Chapter 821 Shame

"If you did not want any part of it in the first place, then why did you join?" Sheryl bravely asked Roger.

"Because of life," Roger responded with a wry smile. He continued to explain, "Unlike you, my family background wasn't always successful or well-off. To be exact, we had our humble beginnings. To you, money isn't a big issue, but to me it was. Becoming a star is one of the fastest ways of acquiring money, so I…"

Roger took a glance at Sheryl before continuing, "But you know? When I've reached the peak of my career where everything and anything I want, I can get; when I've finally had so much money, I've begun missing my old life wherein there had to be a certain degree of struggle before getting what I wanted. What I've really always dreamed of is a life just like today where I am allowed to stop whatever I am doing and just be with the person I love -- we could light up a candle or enjoy a nice cake, just as simple as that. It's just that…"

Roger once again paused with a bitter smile on his face and then proceeded finishing his thought, "It's just that a wish as simple as that could never be granted to me."

Sheryl glanced at Roger, without expressing her opinion.

That is the nature of being human -- there is barely a time wherein there is no conflict, dilemma, or irony.

Even these three words are an understatement. To be more precise, it is greediness that the human nature runs on.

"Roger." A little voice called out Roger's name while they were in the middle of conversation. Sheryl slightly tilted her head and found a young girl rushing into Roger's arms.

"I missed you! Did you miss me?" she asked while embracing Roger. It was as if she was throwing a tantrum and she did not mind that there were other people around them.

Roger frowned and said, "Helin, stop that!" The girl was named Helin He. She just wished to enjoy the warmth of being enveloped into a hug and refused to follow the wish of Roger.

She hugged him even tighter as if she was trying to morph her body with his. She replied, "No, I won't. We haven't seen each other for so long. Didn't you miss me at all?"

"Let go of me first," Roger demanded. He took a glance at Sheryl in embarrassment. For reasons he could not tell, he did not want Sheryl to witness the situation with Helin He. He wanted to get closer to Sheryl because he was afraid that she would misinterpret his relationship with Helin He. As a matter of fact, there was nothing between Roger and the clingy girl.

Despite the tightness of the hug, Roger managed to push the girl away and ordered her to sit down. "Don't get any closer," he demanded.

"Roger…" Helin He fell sorrowful and asked, "What happened to you? You are being so strange."

Helin He was actually a famous hot star who was in

ly raised her voice. Apparently, she was annoyed, too. Roger was usually soft-spoken to her and had never scolded her the way he just did. To her, Sheryl was the cause of the sudden shift of tone of Roger. Because of this, Helin He just despised Sheryl more. She asked, "Did I say anything wrong?"

"Apologize to Miss Xia. Now!" Roger demanded angrily.

"For what?" Helin He felt so hurt that her voice was quivering. "Do you love her?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Roger was deeply embarrassed now. He tried to come up with the words to give Sheryl a reasonable explanation. "Miss Xia, don't listen to her. She's so spoiled to the extent that…"

"It's no big deal, so don't bother about it," Sheryl said with an unbothered smile.

Sheryl was about to leave when Helin He got so agitated by her own assumptions. How could she let this woman go so easily? She sneered at Roger, "Don't try to fool me. I know you've fallen for this woman! You used to be such a gentleman to me no matter what I did or said. You've never lost your temper in front of me, but now that she's here, you've changed. How should I accept the fact that you're angry at me for some woman? How can I..."

"Shut up!" Roger finally had it. He was offended at the position Helin He put him in. He then put his shame aside and explained, "Miss Xia is my friend and my guest. You said things that were so unnecessary. That's absolutely unfair."

"Is she really just a guest? Because, oh man, I don't buy it. The way I see it is that, you were showing her much more favor," Helin He grumbled in detectable dissatisfaction.

"Can you just…" Roger trembled with anger, but what could he do? He couldn't have known Helin He would overreact this way. Could he expect her to calm down and listen to him with rationality? 'Forget it, ' he thought. 'She'd never understand.'