From Fan to Wife(7)

9

Jaden, Quade, and I walked in silence.

Quade asked me inadvertently, "Natalie, what were both of you doing in the dressing room?"

I lowered my head and answered without hesitation, "We were changing clothes."

After saying that, I snapped back to my senses. When I looked up, I caught sight of Quade's darkened expression. I could not explain myself any further.

Ever since I found Quade sleeping with another woman five years ago, no matter what I had thought about him in the past, I knew it would be impossible for us to be together.

Now, he was only my film director.

That was it.

Seeing that I did not say anything, Quade looked intently at me.

Jaden was in a good mood. He smiled and said, "Of course, you change your clothes in the dressing room. Some things can only be done at home."

Quade looked even grimmer.

Back in the studio, the three of us had different expressions. Only Suzette got excited when she saw me and Jaden all dressed up.

"You look like the hero and heroine from the book."

Quade's breathing got heavier. He cast a glance at Jaden and me. "Natalie, you can begin."

The lights around us suddenly dimmed.

"Bewitching Concubine" was the story of Wenna, who lived a very short life.

Wenna was a first-rank female official in the royal court. During the years of the reformation, her family was framed. Their assets were confiscated, and the entire family was sentenced to death for treason. However, Wenna managed to escape.

In order to find out the truth, Wenna became a concubine of the king. She quickly rose among the ranks of her fellow concubines because of her good looks.

The seventh scene of the film was with Wenna's former fellow official in the court, the third prince. Yahir was beginning to doubt her identity and had sneaked into her bedroom at midnight to test her.

I leaned lazily on the couch. When I noticed someone approaching me from behind, I gave a faint smile.

"Why are you here in the middle of the night? Aren't you afraid that your father, the king, will come to know about it?"

The man's breath suddenly got heavier. The air seemed to stagnate in the room.

Yahir spoke in a cool tone after a long while.

"You are Wenna."

Shocked, I covered my mouth and laughed. The golden hairpin on my head rustled as my head moved.

I turned around to face Yahir.

"You're so brash and blunt. That has always been your style."

The third prince's pupils contracted, and his eyes darkened.

I got up from the couch and slowly walked toward him barefoot. Resting my face on his chest, I called out softly, "Yahir."

Only Wenna would call him Yahir.

Yahir's body stiffened, and he panted heavily. His hands were trembling as he uttered a sentence with much difficulty.

"You're not dead."

My eyes darkened, and I pushed him away gently. Looking at my fellow official, there was a trace of indescribable charm in my eyes. I grabbed his shirt and breathed lightly into his ear.

"It's me. I'm Wenna, the one who was sentenced to death together with my family. I'm not dead. Are you happy to know that, Yahir?"

"What are you trying to do?" Yahir shouted.

I raised my eyebrows and traced his shirt with my finger. I smiled seductively at him. "What do you think I'm trying to do?"

He pursed his lips and grabbed my hand. "You know what I mean."

He paused and said in a low voice, "Isn't it enough to kill those who framed you? Why did you kill Mr. Larson? He didn't do anything to you."

My expression remained unchanged, but my hand was a little cold. I said calmly, "It was an accident."

Yahir looked at me in disbelief.

I stretched out a hand and smiled at him. My fair and slender fingers were glowing under the candlelight.

"Yahir, do you know that once my hands are stained with blood, I can never go back? At this point, I would rather err on the side of caution. I would rather kill them all than make a mistake."

"Wenna, you're crazy."

Hearing this, I stared at him gloomily and said, "Yes, I'm crazy."

I suddenly pounced on Yahir and caught him off-guard. I sat on him, staring at his stunned expression. I ripped off my clothes, revealing a large area of my chest. My skin looked more provocative with those hideous-looking scars.

He looked at the bruises on my collarbone, which were a result of being tortured. His pupils suddenly dilated. "You..."

He stopped talking and did not finish his sentence.

I lowered my head and nibbled at his throat.

"Do you want to go crazy together with me?"

10

Jaden, who was pressed to the ground by me, was stunned for a moment. He looked at me quietly and swallowed hard.

I pretended to be calm and got up from him, trying to keep my confused feelings in check. Addressing the crowd, I said aloud, "My performance is over."

The script did not mention anything about nibbling his throat or the last line I said.

I added them to the scene myself.

The scene flashed across my mind.

Jaden's eyes were red, and he looked perplexed. He appeared to be surprised and hurt at the same time. There was even a tinge of jealousy. His gaze was about to burn me alive.

He had never looked at me so passionately when we were not filming.

A terrible feeling came upon me.

"Did you nip at it the last time?" Jaden deliberately lowered his voice as he inched closer to me.

I was stunned, but I immediately realized what he was talking about. He was referring to my performance during the audition, when I nipped at his collarbone without flinching at all.

I blushed and nodded. "Yes."

Jaden's eyes suddenly lit up. Then he seemed to think of something again and frowned slightly.

After some hesitation, he asked, "You bit me just now. The last time did you..."

I knew what he was going to say.

"I didn't bite him there. Quade and I didn't do anything that night. We were just acting out a scene together. I finished acting out the entire scene for the audition alone."

After saying that, I looked up at Jaden and saw the joy in his eyes. He had fallen into a stupor.

At that moment, my thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice.

"Natalie Yates, you are amazing!"

Jaden's girlfriend stood up from her seat and clapped.

"I like your performance very much. You're so natural and full of emotion. You are the Wenna in my book."

She was so excited that she sounded incoherent.

I turned to look at Jaden in surprise.

So his girlfriend was a top scriptwriter from Splendor Corp. She was Suzette Johnston, the author of "Bewitching Concubine."

According to the grapevine, Suzette came from a wealthy family, and she wrote scripts as a hobby.

Suzette always kept a low profile and was a mysterious personality. No reporter had managed to photograph her.

I remembered that the internet said that she was 28 years old.

While it was common for some actresses to conceal their age, her age really did not match how she looked.

Suzette came over and stared at me excitedly for a long time. A trace of determination flashed in her eyes. She then removed the fur coat she was wearing and placed it in my hand.

"This fur coat has been with me for many years. There is only one piece in the world. I'm giving it to you now."

She patted me on the shoulder and said, "Continue to work hard. I think you will have a bright future."

As I sensed her sincerity, my heart began to feel heavy.

She actually liked my performance.

She even gave me her treasured fur coat.

I lowered my head and clutched the fur coat tightly as if it weighed a ton.

I felt embarrassed and remorseful, thinking of how I had bitten Jaden's throat earlier.

Unable to tolerate my own behavior, I suddenly looked up and said in a trembling voice, "Do you have five minutes? I have something to tell you."

Without waiting for anyone to react, I quickly pulled her into the dressing room.

I took a deep breath as I closed the door. "I'm sorry!"

Suzette looked confused.

I lowered my eyes and hugged the fur coat in my arms as if I was mustering all my courage.

"I didn't want to tell you this. After all, it's so shameful to sleep with someone else's boyfriend. However, I cannot forgive myself."

I continued, "I promise you I won't have anything to do with Jaden in the future!"

After saying that, I closed my eyes.

Although I said it with a huge resolution, my heart still sank.

Suzette's expression changed. "You can't do that!"

This time, I was the one who was stunned. I gave her a puzzled look.

She was so magnanimous that I could not believe my ears.

Suzette pursed her lips, and a trace of hesitation flashed in her eyes.

After a while, she continued, "Forget it. I'll be honest with you. We've already decided on Jaden as the male lead all this while. The contract has already been signed. Your performance in the audition this morning was excellent. We should cast you as the female lead if nothing goes wrong. You'll have a lot of scenes together in the future. We'll be filming for six months. How can you not have anything to do with him?"

I was stunned.

It suddenly dawned upon me that if Jaden was not the male lead for Bewitching Concubine, he would be one of the judges for the audition today.

"Wait a minute!" Suzette seemed to suddenly realize something. "From what you said just now, did you think that Jaden is my boyfriend?"

I saw the surprise in her eyes and swallowed unconsciously hard. "Isn't he?"

"Of course not!" She blurted out, "Didn't you read the news on the internet? I made a public announcement on May 20. Caleb is my boyfriend."