Chapter 120
Ten minutes before the premiere of The Emperor’s Edict, invited fans and the film’s creators began entering the VIP cinema one after another
Briar, holding a cup of smoothies, was being led by the hand by Ashton, who held popcorn in one hand and her in the other, guiding her to the best seat in the house.
Even after sitting down and sipping several gulps of smoothies to calm her nerves, Briar still hadn’t recovered from the shock. She had inexplicably agreed to date the notoriously aloof Ashton.
Maybe it was because Ashton had looked too tempting when he said, “Then let me chase you.”
Or perhaps it was the gentle, warm look in his eyes that made her mistakenly feel a sense of security.
But Briar still carried the burden of uncovering her mother’s cause of death and clearing Tristan’s name. She couldn’t live a normal life like an ordinary person.
In Qathana, she faced several assassination attempts every year. She was a dangerous person. Anyone who got too close to her would likely become a target.
She might even bring danger to Ashton.
“Briar, stop staring at me. The movie’s starting.” Ashton caught her peeking at him. He placed a large hand on top of her head and gently
turned it toward the screen.
Then, once her gaze shifted away, Ashton leaned toward her ear and whispered, “When the movie ends, I’ll let you stare all you want.”
Briar went silent. Stephen bent down and whispered something to the girl sitting on Briar’s right. After a few words, he smoothly switched
seats with her and plopped down, ignoring the warning look from Ashton.
“Hi, Miss Jennings, I’m Stephen. May I get to know you?” As expected of a triple–award–winning Best Actor, Stephen’s smile and movements were sudden, but impossible to refuse.
Briar smited and extended a hand to shake his. “Hello, Stephen, I’m Briar.”
Ashton clenched his jaw. Seeing Briar smiling, he held back from kicking Stephen out of his seat.
“I’ve heard about you, Miss Jennings. You were the one who helped our grandfather when he was ill. I was filming abroad at the time and couldn’t get back in time.” Stephen was a chatterbox. If he wanted to, he could chat even with a stray dog.
Briar’s initial tension gradually melted as they talked, and her body slowly relaxed, which amused and frustrated Ashton.
But Ashton wasn’t one to sit idly. Since he couldn’t join the conversation, he focused on feeding her. One moment, he popped popcorn into her mouth, the next, he held her smoothies and helped her drink.
Briar wasn’t a talkative person to begin with. Most of the conversation was carried on by Stephen, but now she had even less chance to speak. Her mouth was occupied. Busy munching on popcorn and drinking smoothies.
“Ashton, I’m full.” Finally, Briar turned to look at Ashton with a warning in her eyes.
Ashton, despite being glared at, chuckled. The two pieces of popcorn he was about to feed her took a sharp detour and went into his mouth
instead.
Stephen snorted. If not for the people sitting nearby, he would’ve burst out laughing.
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Chapter 120
It was a rare sight, seeing the legendary Ashton actually get put in his place.
The movie scene shifted from dark to bright. Just then, a flash went off from the back row. Ashton and Stephen’s expressions changed at com same time, and both turned to look.
Behind them sat a few long–time superfans of Stephen and some of the Emperor’s Edict crew. None of them would dare take secret photos, knowing Ashton was sitting there.
Briar noticed too, but pretended not to, keeping her eyes on the screen, though her face turned cold.
Ashton and the others assumed it was a fan or paparazzi, but only Briar knew. Those people had snuck in.
‘Persistent as ever…‘ Briar thought to herself.
She tapped her knee with her finger, silently counting the time. Five minutes later, she leaned close to Ashton. “Ashton, I need to use the
restroom.”
Ashton was about to stand up. “I’ll go with you.”
Briar grabbed his hand. “I can go myself! I know where it is.”
Her small hand was soft and delicate. Feeling her willingly hold him back with such a sweet tone, Ashton had no choice but to give in. “Alright. Just be careful and don’t trip.”
Briar nodded. “Okay.”
Under his watchful gaze, she walked toward the exit. Soon, her figure disappeared around the corner.
Not long after Briar left, a young couple in the back row quietly got up and left as well.
Their departure didn’t draw attention. Even Ashton only glanced at them once.
There were restrooms next to both entrances of the VIP screening hall, but Briar bypassed them and headed toward a farther one.
She walked at a steady pace. The same young couple followed from a distance.
The three of them, as if by prior agreement, deliberately avoided security cameras and finally slipped into a women’s restroom.
As the last person entered, he casually hung a sign on the door. “Occupied. Do Not Disturb.”
Briar stood with her hands in her pockets, leaning against the sink with a cold smile. “Couldn’t wait any longer?”
The woman chuckled and pulled out an ivory–handled pistol, pointing it at Briar. “Can’t help it. You’re the elite instructor from DDC Vanguard. We’ve been dying to kill you. We just couldn’t hold back when the chance finally came!”
The man locked the door and carefully checked all the stalls to ensure they were empty. He returned to the woman’s side and also pulled out a gun. “Bree, who would’ve thought? After surviving so many assassination attempts in Qathana, you’re finally going to die here in
Dasmieca.”
Even with two black muzzles aimed at her, Briar remained unfazed. Her smile only grew sweeter. “Oh? Then I guess your teammates forgot to
tell you…”
The two stared at her, waiting for her to finish. They were overconfident. They thought that in a gun–restricted country like Dasmieca, their two weapons would be enough to force the unarmed Bree to surrender.
But instead of words, what they received was a bullet each, right to the forehead.
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Chapter 120
In the next moment, under their terrified and disbelieving gazes, blood blossomed like red flowers from their skulls as they fell backward bodies twitching a few times before going still in a pool of crimson.
They never even saw how Bree, from her pocket, had pulled out a silenced gun.
As she sent a message on her phone, Briar said coldly, “Your teammates didn’t get the chance to tell you. If you run into me, attack first and skip the talking. Otherwise, you’re the ones who’ll end up dead.”
AD
