Sarah pressed her hands over her ears in frustration.
Holden walked over and gently pulled her hands away. “Just because you can’t hear it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
To be honest, Holden really thought Sarah’s taste in men was terrible. Ronald was a total jerk
Sarah felt a tightness in her chest, a discomfort she couldn’t quite shake. She thought about how the original Sarah would probably be heartbroken hearing those sounds from the next room.
Ronald was doing this on purpose to hurt her.
But that wasn’t what made Sarah upset. What bothered her was that despite everything she’d been through-the hardships, the bullying when she was a newcomer in her old world-she thought she’d learned enough to avoid these situations. Yet here she was, going through something similar all over again.
Maybe she really was unlikable, just as her former manager had said-too proud, too unwilling to bend, destined to only land small roles for the rest of her life.
But that feeling of weakness lasted only a moment. As soon as it passed, she was ready to keep pushing forward.
Sarah blinked and called out, “Mr. Holden?”
Holden gently held her chin, his thumb brushing over her soft lips. “This is the first time I’ve seen you so upset.”
If anyone else had gotten this close or tried to touch her face like that, Sarah would have been uncomfortable. But Holden was different.
Whatever he did seemed natural, like it was just the way things were supposed to be. Nothing he did bothered her.
Feeling her lips start to ache a bit under his touch, Sarah lightly grabbed his hand and moved it away. “Mr. Holden, I’m already feeling miserable. Can you please spare me the teasing?”
A flash of cold anger passed through Holden’s mind, though his voice remained as calm and gentle as always. It was impossible to tell that this was the last bit of restraint before he unleashed a storm.
“You love him that much?”
Sarah sighed, “You wouldn’t understand.”
It was like the ocean not understanding the little blades of grass clinging to a cliff.
Holden pinched her cheek gently. “Yeah, I don’t understand. I just know that if you make me unhappy, I’ll make Ronald go bankrupt.”
Sarah blinked, surprised. “Huh?”
So he’s not docking her pay after all? Does that mean she gets to keep her twenty million next month?
But to avoid raising Holden’s suspicion, she quickly added, “Don’t do that, he’s innocent.”
Holden chuckled. Innocent or not, he didn’t care. All he knew was that anyone who made him feel this way wouldn’t have a happy ending.
The hotel’s soundproofing was really terrible.
Today, Ronald seemed to be in a foul mood, and his lovemaking with Elisa looked particularly… uh, intense.
With all her years of reading novels, Sarah couldn’t help but feel a little awkward as she and Holden listened in on their conversation through the wall.
She tried to push Holden off a bit, saying, “You’re squishing me, you know? I’m about to be flattened.”
Holden, standing well over six feet with solid muscle, wasn’t exactly light.
Sarah’s body, despite eating a lot, didn’t gain much weight. Besides having some curves, she was slim all over, so having him pressing down on her was pretty uncomfortable, especially in such an awkward situation.
The weather had been a bit muggy lately, with the air full of the scent of rain, and after a long day, Sarah felt grimy. She decided to take a shower and then asked Holden, “Did you bring a change of clothes? What are you gonna wear to bed?”
Holden replied casually, “Didn’t bring any. My assistant will bring them in the morning.”
Sarah looked at him. “Are you really gonna sleep in what you’re wearing now? There’s a store next to the hotel that sells pajamas.”
Holden, still nonchalant, said, “You running errands for me?”
“Well … Running errands is pricey,” Sarah paused before offering, “I can go with you.”
She didn’t know his clothing size. And besides pajamas, he’d probably need to change his underwear, too. The noise next door didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon, so getting out for a bit might be a good idea. Maybe it’d be quiet when they got back.
Sure enough, when they returned, the room was finally peaceful.
Since Sarah had to be on set early the next morning, she wanted to get some sleep. She showered first and came out to dry her hair, then Holden went in.
Something felt off about the whole situation-maybe it was because they were at a hotel without Butler Ted and the usual staff around.
Sarah couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. It almost felt like she and Holden were having a fling in some random hotel.
Sarah shook her head, telling herself not to overthink it. Holden was so picky that even if he did have a fling, he’d never settle for anything less than a five-star hotel.
A little while later, Holden came out in a bathrobe.
Sarah handed him the hairdryer. “It’s broken-it only blows cold air. You have to hold this button down the whole time, or it won’t work.”
Holden replied, “You do it.”
Sarah sighed, “… Alright.”
For the sake of those twenty million bucks, why not?
She climbed onto the bed, one hand resting on Holden’s shoulder as she dried his hair.
When she finished, she put the hairdryer aside and crawled into bed. “I have to be on set early tomorrow. Mr. Holden, if you wake up first, make sure to wake me up too.”
Holden had been sleeping very little lately, as usual. Sarah, however, had a way of lulling him to sleep; she drifted off quickly, slipping into a deep sleep within ten minutes. Holden closed his eyes too.
The next morning, Sarah was at the set, munching on her sandwich and milk in a quiet corner.
Elisa showed up even though she didn’t have any scenes today, bringing coffee and snacks for everyone.
Most of the crew loved Elisa for her warm, girl-next-door vibe. Compared to her, Sarah, with her striking looks and aloof demeanor, seemed like a cold and pretentious diva. Elisa was always thoughtful, bringing snacks and checking in on everyone, while Sarah only ever brought food for herself and never showed any concern for the others.
So it was no surprise that everyone preferred Elisa.
But today, Elisa knew she was in the wrong, so she didn’t dare go near Sarah. Sarah looked pretty upset, and Elisa was worried she might actually get slapped.
Because of that text from last night, the movie star now thought Sarah was just trying to sleep her way to the top, and he wasn’t treating her kindly.
His attitude toward Sarah was eerily similar to how his character felt about the princess in the movie. Being an award-winning actor, his performance was top-notch, making it almost too much for Sarah to handle.
Yes, almost.
“Cut,” Director Beck called out, watching the playback of the long take with genuine surprise.
He hadn’t expected a newbie like Sarah to hold her own against such an intense performance from the Movie King.
At first, seeing the Movie King’s performance, Beck thought they’d have to shoot multiple takes because Sarah might get overshadowed. But she nailed it in one go.
The Movie Queen didn’t have any scenes with Sarah, but she’d been on set these past few days. Most people found the Movie Queen difficult to work with, saying she had a bad temper and was a diva, so they avoided her. Sarah hadn’t interacted with her either.
After the scene ended, though, the Movie Queen was impressed and approached Sarah to chat. “You’ve got some talent, kid. Signed with any agency yet?”
Director Beck shot the Movie Queen a cold look. Another one trying to poach talent.