Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Joanna Kennedy started to step out of the elevator, but as soon as she looked up, she saw a man standing in the hallway.

In the few seconds she stood stunned, the elevator doors began to slowly close. Joanna Kennedy snapped back to reality and reached for the open-door button, but the man had already extended his hand before she could.

The closing doors nearly caught his arm. Joanna Kennedy’s breath hitched, and shaking off her daze, she hurried out of the elevator.

The moment she was out, she snapped, ”What do you think you’re doing?!”

Joanna Kennedy was genuinely furious. Seeing his utterly bewildered expression only fueled her anger. ”Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?! What if your arm had gotten caught?!”

Her face was red with anger, her brow tightly furrowed. But Simon Lockwood heard the concern and worry beneath her scolding words.

His lowered lashes concealed the dark glint that flashed in his eyes. Simon Lockwood’s voice was soft. ”I’m sorry...”

The tall man stood with his head bowed. His features were strikingly handsome, yet his tone was inexplicably pitiful. Joanna Kennedy felt a pang in her heart, and just like that, all her anger vanished.

Once she calmed down, Joanna Kennedy regretted her outburst. ’How could I just fly off the handle like that?’ she thought. ’Especially at a stranger I’ve only just met. This isn’t like me at all.’

Hearing his apology, in particular, left her with a swirl of complicated feelings. Her voice softened. ”Why are you apologizing to me? I was the one with the bad attitude.”

When the man didn’t reply, Joanna Kennedy awkwardly changed the subject. ”Anyway, what are you doing standing out here? Why aren’t you home?”

He was wearing slippers and casual loungewear, so it didn’t look like he had just arrived.

Sure enough, the next moment, the man pursed his lips, his tone a little strained. ”I forgot my key...”

He had just moved in and was still using the original lock that came with the Sinclair Gardens apartments. Once the door was shut, it couldn’t be opened without a key. Joanna Kennedy was at a loss for words.

A mix of compassion and guilt from her earlier outburst kept her from simply going home. After a moment, she managed to ask, ”Did you call building management?”

”I did.” Simon Lockwood lied without batting an eye. ”They said it’ll be another hour before they can get here.”

”Oh, I see...” Joanna Kennedy didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t like she knew how to pick a lock; she couldn’t be of any help.

Joanna Kennedy was trying to figure out how to politely excuse herself and go home, but the man seemed to read her mind. He slowly lowered his head again. ”You should go on home. I’ll be fine. I can just wait a little longer.”

”It’s only an hour. It’ll go by in a flash...” Simon Lockwood added in a quiet voice.

Joanna Kennedy: ”...”

Joanna Kennedy wrestled with the idea for a long moment before finally speaking, the words coming out with difficulty. ”Do you... want to wait at my place for a bit?”

”Would that be alright?”

Meeting his calm, gentle dark eyes, Joanna Kennedy felt her heart skip a beat. Her mouth moved faster than her mind. ”It’s fine.”

The words were out, so there was no taking them back. Steeling herself, Joanna Kennedy opened her door. ”Come on in.”

She flicked on the lights, illuminating the living room. It was decorated in a natural wood style but lacked the lived-in feel of a home. It was more like a showroom.

Simon Lockwood’s expression faltered for a second. ’This is very different from the Joanna Kennedy I remember.’

A meow sounded from the balcony. Joanna Kennedy explained, ”I have a cat. I hope you don’t mind.”

She regretted the question as soon as she asked it. ’It’s my apartment, and he’s only staying for a little while, not moving in. What is there for him to mind?’

”I don’t mind,” Simon Lockwood said.

Seeing that he hadn’t noticed her awkwardness, Joanna Kennedy breathed a sigh of relief.

The cat food her assistant had put out at noon was still in the bowl, some of it spilled on the floor. Joanna Kennedy resigned herself to cleaning it up. She had just pulled out a tissue when the man took it from her hands.

Joanna Kennedy froze. By the time she snapped out of it, the man had already crouched down and begun cleaning, his movements completely natural.

His hands, with their well-defined knuckles, were beautiful. Joanna Kennedy hastily tore her gaze away. ”Uh, I can get that...”

She realized something and asked, ”By the way, I don’t even know your name.”

”Let me introduce myself. I’m Joanna Kennedy.”

She didn’t know what she’d said to cause it, but the man’s movements froze. After a long pause, he finally spoke. ”Simon Lockwood... My name is Simon Lockwood.”

”Simon Lockwood...” Joanna Kennedy murmured the name to herself a few times, a smile gracing her lips. ”That’s a very nice name.”

They say you can tell a good name by how pleasant it is to say and how easily it sticks in your mind. Joanna Kennedy had only said it once, yet it felt as familiar as if she had repeated it a thousand times.

”I’ll remember it, Simon Lockwood,” Joanna Kennedy said.

’I’ve remembered it now,’ she thought. ’I can’t forget it again...’

Simon Lockwood stood up, his tall frame casting a shadow over her. Sensing the wariness in her eyes, he discreetly reined in his burgeoning possessiveness. The sudden sense of pressure vanished, as if it had been nothing more than Joanna Kennedy’s imagination.

”All cleaned up.” Simon Lockwood tossed the tissue into the trash can.

Hearing his words, the tension in Joanna Kennedy’s chest eased. She had thought...

”Thank you. Um, you should go wash your hands,” Joanna Kennedy said, embarrassed.

The faint sound of running water came from the kitchen. Joanna Kennedy took a deep breath, patting her chest as her heart rate returned to normal.

It wasn’t that she was overthinking things. The oppressive feeling he had just given off was simply too strong, a stark contrast to the gentle, harmless demeanor he had displayed until then. It put her on guard.

There were still over forty minutes until building management was supposed to arrive, according to Simon Lockwood. After a moment’s thought, Joanna Kennedy asked, ”Have you had dinner yet?”

She hadn’t eaten either and was starting to feel hungry. It would be rude to eat by herself, so she felt she had to ask Simon Lockwood.

Hearing her question, Simon Lockwood’s gaze swept impassively over a man’s jacket lying on the sofa. He asked casually, ”You didn’t eat dinner out?”

”No, I haven’t.” Joanna Kennedy found his question a little odd but didn’t dwell on it. ”Have you?”

Simon Lockwood’s voice softened as he shook his head. ”No...”

His back was to her, so Joanna Kennedy didn’t see the faint smile that touched his lips.

’She didn’t eat out. She didn’t eat with another man...’

As an actress, Joanna Kennedy was actually quite experienced at interacting with people she didn’t know well. She could usually build a quick rapport with her colleagues on set. But when faced with Simon Lockwood, whom she had only just met, she always found herself at a loss for words.

It was mainly because Simon Lockwood gave her such a strange feeling. He always seemed to stir up her emotions, making her angry and also... sad.

Joanna Kennedy’s eyes flickered, but she asked anyway, ”In that case... do you want to eat here?”

”I’m not much of a cook, though,” Joanna Kennedy added as a warning.

The man didn’t answer right away. After a long pause, as if gathering his thoughts, he replied, his tone tight with what seemed to be embarrassment, ”...I can.”

”...”

Everything that happened next felt surreal. Joanna Kennedy had never imagined a man would one day be cooking for her in her own home. It was a complete departure from the monotonous, quiet life she had lived for over twenty years, yet for some reason, she didn’t dislike it.