scale too vast. His only concern had been to let his imagination run wild.

But now? The circumstances were different.

So, instead of stressing over the process, he allowed himself to move at his own pace, refusing to worry about those things.

Coming back to Gwendolyn - Her routine had shifted entirely these past five days.

Office work, the usual grind until late at night, and then coming straight to Regal's flat, as if drawn by some invisible pull.

Today was no different.

She had arrived tonight just past one. Late, even by her usual standards.

Recently, work had been a mess, leaving her drained, but she didn't complain.

However, unlike before, simply passing out in her office or heading home, her car had instinctively found its way to Regal's flat.

It wasn't something she had planned for, but ever since Regal had walked into her life, the predictability of her days had unraveled into something wholly unexpected.

The control she prided herself on, the ability to compartmentalize, to keep her personal life and emotions neatly tucked away, was slipping.

And the strangest part? She didn't mind.

So, here she was, sitting on his bed, watching him work in silence.

She shifted slightly, drawing her knees closer to her chest as her thoughts wandered.

Was this how Regal usually worked?

She knew the struggles of writers well.

Working in the publishing field, she was no stranger to the challenges authors faced, the moments when words felt like a distant memory and inspiration was hard to grasp.

But, in the last five days, she hadn't seen Regal falter in frustration once.

Not once had his fingers hovered uncertainly over the keyboard. Not once had he stared blankly at the screen, lost in the dreaded void of empty thoughts.

He existed in a world made up of his desk, his chair, and his laptop, breathing life into that space as though it were his very heartbeat.

It was only for brief moments when he stepped away to eat, freshen up, or 'stretch' his body a little - a task she made sure to help him with, coaxing him to take care of himself.

And, when it came to sleep, she made him rest, though only for five hours at most, a demand he begrudgingly followed.

She paused, a worry gnawing at the back of her mind.

...He wasn't going to burn himself out, was he?

The idea settled heavily, and she shook her head as if the simple motion could banish the worry.

It wasn't something she wanted to entertain, especially when she already noticed the toll it was taking on him, the faint shadows under his eyes, the tension in his posture when he finally tore himself away from the laptop after another long day.

Her gaze shifted to the drawings scattered across the bed.

She had just picked them up from his desk earlier, unable to ignore the mess he had left behind.

If left alone, it might become an obstacle to his work, and she didn't want that to happen.

According to Regal, these were his storyboards, sketches that captured the framing and blocking for the key scenes of his upcoming film.

He had described them to her in passing, his tone dismissive, as though they were nothing special.

But to her, they were more than that.

Each of them looked like a painting.

Yeah.

The outlines were rough, the sketches made hastily with the same black pencil, but there was something about them.

As a professional 'reader', her imagination was her greatest asset. She could conjure entire worlds from mere words, stitching together stories from fragmented ideas.

...and looking at these rough drawings, she could already picture the scenes unfolding in her mind.

Maybe it was only about 50%, maybe 55% of what Regal envisioned, if he could even bring half of it to life, it would be something extraordinary.

Her throat tightened slightly at the thought.

She wanted to see it.

Not just this project, but all of them.

Every story Regal would ever tell.

Especially their first shared creation, their first 'baby', as she had joked when the project began＜Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone＞

The thought of watching it come to life, projected on the big screen, filled her with a quiet, almost desperate longing.

It was about the dream she shared with him now. The dream of seeing something they had been part of and the very reason they met come alive in the eyes of others.

"Regal…"

She called softly, her voice carrying a gentle warmth as she slid off the bed.

Her bare feet made no sound on the floor as she walked toward him, a spark of excitement lighting her eyes.

Regal didn't look up at first, his fingers still moving across the keys of his laptop.

But she caught it, the brief pause in his movements, the way his gaze flicked toward her out of the corner of his eye.

He had heard her.

.

….

[To be continued…]

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★

Author Note:

Visit Patreon to instantly access +1 chapter for free, available to Free Members as well.

For additional content, please do support me and gain access to +10 more chapters.

–> [email protected]/OrgoWriters