Joanne got out through the emergency exit. Once again, she was back in the normal world, away from all the strange light and special sound effects. The only thing on Joanne's mind right now was how nice the sunlight felt against her skin.

Good thing the real world would not turn into that kind of horror.

She heaved a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, she noticed the presence of two men in front and to the side. Both men were carrying a black bag pack and a camera. Somehow, they seemed a bit familiar.

She sifted her memories meticulously and realized that she and Brian had seen the two men last time when they visited the mall; they were reporters.

Joanne gave Brian's hand a few tugs, "Are they taking pictures of us?"

"They've been doing that since this morning. Did you only just notice?" Brian remarked in a carefree tone.

Joanne suddenly felt depressed, "It's not like we're some celebrity couple. Why are they so curious about our lives?"

"They're merely satisfying the public's curiosity about us." Brian said. He twisted the cap of the water bottle and then passed the bottle to Joanne. "If it bothers you, I can ask them to leave."

"Never mind. It's not like we're conducting shady business or anything. I mean, carrying a camera around during a weekend while watching other people have fun? That can't be easy for them." Joanne said. When she turned around, it was as if she had forgotten about the reporters. "Let's go have some fun. After that, we'll go home."

They had already checked out the scariest and the most exciting games in the theme park, leaving only the bland and mild ones to be explored next. The queue was exceptionally long since these games were suitable for those shied away from the roller coaster rides. Joanne noticed that they were running out of water, so she had asked Brian to queue up while she went to buy more water for them.

On the way to the convenience store, Joanne paid close attention to her surroundings. When she did not see that strange man in the bathroom, she heaved a sigh of relief.

It would be ideal if she never saw the man again.

She took two extra bottles of water from the shelf. After paying for the water, she did not return to Brian straightaway. Instead, she took a detour and headed towards the two reporters.

The two men were experienced reporters in the show business; they had seen their fair share of celebrities. Nevertheless, they could have sworn that they had never met a single billionaire's wife who was as amiable as Joanne. That was why it did not feel right for them to just accept the water bottles that Joanne was offering them, "Mrs. Lambert, we're already grateful that you don't find our presence bothersome."

"I just noticed you guys a while ago." Joanne smiled and gestured for the men to take the bottles, "We're leaving soon. So will you guys call it a day after we leave?"

"Yes." The experienced reporter blushed despite the endless scores of beautiful female celebrities that he had met throughout his career. "We'll be leaving once you and Mr. Lambert take your leave."

"Well, thanks for the hard work," Joanne said, giving them a wave before heading back to Brian.

The reporters stared after Joanne's leaving form. "Damn. She's quite different from all the rich princesses we've seen so far, isn't she?" One of them remarked.

"Do you think Brian would marry her if she isn't?" Said the other reporter. "In the past, we would have bet our lives that Brian would never set foot in a place like the Happy World. And now look at him. She had brought a lot of changes to Brian, that's for sure. Let's just wait and see. I'm sure there will be sensational news waiting for us in the future."

The few activities following that were not physically taxing. When Joanne left Happy World, she did not feel tired at all. Rather, she felt completely relaxed and satisfied.

On the way home, the sun was already westbound. Coincidentally, their car was directly facing the sunset as they drove forward. Joanne raised her hand as if to play with the sunlight, though she only did it for fun; the light did not hurt her eyes at all. "Brian, thank you for today," she said.

"You don't have to thank me," Brian said. "This is what I had promised you 14 years ago."

"Huh? You mean you've always remembered that promise during the past ten years or so?" Joanne stared at Brian with a look of curiosity, "Or were you just reminded of it after you married me? I mean, when I accused you of lying to me."

Brian was silent for a moment, "It's not like I've forgotten about it entirely throughout the years. It'd always come to mind whenever I passed by a theme park."

In other words, Brian had not forgotten about her completely during the past ten years.

A strange feeling of joy sprouted from the bottom of Joanne's heart. Still, she had done an impressive job in concealing her joy and keeping it to herself. "So you're not entirely heartless after all," she said.

She never did get over Brian's broken promise that year, not just due to the disappointment she had felt back then, but also because that was the first time in her life she had experienced being lied to by someone else. Before she turned 15, her mother and brother had done a fine job in protecting her from everything.

Afterwards, as she grew older, she learned that his father's love for her mother had been a fluke. The world was filled to the brim with countless lies. Compared to all the lies out there in the rest of the world, Brian's broken promise was merely a white lie, one that had been made out of kindness.

Then again, she was pretty sure that Brian would not lie to her from now on; she would not be that easy to fool as well.

The next day, the headline "Brian brings his wife to Happy World" made its way onto the first page of the entertainment section. The netizens had dug up pretty much everything about their trip: the way their outfits had complemented each other, and even the type of drinks they had enjoyed. With today being a Sunday, the Happy World experienced a sudden influx of customers. The authorities were forced to limit the number of tourists in the area; tickets were no longer sold after 12:00.

It was obvious that the reporters had carefully selected the photos to be used in the article; Joanne was smiling in all of them, whereas Brian was staring back at her tenderly. There was also a photo which showed the way Joanne had leaned against Brian's body brazenly, which had no doubt dealt over 10,000 critical damage points to any person out there who was still single and unattached.

The final photo had been taken when Joanne and Brian were on the ferris wheel. The reporter's tele lens had caught them kissing each other inside the gondola. Beneath the photo, the caption contained a description about the legend surrounding the ferris wheel.

Joanne, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, quickly closed the web page the moment she saw the caption.

"I can't let Brian see this no matter what!" She thought.

"So that's the reason, then." Brian amused voice sounded from behind her, "You shouted when we first got onto the ferris wheel. It's because you were thinking about that legend, isn't it?"

Joanne turned her head around stiffly, "How long have you been standing behind me?"

"Since you began reading the article," Brian said.

Damn. He had indeed seen it.

Joanne was in full-blown panic mode at this point. Well, she could only blame herself for being too absorbed in the article.

"Don't think too much!" She lowered her face, which was now sporting a deep blush. "I... I just... I heard about it from Freya a long time ago. After that, I felt an impulse to..." Kiss you. She completed her sentence in her head.

Joanne looked as if she could start bleeding through the pores of her face at this point, so Brian decided not to tease her anymore. Reaching out, he took her tablet and reopened the web page from the browser history. Then, he read the article from the start till the end. "The pictures don't look bad at all. However... why do I feel like his camera was constantly focusing on you?"

The corner of Joanne's lips tugged upwards, "It was a male reporter, so of course he'd focus on me. If they sent a female reporter to do the job, I bet she'll only take pictures of you."

Brian's eyes narrowed into slits.

He had not minded it at first. Then, it occurred to him that there would always be reporters staring at Joanne whenever they were out together. He decided right then and there that he would not allow any reporter to follow them from now on.

Joanne was his wife. What right did other people have to peep at her through their goddamn tele lens?

It merely took today's news, plus every news about them in the past, to propel them into the limelight. Now, Brian and Joanne had officially become a celebrity couple. In fact, the news had brought about topics and discussions whose popularity trumps that of other celebrity couples in the entertainment business.

At the same time, Joanne had piqued the public's curiosity. Although her personal details had once been exposed on the Internet, she had never made an appearance among Arlington's celebrity circle, so there was not much information to find about her. On the flip side, the number of followers on her tweet had been rising nonstop. In fact, her latest tweet already had over 200,000 views.

Joanne's feelings about everything were rather bland. She just felt a little strange, and that was all. But upon realizing that her sudden popularity had been due to her status as Brian's wife, a teeny bit of sweetness crept into her heart.

Freya was very pissed at Joanne offhand attitude towards her newfound popularity.

Freya had been working her ass off recently. Every day, she had to undergo intense training until she was practically half-dead just so she could gain that kind of popularity. She wanted the three words, "Freya" to be known by the entire world. Now, Joanne had literally achieved the kind of popularity that Freya had been yearning for without even breaking a sweat. And yet the woman had acted as if it were the most inexplicable and baffling thing in the world!

Fuck! It was so true what they said about those with full tummies knowing absolutely nothing about the suffering of those who were starving.

Monday, a day enjoyed only by a few, arrived once again. The entire city reverted to its fast-paced rhythm. When Joanne arrived at work as usual, she noticed the strange looks that her colleagues were giving her.

"They must've seen the news article yesterday," Joanne thought, realizing what was going on.

Hannah approached her for no other reason than to engage her with idle gossip. "Joanne, was it you who kissed your Mr. Brian yesterday? Or was it the other way round?"

To that, Joanne responded by affecting an air of mystery while remaining tight-lipped; a real lady would never kiss and tell. But the truth was that she was too embarrassed to talk about it. The smile on her colleagues' faces became even more suggestive when they saw her reaction. According to them, the mood had been perfect, so Joanne must have gone with the flow. In other words, they thought it had not been just a simple kiss, but a hot make out session instead.

Two days later, Chris finally returned from Japan.

Freya had been awaiting Chris's return; she wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between them. When she found out about his return, she did not jump around in excitement. Instead, she began to silently plan her next move.

She had no idea if he was still mad at her, so she knew she would be screwed if she ran straight to him. She decided to wait until tonight where she would try to find out about Chris's mood from Ada.

Chris went to the company immediately after he had touched down.

His absence during the past few days meant that a lot of company business still awaited him. On his orders, Ada reported everything to him in the order of descending importance. When Ada finished her report, she paused to think for a moment. In the end, she decided to just tell him. "Boss Scott, Miss Norris came to look for you the afternoon you left for Japan."

"What did she want?" Chris asked in an impersonal tone.

Ada instantly noticed that something was amiss, so she got straight to the point. "She didn't say. I told her that you had made plans the night before you left and that you had deliberately pushed back your trip to Japan by one day. Also, she looked very shocked when I told her about the reservation you had made at Monjelli."

"Understood," Chris said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You can go now."

"Yes, sir," Ada said, closing the door and left.

Chris flipped open a folder, though his mind could not register a single word written on the document.

He suddenly remembered that he had kept his phone turned off throughout his stay in Japan. Pulling out his phone and switching it back on, he was surprised to see a couple of missed calls from Freya.

He recalled the day he had run into Travis in Japan.

"What a coincidence," Travis had greeted him. Although Travis's face still looked swollen after he took that punch from Chris, his comportment remained confident and self-assured. "What perfect timing. I have something to tell you." "Uncle Norris and my father have been discussing the marriage between me and Freya. It'll be best if you forget about Freya. You won't be able to give her happiness."

"Travis, she only sees you as a friend," Chris said. "She'll never agree to marry you." He did not deny that he was mocking Travis, not even to himself.

"Uncle Norris will figure out a way," Travis said. "I don't care whether she likes me. I'll do anything as long as I can make her my wife. I'll be honest with you. I was the one who had deleted her call history the night you called her. You and Freya, your personalities are entirely incompatible. You need to step away."

To that, Chris only spat out three cold words, "In your dreams."

"Well, I guess I'll just let Uncle Norris handle everything, then." Travis smiled smugly, "Uncle Norris will find a way to make Freya listen to him."

All of a sudden, Chris snapped out of his recollection as if he had just woken up from a dream. He pressed a button to access the line to his secretary, "Put in a call to Chairman Norris's office."

When Mr. Norris found out that Chris was calling him in person, he answered the phone. Chris said, "Uncle Norris, it's me, Chris."

"Oh, Chris." Mr. Norris chuckled, "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"

"May I ask if you have any plans for tonight?" Chris said, "If you don't, I'd like to treat you to dinner."

"Sure. I happen to have a few things that I'd like to discuss with you. How about 7:00 pm at Laurel & Pearl on Pine Hill Road?"

"I'll be there on time."

Chris hung up the phone and ordered Ada to clear out his schedule for the night. After that, he called Laurel & Pearl to reserve its best private booth.

Chris already had an inkling of what it was that Freya's father wanted to tell him.