bA /b

    “Why would anyone pick on me for no reason?” Jessica thought Brian was oveplicating things.

    But Brian didn’t see it that way. “What if one of the celebrities they get acts like a diva?”

    E

    As he spoke, he picked up his phone to call Jackson. “No, we have to avoid that. I’ll ask Jackson if they need more investors.”

    Brian was really trying to keep Jessica from getting wronged. He was ready to step in as a funder himself.

    “Don’t be silly.” Jessica thought Brian was making too big a deal of it.

    53%

    She thought, ‘I’m going purely to travel, not to fight for camera time with ithose /icelebrities. There’s no reason for them to target

    me.‘ ol start="15"li15. /li/ol

    Brian took her hand, his eyes locking onto hers seriously. “Jessi, I really can’t help worrying.”

    Jessica held his gaze for a few seconds, but in the end, she gave in. “Do whatever you want. It’s not my money, after all.”

    With Brian’s wealth, investing in a variety show was really no big deal.

    Brian opened his mouth as if to say more, but just then, the call connected.

    He put the exnation aside and told Jackson what needed doing. “Get in touch with the director of Love on the Road. Tell him I want to invest. I don’t need to advertise ourpany’s products on the show.

    “The only thing I ask is that I get to review all nned activities before they happen.”

    Besides worrying Jessica might be picked on by celebrities, Briah was also afraid she’d get wronged by the show’s arrangements. That was why he wanted to take control from the start.

    “Understood, Mr. Atkinson.” Jackson didn’t ask questions. He hung up and contacted Raymond, passing along Brian’s message.

    “Absolutely. I’m thrilled Mr. Atkinson wants to invest. Please tell him I’ll always put Ms. Grant’s health first. Nothing will affect her well–being,” Raymond said, almost moved to tears.

    Because thest season hadn’t done well, they’d struggled to find investors for this one. Brian’s offer was a huge relief.

    Especially since Brian didn’t even want product cement. This kind of investor was hard to find, even if you searched high and

    low.

    Compared to that, his other requests were nothing.

    The next day, Raymond arrived at Brian and Jessica’s ce excitedly, clutching the documents. He was overly attentive, exining the contract details to them, making all sorts of promises. His attitude couldn’t have been better.

    Brian was fairly satisfied. After signing the contract, he added arge sum more to his investment in the show. Raymond was so moved that he kept thanking him, practically bowing

    After seeing off the deeply grateful Raymond, Jessica tooked at Brian teasingly. “Mr. Atkinson, you’re as generous as ever, I see.”

    Brian looked at her softly, “Is that a bad thing?”

    12:56 Tue, 2 Sept

    For Brian, anything that could be fixed with money wasn’t a problem.

    “Not really,” Jessica joked. “Just worried you’ll go bankrupt.”

    6

    53%

    Brian reached out, wrapping his arm around her waist, his palm gently resting on her stomach. Feeling the strong heartbeats of their babies beneath, he suddenly said, “Even if I did go bankrupt, it’d be fine. I’d be your nanny–no pay needed, just room and

    board.”

    That made Jessicaugh. “Stop it. I couldn’t afford you.”

    Brian leaned down, nuzzling her ear, sounding hurt. “Why not? I really wouldn’t ask for pay.”

    “It tickles,” Jessica said, pushing him away.

    But Brian didn’t move. He even rubbed against her yfully, not stopping until she took back her words.

    That evening, the Love on the Road crew announced that Brian and Jessica would be joining the next season, and opened applications for the remaining couples.

    As soon as the tweet went up, thements were flooded with their fans.

    [Who’s joining the show? Mr. Atkinson and Ms. Grant? You sure you’re not messing with me?]

    [The crew posted it, so it must be true. Yes! Finally, I’ll get to see Mr. Atkinson and Ms. Grant on camera.]

    [Guess they’re finally cashing in. Knew it was all an act.]

    [Hey, haters, knock it off. It’s a couples‘ travel show, not some cash grab. Stop.ndering them.]

    [Exactly. I bet Mr. Atkinson just wants to take Ms. Grant traveling and the show’s an afterthought.]

    [Definitely. They’ve got money and fame. They wouldn’t do a show like this unless it’s for their own reasons.]

    [Can I just say, Brian and Jessica joining the show are basically there to save it?]

    [They totally are. I know this ishow/i. Last season did terrible. People were saying there might not even be a second season.]

    [How on earth did the crew manage ito /iget them?]

    [I really want to know too.]

    [Me too.]

    Raymond watched thements piling up and the hashtags skyrocketing like a rocket. He was in great spirits.

    He thought, ‘Inviting bBrian /band Jessica to the show is hands down the best decision I’ve made all year.

    After signing the contract, Jessica didn’t pay much attention to the show anymore.

    Brian did check thement section and answered some fans‘ questions, but soon so many new people started flooding in. Even spending over an hour a day replying wasn’t enough, so he eventually gave up.

    He couldn’t let the fans distract him from Jessica.

    12:56 Tue, 2 Sept

    Jessica and Brian started getting ready for the uing show.

    53% ol start="15"li15b. /b/li/ol

    Meanwhile, Peter and Grace, who’d been staking out Atkinson Group for nearly a month without catching a glimpse of Madeline, were cornered at home by Sean, who’de demanding Madeline again.

    “Sean, just give us a little more time. We’re close, really close,” Peter and Grace begged.

    But Sean, fed up with waiting, wasn’t having it. He threw a punch at Peter.

    “Shut up. How many times have you said that? If you don’t hand over Madeline today, pay me back right now, or I’ll kill you!” Sean

    roared.

    “Sean, even if you kill me, I can’t hand her over today,” Grace cried, lunging forward to grab Sean’s fist and push it toward herself.

    Grace went on, “Hit me then. Beat us to death. Madeline doesn’t care about us anyway. What’s the point of me living?”

    She was clearly trying to pull a shameless stunt, and it made Sean livid. But he didn’t dare actually kill them. He didn’t want to go to jail.

    In the end, Sean took his anger out by kicking each of them once, ordered them to find Madeline quickly, then mmed the door, and left.

    Peter and Grace thought they’d managed to fool him again.

    But less than an hourter, they got an angry call from Miguel. “Mom, Dad, what’s wrong with you? How long is this gonna take? You still haven’t gotten Madeline back? Do you know Sean came after me again? He almost punched me right in front of my girlfriend.

    “If I hadn’t reacted fast and sent my girlfriend away, it would’ve alle out by now. Do you actually want to ruin my life?”

    Miguel was furious. He ranted at Peter and Grace over the phone and gave them an ultimatum. “Fix this right now, or you’ll never see me again.”