…..

  Despite not getting any answer, Gwendolyn caught it, the brief pause in his movements, the way his gaze flicked toward her out of the er of his eye.

  Regal had heard her.

  "Give me a minute…" He murmured, his voice hoarse from hours of work.

  Gwendolyn stepped closer, her gaze sing him carefully. She didn't want to interrupt, but she couldn't stop herself from assessing his state.

  He didn't seem exhausted, no, he ushing through, his focus too intense for that. But the air around him was thick with the kind of tration that made everything else feel sedary.

  She li his side, ting the seds.

  Fifty more, exactly.

  Soon, his typing slowed down, as if approag the finish line.

  And then, with one final tap, the words 'THE END' appeared on the s.

  Regal hit 'enter,' sealing the moment in a soft click.

  Gwendolyn's breath hitched, and before she k, she was grinning from ear to ear.

  "Finaaaallly!!" She excimed, her voice bursting with urained glee.

  The pride and relief ione were palpable, spilling out in waves far greater than Regal's subdued satisfa.

  Her excitement overwhelmed her, and without a sed thought, she threw herself onto him from behind, ing her arms tightly around his shoulders.

  She didn't care about de or timing anymore.

  She was simply overjoyed, for him, for this moment, for everything he had eo get here.

  Regal stiffened for a fra of a sed, caught off guard, but the surprise melted away almost immediately.

  A soft smile curved his lips as he turned his head, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "What are you so excited about? It was just a script pition."

  Gwendolyed her face against his shoulder, her arms still securely around him. "Of course I am excited! Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting here?"

  Regal chuckled uandingly as he carefully pulled her into view.

  His hands guided her to sit on his p, and she plied, settling fortably against him. Her arms draped around his neck as if they belohere.

  Regal reached up, his fingers brushing lightly over her cheek before tuggily at her lower lip.

  He pressed his teeth lightly against her lip, the touch fleeting, before sealing the moment with a soft, lingering kiss.

  A small, almost involuntary sigh escaped her as her heart fluttered, warmth spreading through her chest.

  "Och…" She breathed, her voice a whisper, tinged with affe and something deeper.

  Regal's gaze held hers, his eyes shining with quiet satisfa. "Worth the wait?"

  Gwendolyn smiled, her fihreading through his hair as she leaned her forehead against his. "Every sed."

  A mischievous spark lit her expression as she tilted her head, her toaking on a pyful lilt. "So, when are you going to make the [Harry Potter] movie? You are not going to our first 'baby,' are you?"

  Regal huffed out a soft chuckle. "Huh… maybe my third or fourth film?" He mused, as if it were a simple iability.

  Her brows lifted, amusement dang in her eyes. "Only your third? You are making me wait again, huh?"

  He leaned back slightly, shrugging as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I will need money, about 150 million, at least, to make a movie like that."

  Her expression shifted into one of mocredulity. "Oh, just a casual 150 million. And how exactly are you pnning to pull that off?"

  Regal's smirk widened as he gestured vaguely. "Simple. I will make my first film a hit, then the sed one even bigger. The money I earn from those will go into the third. Or, by then, maybe a produ house will back me. Who knows?"

  "Mr. Junior makes it sound so easy." Gwendolyn teased, her voice dripping with pyful skepticism as she leaned into him.

  "Easy? Nah." Regal's eyes sparkled with determination. "Doable? Absolutely."

  She shook her head, letting out a soft ugh as her fingers bed gently through his hair. "You have got some guts, I will give you that."

  Gwendolyn, by now, had already made up her mind.

  She was going to suppal to the best of her ability or, at the very least, never be the voice that disced him.

  These past few days spent watg him closely, his tireless passion aless drive, had only ted her decision.

  He didn't just tell stories.

  It was the very essence of him, the way he breathed life into everything.

  Storytelling wasn't just what he did - it was who he was.

  As she mulled over these thoughts, she realized Regal had fallen asleep beh her.

  His head rested gently against her shoulder, his breathing steady and soft.

  Her lips curved into a tender smile.

  "150 million, huh?" She murmured, recalling the ambitious number he had tossed around so casually. "Looks like I o start saving too."

  She g his peaceful fad sighed dramatically. "Now how am I supposed to move this giant to the bed?"

  A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

  She hopped off his p and grabbed the armrests of the chair.

  Carefully, she maneuvered it toward the bed, the wheels rolling silently across the floor.

  Ohey were close enough, Gwendolyn paused, brag herself before tipping the chair just enough to slide him onto the bed like a sack of potatoes.

  "Perfeding." She said with a satisfied nod, brushing her hands together like a job well done.

  She climbed onto the bed beside him, snuggling into his side.

  Resting her head on his chest, she felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beh her cheek.

  Her eyelids grew heavy as a wave of calm washed over her.

  "You are lucky I like you." She whispered sleepily before drifting off, her arm draped protectively across his torso.

  ….

  [ Day]

  ….

  Regal sat up in his bed, swiveling slightly as his eyes roamed around his apartment.

  It was quiet now, the kind of quiet that only came after Gwendolyn had left for the day.

  Except it wasn't just his apartment anymore, or at least, it didn't feel like it.

  He looked around…

  His apartment, which should be giving off the vibe of a friendly neighborhood single bachelor room, is now giving off airely different vibe.

  He spotted a long strand of golden hair glinting uhe light on the armrest of the couch.

  Another peeked out from the er of his desk.

  Her presence lingered in the most ued pces.

  The bathroom wasn't spared either.

  Every time he went in, there was the extra toothbrush standing side-by-side with him, as if mog his former solitude.

  Then, of course, there was the matter of undry.

  A delicate bra and matg panties huhe window to dry, pletely unbothered by the presence of their supposed audience.

  And as if all that wasn't enough, he opened one of the drawers at his desk to pull out a notebook and was greeted by the unmistakable sight of a makeup kit led inside, right o his pens and stiotes.

  Regal leaned back, exhaling a slow breath as he surveyed the ges with an amused grin.

  "Yeah." He muttered to himself. "This isn't a bachelor pad anymore."

  Seeing all this, Regal also made a decision.

  This pce wasn't enough. Not for the two of them.

  Regal leaned ba his chair, rubbing the back of his houghtfully. "Guess it's time to upgrade."

  Not just a few renovations or new pieces of furniture, but a real upgrade.

  Something bigger.

  A pce that wasn't just his, but theirs.He o himself, making a mental note.

  Step one: finish the movie. Step two: find a house.

  Something suitable for two people. Or maybe even three, someday.

  With that thought, Regal rose up, stretg his arms high above his head.

  A satisfying crack of his knuckles punctuated the moment, a signal that his work, at least for now, was done.

  "Cht should be done in a few days." He muttered to himself, gng at the desk where his bound script had o before he mailed it off to the Writers Guild.

  But now, by the end of the fifth day and into the sixth, more precisely, just past 2 a.m., he had finally finished his script.

  He recalled chatting with Gwendolyn for a while afterward, her voice a soothing backdrop as the exhaustion of relentless work finally caught up to him.

  And then, sleep.

  This m, he had been roused from his slumber by the click of her heels eg he door, her hurried farewell as she rushed off to work.

  Still, none of that mattered now.

  He had .

  The script was plete. Bound.

  Finished, with all the dialogue just as he had imagined, including the storyboard.

  Every se, every line of dialogue, every intricate detail, it olished to match the vision in his mind.

  He had poured every ounce of his creativity into it, stretg his [Dire] and [Scriptwriting] skills to their absolute limits.

  Especially the climax.

  Regal had agonized over those final moments, fighting to capture that perfect emotional high, that gut-punch resolution that would stay with the audience long after the credits rolled.

  .

  ….

  [To be tinued…]

  ★─────??★??─────★

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