Model to Holywood

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" 

Felicia said softly.

"Yes!" 

Luca nodded in agreement, without a doubt.

"Only a demon would hurt someone like her, right?" 

Felicia added.

Luca wanted to agree but sensed that her words had a deeper meaning.

"Yes, Britney is a treasure sent by God. Anyone who'd hurt her is a follower of Satan." 

He still chose to respond seriously.

Firstly, because his conscience was clear.

Secondly, because Felicia was a great person. She cared about Britney. She'd been Britney's assistant for five years, managing her life and work seamlessly from the time of the fire until now. 

He remembered seeing in the news that Felicia had resigned at one point, and only after that did Britney start facing many troubles—dating paparazzi, getting involved with fans, shaving her head, and so on. Once Felicia returned as her assistant, Britney's situation improved significantly. Felicia was indeed a good person.

"Then what about you, Mr. Kelly? Why do you hurt Britney?" 

Felicia asked, looking at him.

Luca smirked. He had anticipated this question.

"Felicia, I'm not sure what you mean."

"You've been hurting Britney, you know?" 

Felicia frowned slightly.

"For example?" 

Luca was curious. He had reflected on his actions and found no instances where he'd hurt Britney.

"Do you love Britney?" 

Felicia dodged his question with another.

Luca frowned. "I think so."

"If you love her, why not be in a proper relationship with her?" 

Felicia said seriously.

Luca was taken aback. "We're just friends!"

"Friends?" 

Felicia shook her head. "If you love her, you should date her. If you don't love her, then stay away. By keeping things as they are and not giving her the outcome she wants, you're hurting her.

Right now, your knife is already in her chest—it just hasn't been pulled out yet. You haven't seen the blood, so you don't realize it's hurting her, but the day will come when the knife is pulled."

Felicia paused, looking at him. "Or maybe you could give Britney the outcome she wants?"

Luca shook his head. "I never intended to hurt Britney."

"I know!" 

Felicia said. "You're different from other men. When you first got close to Britney, we thought you wanted to use her to become famous, to take advantage of her wealth, or even her as a person.

But you didn't seem strongly motivated in any of those areas. Your intentions were pure—almost like you didn't have any. You just wanted to be friends with Britney."

"Yes, I'm not short on money, and I don't have an urgent desire for fame. I don't need to climb up by using anyone. I have my own pace, and I want everything to go according to my way." 

Luca replied frankly.

"Exactly. It's that purity and kindness of yours that made Britney let her guard down and accept you, which is why you now have the opportunity to hurt her. Your kindness is the very knife." 

Luca spread his hands. This woman's words were full of traps—it was impossible to guard against.

"I don't know if you're being sincere enough or just fake, but now you've succeeded. You've made your way into Britney's heart, and she's fallen in love with you.

What happened on stage today—those three seconds when she stopped in front of you—our whole team was on edge.

Britney is a willful person. We can't guarantee that she won't do the same thing at another time and place.

So if you truly love her, accept her as soon as possible. Go from boyfriend to fiancé to husband. We hope everything proceeds without surprises." 

Felicia exhaled slowly. "Mr. Kelly, you must have figured out by now that I'm speaking on behalf of the whole team. It's a request. If you're willing to be with Britney, we'll arrange everything, including convincing her family.

Mr. Kelly, what's your decision?"

Luca shook his head. "Sorry, I can't agree."

"Why not?" 

Felicia was puzzled. The team had carefully considered everything, and Luca seemed like the perfect match for marriage.

He had a good personality—mature, stable, humble, and gentle, with healthy habits.

He had a strong background—from football star to supermodel—overcoming numerous challenges and still remaining positive and inspiring.

His conduct was also good. Apart from his relationships with Lima and Britney, there were no other flings. For a model in the industry, that was a rarity.

He had shown remarkable potential in his acting career, and his sister was a famous writer. In terms of wealth, career, and family, he was a great catch.

And Britney was a dream partner for many.

Felicia couldn't understand why he was refusing.

Luca shrugged. "Like you said, Britney is willful. I can play the role of a good friend, but I can't handle being her boyfriend.

I tend to be over-involved at times.

I like to point out things that bother me, especially with people I'm close to.

If I ask Britney to drive slower, she'll just drive faster. If I advise her not to smoke weed, she might jump off a building. Oh, don't worry, there's a pool below. I tell her to cut back on drinking and smoking, and it barely has any effect." 

Luca chuckled bitterly. "If I were her boyfriend, I wouldn't just give advice; I'd take action. You can imagine how that would end—badly. We'd only end up parting ways.

That's my issue. I can't change."

"So, Felicia, now you understand, don't you?" 

Felicia nodded. Luca would be a paternalistic boyfriend, while Britney had a rebellious streak. They were a good match, but they'd constantly clash. Unless there was no other option, who would want to be stuck in that kind of relationship?

"Now you understand, don't you?" 

After Luca left, Felicia asked gently.

"I do now!" 

Britney slowly emerged from behind a nearby partition. She scrunched her nose.

"Hmph! He's so petty. So what if I drive a little fast, smoke some weed, or drink more when I'm stressed? What's the big deal? I can't believe he'd reject me over that." 

"On this point, I'm with Luca." 

Felicia said calmly.

"You!" 

Britney was furious. "Don't forget, you're my assistant! If you betray me, I'll fire you!"

"I'd be thrilled!" 

Felicia replied.

"..." 

Britney rolled her eyes, feeling defeated.

"Britney, it's time for you to make a choice." 

Felicia said.

"What choice?"

"Leave him and find a new boyfriend, or adapt to him and change for him."

"Do I have to choose?"

"You're not someone who avoids things." 

Felicia said.

Britney frowned, gazing down the dim corridor and at the faint yellow wall lights.

"I think I'll wait a little longer," 

she said softly. "He's a really good guy. If I leave him, where will I find another warm, funny, and annoyingly nagging man? Maybe I'm willing to change for him—but who knows?"

"You're willing to change for him?" 

Felicia raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Felicia, don't act so surprised. Am I that stubborn?" 

"You are!"

"..." 

Britney glared at her and stormed off. "If you keep annoying me, I'll kick you out one day!"

"Stop!" 

Felicia called out.

"What now? You're going to control me walking downstairs too? Are you and Luca in cahoots?" 

Britney grumbled.

Felicia held her back. "If you go down there now, what if Luca sees you?"

Britney paused, nodding.

"Good point."

She started heading back up the stairs, then stopped again.

"What now?" 

Felicia asked.

"If he sees me, so what? I don't want to lie to him." 

Britney turned back down the stairs.

Felicia sighed. Britney was indeed a headstrong person.

"Felicia, do you know why I can't leave him?" 

After a few steps, Britney blinked playfully, her lips curling into a mischievous smile.

"I'm sure it's not for any serious reason." 

Felicia said with certainty.

"Haha, exactly!" 

Britney laughed. "It's because he's amazing in bed. Like, really amazing. He gives me the deepest satisfaction."

"...Shameless!"

"Hahaha~" 

Laughing and chatting, the two walked downstairs together. Tonight was Britney's concert after-party, and many people from the industry had come.

There were record label executives, music producers, artists, media people, and celebrities like Madonna, Ryan, Rachel, Christina, Justin, Avril, Norah Jones, Enrique, and B2K.

As the host, how could Britney be absent?

*(End of Chapter)*

Chapter 197: The End

"Britney, you really scared me today!"

It was nighttime in Beverly Hills, with stars accompanying the moon.

On the second floor of Britney's villa, Luca held a glass of red wine, looking out the window, still shaken.

"Haha, did you think I was about to propose to you?" 

Britney's lips curled into a playful smile.

Luca shrugged his shoulders because that's exactly what he thought.

During the afternoon concert, Britney suddenly crouched down in front of him, holding a rose.

The scene instantly reminded him of a famous female singer in his country, who pressured a man into marriage on stage, ultimately forcing the man into being labeled a jerk, ridiculed by everyone.

When Britney crouched down, his mind went blank for a moment. At that time, he had only three options: accept, refuse, or ignore.

Accept?

It would mean he'd have to break up with Lima, become Britney's boyfriend, and possibly even marry her—an outcome he didn't want.

Refuse?

Turning her down in front of so many people would be incredibly awkward. The media would paint him as a bad guy who hurt Britney, and her fans would cancel him. Their relationship could never go back to how it was.

Ignore?

That would embarrass Britney too much.

That would be cowardly, so it wasn't an option.

Accept or refuse?

As he looked at Britney on stage and was about to stand up, he saw her pointing the rose at Rachel, Ryan, Fanny, and others.

She continued singing while pointing at them, "I want nobody, nobody but you~you~you~you~."

When Britney stood up, Luca let out a long sigh of relief, feeling like he had just walked away from the edge of a cliff, sweat soaking his back.

It turned out to be just a misunderstanding.

"Luca, you know, I really was planning to propose to you."

Suddenly, Britney said softly.

"Are you kidding?" 

Luca asked in surprise.

"No, I'm serious," Britney put down her wine glass, taking his hand. In the night, her eyes sparkled like stars.

"Luca, I love you!" 

She gazed into his eyes, speaking slowly but firmly, "Yes, I love you. I love being with you. I love coming home every day to hug you, kiss you, and rely on you.

I love eating breakfast with you at the same table, whether you made it or I did.

I love leaning on you to watch the stars and sunsets, listening to your voice and your corny jokes. I love dancing and singing with you in the garden, even though you're a terrible singer. I still think of you often.

When you're not around, I think about your advice at meals, I long for your embrace when I'm tired, I think of your face at dusk, and I miss your arms around me when I lay down at night."

Luca listened quietly. Faced with this sudden confession, he didn't know how to respond—whether to feel happy, moved, excited, or guilty, ashamed, or pressured.

"Luca, do you know that I realized, little by little, I've truly fallen in love with you? You've become a part of my life, an indispensable part. I want to be with you. So, why not propose?"

Britney smiled, "I'm Britney, the fearless and bold Britney. I love you and don't care if the whole world knows it. So yes, I was going to propose to you today."

Luca blinked, "But then you changed your mind."

"Yes!" Britney shrugged. "I know you're a very steady guy. You don't like surprises, and you don't like being pressured. I didn't want to lose you as a friend, so I backed off."

"Thank you!" 

Luca hugged her. "Thank you for thinking of me."

Britney Spears was impulsive and headstrong, but this time, she had taken him into consideration, and he couldn't help but be moved.

"Luca, if I had insisted on giving you the rose, would you have accepted it?"

Britney rubbed her forehead against his chin, the scratchy feeling making her giggle softly.

"I would have," Luca said, staring into her eyes.

At the time, he had made up his mind—he would've accepted the rose, and then tried to smooth things out afterward. He was already considered a jerk anyway, so he didn't mind a few more headlines. No matter what, he didn't want Britney to feel too embarrassed.

Britney looked at him and suddenly smiled, "I regret it. I should've pushed a little harder. Then tonight's party would've been our engagement party."

"Yeah, but I would've spanked you for it," Luca playfully slapped her.

"Jerk, how dare you hit me!" 

Britney jumped up and bit his lip.

"Ahem!" 

From the hallway on the second floor, Britney's personal assistant, Felicia, coughed softly after waiting for a while. But those two shameless people had no reaction.

"Ahem!"

She had to cough again, louder this time.

Still no response. The two shameless people kissed even more passionately.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"

"Enough, Felicia! Aren't you afraid of coughing up blood?" 

Britney let go of Luca, looking toward Felicia in the hallway—her personal assistant and longtime friend.

Felicia adjusted her glasses. "Britney, this is your party. You can't disappear for too long."

"Alright, alright!" 

Britney waved her hand, linking arms with Luca as they headed downstairs.

"Luca, I need your help with something. Could you stay behind for a moment?" 

Felicia asked.

". . . Okay!" 

Luca stopped, "Britney, you go ahead. I'll be down in a bit."

"Hurry up!" 

Britney glanced at Felicia and then walked downstairs.

Tonight was her party. She wore a blue off-the-shoulder gown that hugged her figure, exposing just enough of her cleavage. Her waist was slender and toned, and the dress hugged her curves, highlighting her voluptuous, fiery figure. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she suddenly turned back and smiled—a playful gaze and sweet smile that made it hard not to smile along with her.

"Luca, I'll be waiting for you downstairs!"

"Got it!"

(End of chapter)