Ronald had been in a bad mood lately.
While Elisa was away, he followed his family’s advice and went on some dates with women from similarly well-off backgrounds.
But none of these girls were willing to fawn over him. Instead, they sized him up with a critical eye.
Not only did Ronald not get the emotional boost he was looking for, but he also had to pretend to be warm and charming to please them.
Back when he chose Elisa over Sarah, it wasn’t just because Sarah had “betrayed” him by suddenly leaving the country. Deep down, Ronald wanted someone to cater to him, not the other way around.
Elisa, who had admired him for years and knew when to bend, was a better fit for his needs.
He loved Sarah’s aloofness and the right amount of attitude, but he also loved how Elisa bent over backward to please him.
The moment Elisa couldn’t handle his cold, jerk-like behavior, he felt like ditching her.
But this time, Elisa called him, choking back tears, saying she really loved him and was willing to forgive anything he did.
Ronald let out a long breath.
Just as he thought, in every relationship, someone has to give in.
But Elisa had a request. She suddenly wanted to be an actress and asked Ronald if he could get her into Director Beck’s crew to play the role Sarah had landed.
Ronald had some connections with Director Beck. When Beck was struggling in his younger years, Ronald’s family gave him a bit of help.
To Ronald, it was no big deal-just a small role. He readily agreed and called Director Beck, setting up a meeting for the next day.
Elisa was thrilled.
If Sarah could switch careers thanks to her connections, Elisa figured she could do the same. In fact, she was sure she’d do it better than Sarah ever could.
Sarah was the kind of pampered princess who definitely couldn’t handle the struggles of switching careers.
But she could. Over the years, who knows how much she had to endure just to keep Ronald around?
******
The next morning, Sarah yawned as she came downstairs. She had dance training with the instructor hired by the crew, so she didn’t bother with makeup and wore a simple, loose-fitting tracksuit.
Elisa smiled from the front desk and greeted her, “Good morning, Sarah.”
Sarah felt a mix of emotions. If it weren’t for the occasional glimpses of Elisa’s inner thoughts in the original story, where it was clear that Elisa’s sweet exterior hid a more sinister side, Sarah might’ve actually thought Elisa was a decent person with all these friendly greetings.
In the original storyline, any woman who crossed paths with Elisa ended up with a miserable fate, even if they later realized their mistakes. That alone made Sarah doubt Elisa’s sincerity toward her.
Now that the plot had shifted, Elisa working as a receptionist at this hotel was something that didn’t happen in the original story.
After Sarah left, Elisa stared blankly at the door she had just walked through, lost in thought, until a sharp voice interrupted her.
“Elisa, a guest complained that you abruptly hung up on them. What’s going on? You’ve messed up several times already!”
Elisa glared at the hotel manager, calling her a “damn old hag” in her mind.
Yesterday, a guest called, but Elisa’s phone had rung at the same time-it was an HR call from a company where she’d applied.
Between the two, obviously, securing a new job was more important, so she’d hung up on the guest. She hadn’t expected the guest to complain.
To Elisa, the hotel manager was an especially bitter woman who had worked there for over ten years and constantly picked on her. If it wasn’t complaining about Elisa not logging room info properly, it was griping about her using her phone during work hours.
Back when Elisa worked at Ronald’s company, no superior had ever been this annoying.
After Sarah left, the hotel manager kept on berating Elisa. “How many mistakes have you made this month? I haven’t docked your pay yet since you’re still new, but now that a guest has complained, I’m deducting 500 bucks! If it happens again, you might as well quit!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a cold voice cut in.
“I think it’s you who should be quitting.”
The hotel manager turned around to see a young, handsome man with a not-so-friendly expression. He wasted no time issuing a threat, “Yelling at my woman like that? Looks like you don’t want to stay in this industry.”
When Elisa saw Ronald, she lit up with joy. “Ronald!”
Ronald glanced at her name tag and made a call to the higher-ups at the hotel, demanding they fire the manager and promising they’d never hire her again.
The hotel manager was stunned, looking from Ronald to Elisa.
Ronald’s face twisted in disgust. “You have an hour to pack your things and get out.”
Elisa threw herself into Ronald’s arms, feeling both relieved and triumphant.
Ronald, having just defended his woman in such a dramatic way, felt a huge boost to his ego. “I’ll take you to meet Director Beck.”
******
Director Beck’s expression was just as complicated as his feelings.
Honestly, this wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with someone trying to push an actor into his crew. But Ronald, who hadn’t even invested in his film, had the nerve to try and force his girlfriend into the cast-it left Director Beck completely speechless.
Ronald’s parents had helped him out when he was struggling, but Ronald himself hadn’t done a thing.
As a well-known director, he wasn’t some small-time hotel manager that Ronald could just bully into submission. Ronald wasn’t powerful enough to pull that off.
“Director Beck, I know it’s tough to get someone into your crew,” Ronald started, “but you did promise to repay my family. You’re not going back on your word, are you?”
Director Beck looked at Ronald with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. “Are you sure this is how you want to cash in that favor?”
Ronald nodded, full of confidence. “Of course.”
Director Beck’s expression tightened. “Alright, I can give her a role as a palace maid.”
“A palace maid?” Ronald was clearly displeased. “I heard there’s a princess role with not much screen time. Can’t you give that to Elisa?”
“A princess?” Director Beck was more shocked than Ronald. He glanced over at Elisa in disbelief. “Her?”
Honestly, if this were a TV show, squeezing Elisa in as a minor character wouldn’t be a big deal.
But this was a movie. The princess role might have few lines, but it demanded a stunning beauty-someone even more striking than the lead actress, who was an award-winning star.
Director Beck had spent months auditioning campus beauties from nearby universities and still hadn’t found the right fit.
And now Ronald wanted to hand this role to his little girlfriend?
Elisa bit her lip and looked at Ronald with tearful eyes. “Ronald, am I not good enough?”
“No,” Director Beck refused flatly. “Absolutely not. This film has high aesthetic standards, and I can’t let anyone ruin that.”
Honestly, even giving her the palace maid role was a huge favor. Plenty of well-known actors would kill for a cameo in his movie. Elisa was lucky to even get that.
It wasn’t that Director Beck was being harsh; he was just incredibly picky.
The big screen demands perfect bone structure, and even the tiniest flaws get magnified.
Elisa’s eyes had clearly been surgically enhanced, and her nose showed signs of work too-on camera, those imperfections would be ten times more obvious. She might look like a cute little beauty in person, but on screen, she wouldn’t even hold up next to the other maids.
Director Beck had full confidence in Sarah, the actress he’d personally chosen for the princess role. “The princess role has already been cast, and I’m very happy with my choice. The contract’s signed, and there’s no way I’m replacing her.”
Hearing this, Elisa was almost boiling over with frustration. She wiped her tears and ran off in a huff.
Ronald, now humiliated in front of his woman, felt utterly embarrassed. Before leaving to chase after Elisa, he shot Director Beck a look of deep disappointment. “I never thought you’d treat your benefactors like this, Director Beck.”
Then Ronald took off after Elisa.
Director Beck sipped his coffee, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe that the respected Martin family had raised a son like Ronald. Trying to leverage a family favor like this… If Ronald’s parents knew, they’d probably die of shame.
Then Director Beck remembered that today was Sarah’s first day of training with the crew. He needed to check on her progress.