Conveying apology

Hugo felt as if his whole body was soaked in warm water. The soreness in his muscles made him feel weak, but the warm water made him relax involuntarily. His breathing, which seemed to have stopped, found its rhythm again. He opened his eyes with difficulty, but the bright light immediately hurt his eyes, so he quickly closed them again. Then he raised his hand to shield his eyes before opening them again.

"Are you awake?" A familiar voice sounded nearby, hitting Hugo's eardrums and making him frown involuntarily. It was Joseph's voice.

"Where am I?" Hugo only remembered taking a taxi. After that, his memory became blurry. He had no idea where he was lying, but he was sure he had not reached home.

"Home." Joseph's voice did not reveal much emotion. He walked over and handed a glass of water to Hugo. Hugo saw it through his fingers, sat up, and slowly lowered his right hand that was blocking his eyes.

Joseph looked at Hugo with a probing gaze, which made Hugo a little uneasy. He had to force himself to look directly at Joseph and asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

Joseph did not answer immediately but continued to examine Hugo carefully. Hugo knew he could not be guilty, so he tried his best to look back at Joseph, which made Joseph somewhat restrained. "No, I was just thinking, should you go to rehab? You know, Harry's drug is very powerful. If you really want to completely eradicate it, maybe professional help will be more successful."

In fact, Hugo had tried to quit drugs several times before, but he couldn't persist for long and would soon be defeated by the overwhelming pain. Although Joseph was amazed at the potency of the drug, he also had a new understanding of Hugo's weak mental will. That was why he had disdainfully rejected Hugo's proposal to quit drugs after the Golden Raspberry Awards.

But now Hugo showed firm determination. The last time he suffered from withdrawal was severe, and Joseph witnessed it firsthand. Even he, as a bystander, felt a little sympathetic, but Hugo gritted his teeth and persevered, which impressed Joseph. Today, Hugo once again overcame withdrawal without surrendering once. This made Joseph both unfamiliar and gratified.

Hearing Joseph's suggestion, Hugo breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he had not revealed any flaws. The withdrawal was relatively light for Hugo because he had only experienced physical problems. The drug had left its mark on his mental state, but he could overcome it with his willpower. Nevertheless, Joseph's advice made Hugo feel a little emotional. Quitting drugs is not easy, and professional help can indeed make it smoother.

If it were his former self, the situation would be much worse. The scene would be ten or a hundred times more brutal, and it would be difficult to even leave the hotel bathroom, let alone return from the hotel. In a situation like his former self, entering rehab would be necessary to overcome addiction with professional help. However, according to Hugo, it was not necessary to go through all that trouble because he had already survived the first two times, and the withdrawal symptoms would gradually weaken.

Having personally experienced the pain of withdrawal, Hugo's determination to stay away from drugs had become even stronger. He didn't want to be addicted to the temporary escape from reality that drugs offered.

However, Hugo couldn't be so straightforward with Joseph. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do we have the money?" This made Joseph stunned.

Rehabilitation was not cheap, and Hugo's current situation didn't allow him to be associated with drugs. Once the media found out, it would be disastrous. Therefore, he needed to go to a high-end rehab center, which would be even more expensive.

Hugo was in an awkward position. The negative impact of the Razzies hadn't completely dissipated yet, and if negative news came out now, he might lose the job offer for "Scent of a Woman". Moreover, entering rehab for a month would definitely delay the filming of the movie. On the other hand, if Hugo wanted to enter rehab, he needed money and work, and he couldn't afford to lose the "Scent of a Woman" job. It was a vicious cycle.

Joseph opened his mouth, wanting to say, "The pay for "Scent of a Woman" can cover the cost." However, he immediately thought of the vicious cycle, and paying in advance was not suitable for Hugo's current situation. Joseph was speechless.

Hugo took a sip of water, and it was just the right temperature, not too hot or too cold. It was clear that Joseph was prepared while waiting for Hugo to sober up. "Joseph, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I won't let myself fall into that situation again, and I'll rely on my own strength to stand up again."

If this were before the Razzies, Joseph would have scoffed at Hugo's words. But now, Joseph wanted to believe Hugo, or perhaps he already wanted to believe him deep down.

In the end, Joseph just let out a long sigh and didn't say anything more. He only looked at Hugo's exhausted face with a small but warm smile, which bloomed with a faint light in the morning sunshine.

Hugo had finally regained some strength after eating a lot of junk food to replenish his energy. He suddenly remembered that he had left Charlize behind in the hotel without telling her anything, which was really impolite.

Actually, the development of last night's events had also exceeded Hugo's expectations. His intention was really just to have dinner with Charlize, but who knew things would end up in bed. Of course, they were both adults and everything happened consensually, so there was nothing to dwell on. The sparks that made their faces blush and hearts race were still vivid in their minds. As for whether they would continue to develop or remain friends in the future, that would have to be further thought through

But the problem was that this sudden withdrawal reaction completely disrupted all plans -- there weren't really any plans, but at least Hugo wouldn't have just left without saying anything. Now, Hugo and Charlize's relationship was in an awkward position, and it seemed like Hugo had become the terrible man who ate and ran. As a result, not to mention the chance of further development between Hugo and Charlize, they probably couldn't even be friends anymore.

Hugo's handsome eyebrows couldn't help but furrow together. He thought for a moment and decided to call Charlize and tell her the truth - that his body suddenly felt uncomfortable and he left in a hurry, officially expressing his apology. Last night's conversation between Hugo and Charlize was quite frank and straightforward, and this mode of interaction made many chemical reactions between them, so this way was the most appropriate today.

After dialing Charlize's home phone number, Tyra Banks answered the phone. Hugo politely asked, "Is Charlize there?"

"Charlize isn't here. She...she got a job interview and just left." Tyra glanced at the bathroom. Charlize was actually still inside, hiding.

When Charlize returned, she didn't look too good, although she still had a smile on her face. Tyra originally wanted to tease Charlize about her all-nighter and try to dig up some gossip, but obviously, Charlize didn't want to talk about it, so she went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. Tyra listened at the door for a while and guessed that Charlize had only turned on the showerhead and was hiding inside to calm down.

What else could it be in this situation, except for an unpleasant interaction with Hugo? Tyra wanted to avenge her best friend, so she concealed the fact that Charlize was at home and looked towards the direction of the bathroom to confirm that Charlize hadn't noticed her actions.

"Can you help me leave a message for her?" Hugo thought about it and had no choice but to do so. In this era without cell phones and underdeveloped internet, using a landline to contact the other party was the most convenient method.

Tyra rolled her eyes and muttered to herself: 'This is how men are. They make mistakes and then try to make up for them without any sincerity.' But she still said, "Okay, no problem."

Since it was a message, Hugo also needed to consider his words carefully, "Here's what happened. Tell Charlize that I had a bad stomachache this morning and had to go to the hospital."

Tyra was confused, "And then?" Hugo's words didn't make any sense. She was originally thinking that Hugo wanted to apologize for last night's incident, but it turned out to be about him going to the hospital, so what?

"Then, please convey my apologies to her and tell her that I'm really sorry." Hugo carefully considered his words. He hoped that Charlize could understand his difficulties, give him a call back, and then the two of them could communicate directly. Hugo also believed that Charlize could understand, as he could tell from their conversation last night.

"Okay, I got it. I will definitely pass it on to Charlize," Tyra said seriously, and then hung up the phone.

Standing in place, Tyra carefully pondered the meaning of Hugo's words, but couldn't figure out where to start. Most importantly, she didn't know what had happened between Charlize and Hugo last night. However, she was sure that something unpleasant had happened and that Hugo was in the wrong, or he wouldn't have called to apologize, and Charlize wouldn't have been staying in the bathroom feeling down.

In fact, Tyra wanted to take a stand for Charlize and not tell her about the contents of the phone call, and just let Charlize cut ties with Hugo altogether. But upon further consideration, Tyra felt that this was not the right thing to do. So she walked to the bathroom door and knocked, "Charlize, Hugo called."

The sound of the showerhead stopped. Tyra continued, "Charlize, Hugo asked me to convey a message. He said he's really sorry."

Sorry? He said he's sorry! That's it... that means it's over? Charlize tugged at the corner of her mouth and showed a bitter smile, but didn't say anything. She opened the showerhead again.