Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

August 2021

“Everything is going well for you, Joe. The sales figures for your latest movie have been great so far. Not only is it shaping up to be the best movie of the summer, it may also turn out to be the highest-grossing movie of all time, breaking many other records from the previous years, and that includes your own. There’s a buzz going around that your movie will be in the running for various nominations during the award season next year.”

Jonas nodded at Tabitha, his personal assistant. “Thank you. Do you know if the car is ready for my visit to the fashion show and the luncheon afterward? You know as well as I do that Gabriel will kick my ass if I arrive late for his show.”

Tabitha snickered. “It’s already waiting for you.”

“All right then,” Jonas said as he got up on his feet. “Let’s go now.”

After that, he made his way out from the office, and in a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by eight bodyguards. He was thankful none of them obstructed his view, though. They were all taller than him, and even in their well-pressed suit, they were obviously muscular. He wasn’t that bad himself. His height was two inches shy of reaching six feet, and he weighed a respectable one hundred and eighty pounds. He had enough muscle on him without appearing too bulky, which was exactly the way he liked it.

For the next several minutes, he focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and he became more alert of everything around him as he walked out through the door of his mansion. He might only be a few steps away from the bulletproof car, but he was a bit nervous due to the various information he obtained from his guards recently about the possibility of someone or maybe even a group of people who planned to assassinate him. That was one of the reasons why the number of public outings he did over the past couple of weeks was greatly reduced.

However, the journey to the fashion show was one that he couldn’t afford to miss out on. Gabriel Young wasn’t only one of the most influential fashion designers in the world. He was also one of Jonas’s close friends. It would be rude of Jonas to skip out on this show, and he knew Gabriel would stay angry at him for a long time if he did. Moreover, he couldn’t simply hide at home just because there was a high probability of someone attacking or even murdering him. He had many obligations to fulfil. Granted, he was now one of the most successful movie stars in the country, and he could pick and choose whatever roles were sent his way at his leisure. He didn’t even have to audition anymore. Everyone in the industry knew that he was a sure bet. All his movies might not reap hundreds of millions of dollars, but they were all successful in their own rights. That was also one of the reasons why he was one of the best-paid actors in the country. In fact, he commanded one of the highest salaries per movie among all the actors in the world.

As he relaxed in the car, he reminded himself over and over again that he was going to be fine, and he refused to be that much of a coward. He bit back a sigh as the driver navigated the car along the busy noontime traffic. A part of him wished he had brought along some of the movie scripts he needed to read and decide on, but it was too late to do that now. In the end, he simply stared out through the window. After what felt like an eternity, he was thankful when he noticed the crowded entrance to the building where the fashion show would be held, looming a few feet away from the car. He was more than ready to get out from the car and stretch himself. The journey might have only lasted for about thirty-five minutes or so, but he was already feeling sore from head to toe.

Then again, it might be because he couldn’t stop thinking about the likelihood of being killed by some psychos while he was out there enjoying something as mundane as a fashion show. He was even more stressed out when he noticed the large number of the members of the press who gathered outside the building. There were also plenty of screaming fans nearby. He wished he could ignore them, but that wouldn’t be fair to them. It wasn’t their fault that he was being hunted by some crazy people. Besides, over the past several years, the members of the press had been kind toward him. More or less. Jonas also received much support from his adoring fans, and he couldn’t let them down.

A short moment later, he had to take a deep breath when he realized the car had stopped right at the edge of the long purple carpet that was rolled out from the entrance of the building. He didn’t get out from the car immediately. Instead, he remained in the car while his bodyguards scanned the area for any potential threats to his well-being. He caught sight of some other celebrities who were also attending the fashion show. The other celebrities were now waving at the members of the press and the fans, and Jonas was grateful to them for inadvertently distracting the reporters and journalists because the guards who were responsible for his safety were sweeping the entire area in an intense manner.

He knew the guards had to protect him because that was what he paid them for. However, he wished they could be slightly more discreet in their actions. He didn’t want the news about the possible attempt on his life to leak out to the public, causing a widespread panic among his fans. Moreover, he could already imagine the headlines that he would wake up to. The media would embellish and exaggerate until their stories became overly ridiculous. Most importantly, he hoped to keep it under wraps for as long as possible so as not to alert the potential assassins and make it that much harder to capture them. He was startled when someone opened the car door right next to him. It was one of his guards.

“Everything is clear, Mr. Knight.”

Jonas nodded. “Thank you.”

He forced a smile onto his face and pretended to be cool, calm, and collected as he raised his hand to greet the members of the press and the fans. The resulting pandemonium was insane. All of his guards surrounded him as several people appeared to rush in his direction all at once, and he stayed rooted on the spot in clear view of the reporters and journalists for about a minute before making his way to the building. He smiled at everyone, both media and fans, but he didn’t pause to sign any autographs or answer any questions. He remained tense until he got inside the building. Then he greeted Gabriel, and the two of them chatted like old friends did as they made their way to the seats. Naturally, he was provided with the best seat in the house, which happened to be in the middle of the stage on its right side. It was also much easier for the photographers to snap pictures of him throughout the show later. He and Gabriel conversed for a few more minutes before his designer friend had to leave him and go backstage to take care of some last-minute errands.

He schooled his expression to be as neutral as possible. He also engaged some other celebrities in conversations until it was time for the fashion show to commence. For the next hour or so, he sat and pretended to be interested in the models as they stepped on to the runway one right after the other. Gabriel’s designs were beautiful, but Jonas found it difficult to focus that day. Eventually, when he realized that the show was almost coming to an end, he started to feel more level-headed. Nothing happened to him so far. All he had to do next was to bid farewell to Gabriel, all the members of the press, and some of the fans before he could get back inside his car.

Several minutes later, he did all those things. He was standing outside the building, answering questions about the success of his latest movie and posing for photographs. He also waved at the fans and took pictures with quite a few of them. He was about to make his way to his car when one of his guards pounced on and shoved him to the side. Then chaos erupted when he heard the gunshot. The guard who pushed him onto the ground landed next to him. He only got a glimpse of the guard’s bleeding chest before he was dragged away by the other guards and escorted all the way into his car. He panicked when everyone around him seemed to scream and run around aimlessly.

He yearned to stay behind and helped somehow, but he knew that would only make the situation that much more complicated for his guards. After all, he was the main target, and one of their duties was to ensure of his security and safety. As the chauffeur drove the car away, Jonas turned around and watched as some other guards began to herd everyone who was present toward somewhere safer. He peeked at the bleeding, fallen guard one last time before he faced forward once again and clenched his fists. He was furious now. Whoever took a shot at him would be punished severely. He would make sure of it.