Butler Ted said, “No, that’s not even Mr. Holden’s main gig. Don’t you know, the wealthiest people usually dabble in multiple fields?”
Sarah sighed, “I can’t even imagine that.”
Just like her, she could only dream of being a domestic film queen and never even thought of aiming for an Oscar.
But honestly, Holden was pretty incredible.
It made sense why the author didn’t let him be the male lead. If he were, what kind of business rival would he have?
How could they write about his competitors trying to trip him up when the clever female lead always figured it out?
With millions of words of love and hate in the original text, how would they even unfold that?
The male lead in a melodramatic sweet-and-sour story needed to be smart but act clueless in everyday life, failing to see how the female supporting character was undermining the female lead, and missing the villain’s manipulations.
He also had to be fickle, going from loving the female lead to being with the female antagonist, and then trying to set up arranged marriages for family reasons, only to run away for love.
Holden would probably just smirk at such a series of “wise” moves.
If Holden were the male lead, the story would lose at least half of its plot.
Without the ability to write compelling scenes, the author couldn’t create filler content, and without filler, the author wouldn’t make money, and without money, the author couldn’t eat.
So, keeping Holden as a mysterious big shot who occasionally lends a helping hand to the male lead Ronald was the best choice for the readers to enjoy the plot while allowing the author to earn a living.
It was no wonder Holden was so busy.
In the novel, Ronald’s daily life revolved around being misled by the vicious female antagonist, misunderstanding Elisa, clearing things up, and then putting the antagonist in her place while switching up scenes with Elisa.
Meanwhile, Holden was all about company-private jet-business trips-meetings-private jet-home.
Comparatively, Ronald seemed more like the typical male lead.
Butler Ted had a good idea for Sarah, “Lady, you should ask Mr. Holden for help. If he threatens to stop advertising, Elisa and all her nonsense would have to go!”
Sarah was taken aback, “…” Do you realize your boss is the shield for the protagonist group?
Sarah, as the villain, was trying to goad Mr. Holden into taking down the protagonist he was protecting. Did she really want her own ending to be even more tragic?
Plus, Holden was just her nominal husband.
Did she really believe she could get the big guy to help her with just a word?
Sarah thought the situation wasn’t completely hopeless.
Turning public opinion around wouldn’t be as simple as using capital to crush her foes. It had to come from her own shine, even without the lead characters’ protective halos.
The world in the book was still a real one. The pain was real, and emotions were real.
Even Butler Ted, who barely got mentioned, was a lovable old guy.
Maybe-
Just maybe-she could break free from the curse of the ending?
Crystal logged off after finishing her dungeon run to grab lunch.
Sarah stretched and got up from the sofa, asking, “How about we grill some meat for lunch?”
******
Elisa looked at her phone, looking more irritated than ever.
Even though the audience watching the variety show loved her and kept bashing Sarah and her friends, Elisa wasn’t happy at all.
She knew that in this industry, it ultimately came down to one’s work.
Sarah had performed exceptionally well in Director Beck’s film, and with her looks and acting skills, she was bound to attract attention in the future.
The more success Sarah had, the more anxious Elisa became.
She expected Sarah to react to the online backlash with explanations and rebuttals, but instead, Sarah didn’t respond at all-not even a tweet.
Elisa could sense that the online outrage had died down over the past couple of days.
Elisa had quickly gained over a million followers after starting her Twitter account, bringing her some financial benefits she wouldn’t have to secretly ask Ronald for anymore.
To provoke Sarah, she had deliberately posted a photo of herself holding hands with Ronald, which sparked a flurry of sweet comments.
However, one comment caught her eye, “This is a cooking show. Can we not keep bringing up your school and dating drama? Everyone’s met a girl of my dreams or two in school; mentioning it just makes you seem jealous.”
That comment felt like a sharp needle piercing Elisa’s heart. She clicked on the commenter’s profile, half-hoping it was a fake account for Sarah, but it was just an ordinary girl who liked sharing her daily life.
Filled with malice, Elisa replied politely, “Sorry, I’ll be more mindful in the future. Thanks for your feedback!”
The girl was surprised by her friendly tone and quickly responded, “Oh, it’s fine! I just hope the show sticks to its theme.”
But soon, an army of trolls swarmed in, “You ugly hag, how dare you comment on Elisa, the fairy? If you don’t like it, just don’t watch!”
“I checked out your profile, and you look like a pig. Elisa would be jealous of that bully? Laughable; it seems like you’re the one jealous of Elisa!”
“We love this gossip, so if you don’t, just get lost!”
“…”
Watching the comments tear into that girl, Elisa smirked coldly.
She had hired a dedicated assistant and looked down from her high chair as the assistant returned. “Did you call? What did Director Colby say? I’m introduced by Ronald; he wouldn’t just ignore me, right?”
The assistant looked awkward. “Director Colby said they don’t take anyone through connections; if Mr. Ronald isn’t willing, he could just withdraw funding. They have plenty of investors.”
Elisa had gained fame from her variety show, but that fame didn’t impress big directors. Not only would she not get cast, but she wouldn’t even get an audition.
“However, two small drama productions reached out. They’re not for lead roles…”
Elisa bit her lip. “Fine, agree to it for now.”
She was determined to get work and make sure Sarah never caught up to her.