These days were primarily focused on shooting Elisa and Osvaldo’s scenes. The morning calls were early, but Lorelei needed her beauty sleep, so the shooting schedule was pushed to the afternoon, much to Asher’s increasing dissatisfaction, which showed on his face.
Lorelei hastily touched up her makeup and came over, only aware that the investors wanted to see her act, but unaware of the specific scene she was supposed to perform. Nervous and reluctant to ask too many questions, she glanced over at Elisa upon entering, keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact, a behavior very unlike her.
Even the careless eyes of the producer noticed that something was off, but at this moment, he had no time to spare for Lorelei. He turned to Hamish and Finn, saying, “Mr. Burns, Mr. Snearl, Lorelei is here.”
Finn casually glanced at her face, squinting as he observed her: “Interesting.”
“Let’s get started. We’ll be shooting the scene where she’s assaulted by the beggars,” he said.
“What?!” Lorelei exclaimed. Having familiarized herself with the script, she naturally knew which scene Finn was referring to.
In the original script, Birdie was almost assaulted by five or six beggars, nearly losing her virtue. Her clothes were torn and disheveled, her hair in disarray, making her look quite bedraggled.
Lorelei disdained acting out such a scene with these extras. Just the thought of their filthy hands touching her body made her skin crawl. While she had shot a similar scene before, she had used a stand-in, where it was fine to fake it.
“Don’t want to shoot?” Finn took a cigarette from his assistant and lit it, casually examining his suit for nonexistent dirt, all the while observing Lorelei’s stiff expression.
Finn’s imposing presence, combined with Lorelei’s deep-rooted fear of him, made it difficult for her to protest.
The extras were ready, dressed in beggar’s attire with dirty makeup on their faces. The makeup artist’s skill was so impressive that, at a glance, they looked like genuine beggars. Even before they approached, a faint odor emanated from them.
At this point, Asher became proactive, without needing any reminders, immediately instructing the crew to set up the equipment for the shoot. Although he hadn’t understood Lorelei before, these past few days had made him realize the kind of person she was. To say she was dedicated when she would avoid any hard work if she could get away with it. If the investors hadn’t specified this scene for her today, she would have definitely used a stand-in again in a couple of days.
“Lorelei, get ready. We’re starting soon.”
-“Action!”
With Asher’s call, Lorelei had to adjust her state. Everything seemed relaxed until she entered the set of the ancient alley.
Hamish had no interest in Lorelei’s performance, but Finn had taken the director’s position, ostensibly admiring the scene but in reality, watching previously shot scenes related to Elisa.
Hearing the commotion, Hamish hesitated for a moment before following to watch as well. Catching a whiff of the smoke wafting from Finn’s direction, he couldn’t help but cough a couple of times, finally understanding how painful it must have been for Elisa to be by his side in the past.
The assistant director handed him a glass of warm water, and Hamish took it. The Elisa in the show was quite different from reality. Despite being intimately acquainted with her, seeing her act still made him absent-minded, as if she truly were the character in the play.
Lorelei glanced over, her nose slightly wrinkled. Since she was tasked with performing, why wasn’t anyone watching her?
The scene smoothly entered its climax. The extras, playing beggars, reached out toward Lorelei, who screamed and fell to the ground.
Her voice was grating, like the annoying chirping of cicadas in the summer.
Finn squinted, almost laughing out loud. What on earth was she performing?
Although it was cringe-worthy, Finn didn’t call for a stop, and it wasn’t until the director shouted “cut” that everyone’s gaze turned to her simultaneously.
“Is this how you shoot such scenes? The female lead’s performance is so terrible that I almost regret investing in this,” Finn criticized.
The producer felt a pang of anxiety and shot a slightly resentful look at Lorelei before explaining to Finn, “Mr. Snearl, Lorelei may not be in the best condition today. Would you like to see a different scene?”
“No,” Finn said, reclining in his chair nonchalantly. “I want to see this scene today. We’ll keep shooting and reshooting until I’m satisfied. I’ll foot the bill for any losses incurred by the production, Mr. Kentala, let’s continue.”
Asher also felt that the previous scene hadn’t been acted well. Since they were going to reshoot, and someone was footing the bill, it was a good opportunity to push Lorelei a bit.
The makeup artist quickly tidied up Lorelei’s makeup, giving her no chance to catch her breath. Lorelei gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her flesh without her even noticing. She was forced to reenact the scene again and again, constantly interrupted by Finn.
“Again, the slap wasn’t loud enough.”
“You didn’t spit on her face.”
“It seems like you held back, why didn’t you even scream?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t scream, but her voice had already gone hoarse. Lorelei was in a sorry state, having actually been slapped a few times. With the temperature still hovering around 35 degrees Celsius in the middle of summer, Lorelei was drenched in sweat, her long hair sticking to her back as she reapplied her makeup for the scene.
Everyone could see that Finn was intentionally making things difficult for Lorelei. Those watching couldn’t help but furrow their brows at Lorelei’s appearance, finding it somewhat peculiar. After all, Lorelei was considered a prominent actress. How could she endure being targeted like this by Finn?
It wasn’t that Lorelei could endure it, but that she had no choice. This humiliation was nothing compared to the torment Finn had put others through. When Elisa was under his control, she had nearly become a wreck and close to losing her mind.
Lorelei had no choice but to reenact the scene repeatedly until Finn was satisfied.
Whispers began to spread among the onlookers.
“Weren’t the investors supposed to have backed this film because of Lorelei? Why does it not seem like it at all?”
“Lorelei even tacitly accepted the advances of the investors at the opening banquet. Such a unique way of pursuing someone, not something the average person can experience.”
“How shameless. Her nerve must be thicker than a city wall, right?”
Osvaldo clicked his tongue, finding it difficult to watch Lorelei’s reddened face. He murmured to Elisa, “It’s a good thing it’s not a scene with us. If it were me… I probably would have walked off the set. I couldn’t bear such insult.”
Elisa remained silent, but she couldn’t help but think. At this point, for Lorelei to endure this, she wasn’t sure whether to call her foolish or to commend her for being able to adapt.
However, one thing Elisa couldn’t understand was why Finn was targeting Lorelei. Was it to seek revenge for “her”?
Elisa scoffed. Was all this effort worth it now that “she” was gone? These two really were brothers, only realizing the value after losing it.
She glanced over casually, but Finn immediately caught her gaze.
Finn wasn’t as patient as Hamish. He had come today with a specific purpose: to take Elisa away.
“Bring Elisa over here. Have her sit next to me,” he commanded.
Hamish traced the rim of his glass with his finger, his expression dark. He had always been tolerant, his emotions not easily discernible, but Tobias, standing beside him, knew that he was suppressing his anger at the moment.
Hamish had many regrets, one of which was not accepting the stand-in Finn had sent to his bed in the past. If he had kept that stand-in by his side from the beginning, perhaps Elisa would still be with him now. She wouldn’t be so close yet unreachable, and they wouldn’t be in this awkward love triangle.
Finn’s voice could be heard by everyone around, including Elisa, who had hidden herself in a corner. She didn’t move, but the person standing next to her was more excited than she was.
“Elisa, the investors want to see you.” There was a sourness in Osvaldo’s tone.
Osvaldo noticed Elisa’s increasingly distressed expression and began to feel worried.
Elisa knew she couldn’t avoid it today. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to get away later and quickly sent a “help” message to Louis.
“I’m having trouble on set. Send someone to get me out of here.”
After hastily sending the message, she put her phone down.