Finn stared fixedly at the script his assistant handed to him. “A military camp shower scene? Injured for warmth, taking clothes off and huddling together, artificial respiration, tending to injuries, and a series of intimate moments. What kind of script is this?” Finn knew actors sometimes had to make sacrifices for their roles.
Finn’s need for control wasn’t as strong as Hamish’s. Back when Aoife enjoyed acting, he invested in a campus play for her to take the lead. However, he couldn’t bear seeing Aoife kissing or being intimate with other men on screen, even if it was for work. So during the filming of that campus play, the script was repeatedly revised, the most daring scene being holding hands, not even a misplaced kiss.
He thought Aoife was obedient when she was with him, refraining from any ambiguous intimate scenes. She thought he cared for her, but in reality, he just didn’t want his “possessions” tainted. To Finn, Aoife was an object, something he could discard at will. But as long as she belonged to him, she had to be obedient and remain untouched by others.
Finn had thought that a year would be long enough for him to forget about her. Yet, whenever he thought about Aoife engaging in “kissing and rolling around” with other men, he felt uncomfortable all over. Why was he feeling this way? After all, he was the one who had sent her to Hamish’s bed. Why was he unable to tolerate it now? It just didn’t make sense.
Suppressing his emotions, Finn tossed the script material to his assistant, “Shred this in the shredder.”
The assistant replied, “Alright, Mr. Snearl.”
After the assistant left the office, Finn picked up the cold coffee on his desk and took a sip. It tasted bitter, unlike the usual coffee he drank. It felt as if it had been infused with medicine all night, leaving a strong, lingering bitterness in his throat, almost nauseating.
Staring at the tall buildings outside, in that quiet moment, he had to admit that he was starting to miss “Aoife” a little.
The person he couldn’t forget for over three hundred days made him regret his decision. If he couldn’t forget her, then he should bring her back.
Since Aoife wasn’t coming to him, he would personally go and “fetch” her. After all, this country girl had no one to love and care for her in the entertainment industry, and she had been bullied and isolated. He still wanted her, and she should be grateful.
Thinking this, his mood finally lightened a bit. He called his secretary to pour him a new cup of latte with milk and sugar.
Aoife didn’t like coffee because of its bitterness, but it helped stimulate her mind. So her coffee was always sweet in her hands. He had tried it once, found it sickly sweet, and never brewed it that way again. But this time, he found himself missing that cup, the kind of sweetness that reached his heart.
At the North Town Movie Center, the crew members were in their positions, filming “Revenge and Love.” The scene involved the female lead being drugged, and the young emperor saving her, revealing her female identity.
This scene was crucial, requiring precise emotional expression and tone in the lines. Even though Elisa had thoroughly memorized the script, she wasn’t confident that she could perform this scene perfectly. Her inherent aloofness had caught Mr. Kentala’s attention, making him choose her for the role due to their shared characteristics.
During the outdoor shoots in recent days, all her scenes had gone smoothly. However, now she was required to portray a flirtatious and vulnerable character, and just thinking about it made her furrow her brows deeply.
Osvaldo, who played the male lead, watched Elisa as she sat on the ground, engrossed in the script. He approached her and asked, “How prepared are you?”
Shaking her head, Elisa indicated that she wasn’t sure.
“Should I run through the scene with you a couple of times? Help you find the right feeling?” Osvaldo offered. Normally, even if they didn’t interact much, actors in the same production would at least put on a facade of getting along. But Osvaldo’s attempts to befriend Elisa had been rebuffed due to her cold demeanor.
“No need. I’ll get into the zone quickly,” Elisa replied.
Osvaldo noted, “Mr. Kentala has a volatile temper. He’s critical of everyone. Even Lorelei has been scolded by him twice. You’re the only one he has praised in the entire crew. It’s both enviable and frustrating.”
In Elisa, he saw the class genius he had grown up with, always scoring better than everyone else.
Despite Elisa’s indifference, Osvaldo continued, “I’m starting to feel the same panic I used to feel during final exams when I was about to cheat and the teacher unexpectedly appeared behind me. The next scene is with you. What if they stick around and watch us perform? What if I mess up and they withdraw their investment?”
Elisa didn’t want to act in front of these two people, especially not in a rather ambiguous and explicit scene.
“Is it possible to change the order?” she asked.
Osvaldo pondered for a moment. At 25 years old, his portrayal of a young emperor seemed entirely natural. “It’s possible. Didn’t they come specifically to watch Lorelei? Maybe they’re here to see her act, and if that’s the case, we can breathe a little easier.”
Elisa, however, felt increasingly tense. She was more aware than anyone that these two people were here because of her.
“Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?” Osvaldo, concerned, observed Elisa’s face closely.
Tugging at her lips, Elisa replied, “Can I leave if I’m feeling unwell?”
“Just now, Mr. Kentala asked us not to leave. Are you getting nervous too?” Osvaldo, now speaking more to distract himself, started to ease up a bit and began to comfort Elisa. Placing a hand on her shoulder in a theatrical manner, he said, “Relax. Your acting is flawless. Maybe after seeing your brilliant performance, those two investors will be fighting to invest in you.”
Glancing around, Osvaldo leaned in closer to Elisa’s ear and whispered, “I’ll tell you, in terms of both acting and appearance, you are better than Lorelei. You must seize this opportunity…”
Elisa was about to pull away when she suddenly froze. In the next moment, she saw Hamish and Finn being welcomed by the director as they walked into the room.
Whether intentional or not, the two of them had chosen to visit the set on the same day.