„I'm not going to let people telling me what can I do and what not. It's my life and I want to be happy."
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Wanda Finkley is actress from New Zealand who plays mostly in action movies because people hate her smile.
She started with some come...
"Wanda, if it means anything, I think you have a beautiful smile. And I don't care what anyone else said."
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~•~
Wanda rolled onto her side and buried her face into the pillow. Through the closed windows, she could hear the muffled sounds of Monaco at night—the gentle rush of the sea and the occasional passing car. She closed her eyes, trying not to think about how sleep refused to come. She let herself drift in the darkness that enveloped her room, as though her body were sinking into it, yet the darkness seemed unwilling to take her. For long minutes, she just lay there staring into the void before sighing and tossing the blanket aside.
I give up, she thought.
She stood up and grabbed a hoodie draped over the chair. Pulling it over her head, she ran her fingers across the fabric to smooth it. The cold air brushed against her skin, but the hoodie was enough to keep her warm. Carefully, she opened the balcony door, not wanting to wake anyone, and stepped into the cool night air.
"Can't sleep?" a familiar voice asked.
Wanda jumped. At the far end of the balcony, Daniel was sitting with his back against the wall, arms crossed. In the dim light, he gave her a warm smile. She hadn't expected to find anyone there at this hour—especially not someone who had spent all his energy racing that day. Wanda couldn't help but wonder where Daniel found the energy. To race, go out to dinner with her, and still be awake at night? She marveled at whether he ever truly got tired, knowing that she would've been out of commission immediately after the race.
"Can't you?" she countered with a question of her own, closing the door behind her to keep the chill from sneaking into her room. She definitely didn't want to return to a freezing bed.
Daniel shrugged and patted the spot next to him. "Come on, at least let's keep each other company."
Wanda hesitated. She'd only intended to get a breath of fresh air and go back inside, but in the end, she sat down. The cold concrete chilled her through her sweatpants, but Daniel's presence somehow made it bearable. She silently prayed she wouldn't catch a cold—something she absolutely couldn't afford as an actress, and neither could Daniel as a driver. She couldn't understand how he could sit there without any cushioning, considering how vital his health was.
"So, what's keeping you up?" Daniel asked once the silence between them settled. It wasn't an awkward silence—Wanda could imagine sitting there in it for hours. It was the kind of comfortable quiet that might lull her to sleep if she had something to lean her head against—which she did. She let her head rest on Daniel's shoulder, and he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he shifted closer to make it more comfortable for her.
"I don't know," she answered softly. "Maybe too many thoughts. Maybe the day itself. It's been a lot."
"That's true," Daniel agreed. "The race, the walk, dinner... Sometimes it's hard to switch it all off." He knew that for someone unaccustomed to days like this, it could be overwhelming. Even he would need time to process everything if such days weren't his norm.
