The next day, Mona followed Sophie to the audition. The audition was rather quiet since it was being held in private. Sophie and Mona waited for their turn outside the room. She already got the part because of Thaddeus, but she still had to win Giordan’s approval. Giordan was a director with a specific taste, and he had many requirements for his shows. The actors and actresses must all match his expectations. Even if Mona got the lead role with Thaddeus' money, if she could not act or did not live up to Giordan's expectations, the show would not go on. Mona was given a part to act and she was practicing on her own. It was a minor scene in the show. Although Mona had no idea why Giordan picked this scene which was not much of a challenge, she took it seriously and started to get into character. An hour later, the door opened. One of the staff popped his head out and called Mona in. Mona got up. She gave Sophie the script. Sophie calmly said, “Do your best.” She cross
Mona added her own flair on a detail. She picked up some props prepared by the production staff and sat by the rock. With a piece of charcoal in hand, she scrawled a few lines on a leaf before tossing it into an open flame. Athena and Theo watched the bonfire together, and Athena’s gaze trailed the highest peak of the smoke. The actor playing Theo cocked his head to look at Athena’s side profile, surprised by the tears streaming down her smiling eyes. At no point in the script was Athena depicted to weep. However, Mona played such powerful emotions that tugged at the co-star’s heartstrings. Theo reached out and curled his arm around Athena without making any physical contact. It was as if Athena and Theo were happily embracing each other. Since they had their own crosses to bear, Theo was letting his stance known to Athena in his own way. Not one to show emotions, Athena was shedding tears of joy for once, and Theo vowed to preserve her fragile happiness. Mona closed her eye
“It’s utter perfection!” Giordan’s hands were sore from clapping. The others whispered praises among themselves. Truth be told, Mona’s audition knocked them out of the park. Mona bought her way into the production team and found fame through a photo on the runway. Like other hyped-up influencers, she had nothing to show except the knack for doing publicity stunts. At least, that was everybody’s first impression of her. Now, everything they knew about Mona was thrown out the window. It was bizarre to the judges that they had gotten the completely wrong idea about Mona. Giordan emerged from the panel and walked across the room in strides before putting his hand out to Mona. “Hello, I am Giordan Capullaci. Let me be the first to welcome you on board Athena’s Legend’s production team.” Mona took Giordan’s hand, feeling the tremble in the tips of his fingers. Holding his hand tightly, she returned a warm smile and spoke in a raspy voice, “It’s an honor to be able to work togethe
For a moment, the hashtags on Athena’s Legend, Mona Ortega, and the female lead went viral all over Twitter.Opinions varied about Giordan’s unconventional approach to his return to showbiz. He gave a leading role to an influencer, who had not been known to the world for more than a month, with no accomplishment under her belt. The public even went so far as to make assumptions that the production team was on a tight budget to afford an A-list actor. The best the production team could do was a nobody. Amidst the doubtful voices, Mona’s had supporters standing behind her, refuting the disapproving claims. Both parties stood their ground and jumped at each other’s throats. Mona took a fleeting glance at the fiery comments before turning off Twitter to shut off the noise. Sitting by the window, Mona spread the script on her lap. She was accompanied by blue skies and turquoise waters. The white noise of the seagulls’ calls and waves slapping against the shore worked best than anythi
Mona asked Sophie in disbelief, “That’s insane. Where did I get that kind of money for investment?” She joined showbiz to make money, not to throw money around like a sucker. “Mr. Fontaine put a hundred million dollars in the company account when the office was established.” Mona was speechless. She believed that launching the office would require funds, but it never crossed her mind that Thaddeus would be willing to put that much money into it. Concerned that the newfound information would put a lot of pressure on Mona, Sophie explained, “You got a part on the TV show, and you’re also putting money into the production. There are two outcomes to this. Your good acting will double the investment, but there goes the money if the TV show is a flop.” Sophie patiently made the whole thing clear to Mona who quickly weighed the pros and cons in her mind. “It’s not a bad idea.” In fact, it worked out perfectly for Mona. She would be earning big bucks if the TV show was a success,
Unable to get a word out of Thaddeus, Maria stopped interfering in his business. Thaddeus asked Maria about what Mona had been up to lately. After Maria answered his question, he dismissed Maria back to the kitchen. The man took strides to the entrance leading to the backyard and opened the door. He drew close to Mona who was sitting on a white rocking bench. With downcast eyes, he looked at Mona and asked, “Are you cold?”Mona was irritated as the man would not shut up. He would not stay out of her business, and it was suffocating. Seeing that she was still sulking, the man bent over and picked Mona up to sit with her on the bench. Mona tensed her body as the man pressed the back of her head toward his chest. She could barely breathe buried under all that skin. Clenching her fists, she started to pound Thaddeus on the shoulders. He refused to let her go despite the multiple blows he sustained. Nevertheless, he released the intensity of his grip to allow her some breathi
The man’s gaze fell on Mona. From the brief eye contact, Thaddeus was brought back to the past when Mona had been simple and innocent. Back then, he had picked her up from the road and brought her home. Barely dressed, she had sat on the edge of the bathtub and crossed her legs. Her toes were curled up, and her clear eyes read of fear and reliance. Standing there, he looked at her and could tell that from then on, he had become the woman’s whole world. It was a memory that often played in his mind. As time went on, those eyes were no longer clear enough for him to read her mind again. Mona had since then played mind games with him. Gathering her thoughts, Mona picked her head up and propped against Thaddeus’ shoulders to stand up. Just as the man found her unfathomable, Mona stared at the man, who had been missing for a few days, and found him a stranger. The pair sat in silence as an invisible distance grew between them. Yet, they were powerless to stop the distance from
“So, you’re saying that I should just give in to your needs?” Gritting his teeth, Thaddeus fixated on Mona’s tiny waist. The only thing on his mind was to pick her up and give her a good spanking. Mona innocently blinked and took a bite out of the banana before turning her attention back to the cringy TV show playing on TV. Thaddeus gnashed his teeth as Mona managed to awaken the beast within him. With a brooding look, he got up and approached her like a wolf locked onto its prey. Thaddeus took strides toward Mona and held her up by the waist. Feeling the world spinning, Mona soon found herself hanging off the man’s wide shoulders. The banana dropped from her grasp. “Put me down, Thaddeus!” Thaddeus hoisted her all the way to the bedroom upstairs. The man’s eyes burned with a vengeance. “How long will you be away at production? Huh?” he hissed through clenched teeth. “A month!” Mona bit the man’s shoulder. It would be a great month because she would not have to fa