“Cut! George, what is wrong with you today? Are you scared to hit her?” Director Tim was discontented with the fight scene George was performing. He would sluggishly feign a punch, and when hit, he would lazily fall down, making it seem like amateurish acting.
That’s because Ivy was the one he was supposed to hit.
“Let’s try again, and this time, make it look real. I don’t have to teach you how to act…” Director Tim snarled and slumped on his throne-like chair.
“Act 2, scene 224, Action!”
It was the scene where Donna and her partner were having a sparring session.
“Come at me,” he gestured with his hands, bouncing up and down. Before he knew it, a jab landed on his jaw, and he fell to the ground, wincing in pain.
“Cut!” Director Tim stood up immediately in shock. “Ivy, that punch was too heavy. Do you want to send him to the hospital?”
“Served him right,” Ivy muttered with a smug smile. George had been winking at her since the beginning of the scene, and it disgusted her.
George stood up after recovering from the punch. “That was a hard one,” he said, grazing his jaw, still feeling the pain from the impact. He never expected her to use so much force.
She smirked. “You are lucky your face is still in one piece.”
George definitely didn’t expect the nonchalant Ivy to get back at him for pestering her in such a way.
He could only exhale deeply and bear the pain from the punch.
Director Tim sighed. “Let’s try again.”
“Act 2, scene 224, Action.”
This time, George refused to make the same mistake. He swiftly dodged Ivy’s incoming punches and pinned her down to the ground forcefully. “You’ve grown weak,” he gripped her neck and feigned slamming her face to the ground. “Is this all you got?”
“No,” she sprang up from the ground, releasing herself from his grip, and also slammed his face on the ground. Unfortunately for George, she didn’t feign the violence; it was real.
“Ah!” The shrieking sound made the scene come to an abrupt end.
“CUT! George, are you alright?” In a panic, Director Tim and some others rushed over to George. “Is he bleeding?” Director Tim asked, worried. They helped him stand, checking to see if he was badly hurt.
While they were frantically checking him out, Ivy was just standing there with her arms crossed, with the same smug look on her face.
George lifted his face, gritting his teeth. Pain surged through him, but luckily there was no blood. Director Tim breathed a sigh of relief; he initially thought he was bleeding. He returned to his chair and rested his hand on his chin. “Let’s take a break for a few minutes.”
Everyone dispersed, including George. He held his jaw, watching Ivy walk away nonchalantly as if she didn’t do what she did intentionally.
“That woman…” He huffed, pissed off by the stunt she displayed. Wasn’t she supposed to feign the violent scene? Instead, she made it look extremely real to punish him for winking at her. He was even surprised his nose didn’t bleed.
“George, are you alright?” Concern was written all over Anna’s face. When she saw Ivy slam him down, she grew worried. She lifted her hand to touch his face, but George slapped her hands away. “I’m fine.” He sounded angry, and Anna understood he wanted to be left alone. “I’ll let you recover.”
She left George and ran after Ivy. “Ivy, wait up.”
Ivy stopped when she heard her voice.
“What was that?” Anna frowned. “Why did you hurt him on purpose?”
Ivy shrugged. “Because he deserved it.”
Anna looked at her incredulously. “What? How did he deserve that?”
“Anna, to be honest, he is a pervert,” Ivy replied. Even though Anna was told, he was a flirt over and over again, she still wouldn’t believe or accept that fact.
“Why would you say that?” Anna inquired in disbelief. “He is not…”
“Anna, let’s just end this conversation, alright,” she cut her off before she naively defended him.
Director Tim announced the commencement of the next scene. But before the scene started, he cautioned. “Ivy, please, I don’t want you killing him in the name of acting. Take it easy, okay.”
Ivy nodded. “That’s if he behaves.”
The clapperboard sounded and they began.
It wasn’t an intense fight scene, so it didn’t take that long to conclude. At 10 PM, filming was wrapped up. They all had a fourteen-hour turnaround, and Ivy planned on getting enough rest. After changing out of her costume, the bothersome George appeared before she could leave the set.
Ivy was fed up with his constant bugging. The expression on her face clearly stated she was disinterested in whatever he wanted to say, yet he still pressed on. “You know what I want from you.”
“Yeah, the thing stuck in between my legs,” she spat.
George was short of words. They never got along since they met, no matter how hard he tries to get close to her, she always repels him.
“I really like you, Ivy,” he confessed.
“Are you stupid?” Clearly, he was, but she just wanted to make him aware. “I’m married.”
He scoffed. “To an old man.”
Zack Anderson? Old?
She took a deep breath to suppress her anger. “Did you just call my husband an old man?”
“Yeah, he is old. He is useless to you. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“Useless…” Those words pricked her. Her anger was filling to the brim. Ever since she was betrayed by Irene and Dave, she was usually good at controlling her emotions, but now her control was slowly slipping. “Repeat what you just said, and I’ll make you regret it.”
Zack Anderson? Useless?
If he was referring to the man who had saved her multiple times, then she was ready to release the bind and lash out at him.
George chuckled. “Come on, you know he’s useless to you. Money isn’t everything.”
PAK!
Ivy didn’t hold back; she slapped him across the face.
George’s eyes widened in surprise. “Did you just slap me?”
“I’ll give you another one so you can believe I slapped you.” Ivy replied abruptly and turned around to walk away, but George grabbed her wrist.
“Let go of my wrist,” Ivy said sternly, but his grip tightened instead. She tried to free herself, but it was difficult. “Let go!”
George smiled, satisfied seeing the way she was struggling. “I won’t let you go.” After he said this, his eyes caught a glimpse of someone. He refused to believe who he saw, but when his eyes confirmed who he saw, his heart skipped a beat, slowly shattering his doubt.
“Z… Z… Z… Z…..