"Hey, Director Woods! Can you just give me a shot? Maybe like five minutes, or even just three? Please, please, please!"The door to the fancy inner room swung open while they were still arguing. Daniel poked his head out and looked all serious, asking, "What's all this noise about?"The staff were about to explain, but Stella managed to slip past the two guys and stepped forward. She said, "Hi, Director Woods! I'm Stella Jewell, the seventeenth actor auditioning. Can you let me audition too?"Daniel gave her a once-over and raised an eyebrow, asking, "I don't see any info about you in the resume pile.""I'm Stella Jewell, I'm 25, and I studied theater at Trinity Film Academy a few years back."Daniel scratched his head, "So, what plays have you been in?"Stella held her breath and admitted in a hushed tone, "Um, none, actually.""None?" Daniel looked a bit surprised. "Did you change your mind about acting after school?""Nah, it's not that," Stella paused, then went on, "After
Daniel's face turned serious as he watched Stella intently. He was impressed by how effortlessly Stella managed her expressions. Despite having many lines to remember, she memorized them all in just two minutes. Her delivery was so skillful that it didn't seem like she lacked acting experience at all.No one on set spoke until Stella finished her performance. Stella was confident, but handling every expression and line in such a short time was challenging. She did her best, and instead of commenting on her performance, Daniel exchanged hushed words with the people beside him. Then, he looked at Stella and suggested, "Why don't you try another scene?"Stella's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. She knew that if things hadn't gone well, they might have dismissed her after a short reading. A new was handed to her. As Stella looked down, she realized it wasn't the same character as before. This time, she was given the role of the third female lead, a consort.This character was a depa
Stella grabbed Felicity's wrist and said in a low voice, "We'll talk outside."After getting into the car and hearing Stella talk about what happened inside, Felicity widened her eyes."Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Daniel let you audition for the role of the beauty? Does he intend to let you play the beauty?"Stella shook her head. "I don't know. How could he let me play such an important role? Besides, hasn't someone already been cast for this role?"Felicity winded up the window."They're all rumors online. No one is sure if anyone, in particular, has been cast. Besides, Daniel isn't against casting newbies."Regardless, Stella still was not confident.On the other hand, Felicity was bursting with confidence. "Did Daniel say anything after your audition?"Stella shook her head, "He told me to leave my number. Maybe letting me audition was a spur-of-the-moment thing.""It would be great if you could play the beauty's role. But, getting the role of the fourth female lead i
Albert spoke sanctimoniously.'Others have lovers because they seek the thrill, but he's doing it because of his comatose wife. He has no choice but to look for other women since he can't satisfy himself. It's as if his actions can be justified after he changes the reason. Humans are not animals. What does he mean by biological needs? Or, are men this shameless in the face of infidelity and shirk the blame to women?' wondered Stella."If your mother was alive and well, I would've never gone to find other women. She and I went through thick and thin together to establish the company. Our relationship can't possibly be replaced by others."'If he hadn't hastily wanted to divorce my mother soon after her accident, I would have believed his nonsense! Besides, would he care if my mother's dead or alive if I weren't married to Keegan and still useful to the Jewell family? He hasn't divorced my mother only because he's pinning me down in the name of taking care of her,' Stella thought.St
"Let's grab a meal first. You can think while we eat. If you really can't remember, we'll hire a private investigator. We'll avenge your mom."Stella laughed.'If my mother were conscious, she would've fought Albert to the very end and turned the world upside down. She's someone who can't tolerate infidelity. I don't want things to get to that point; I just want to figure out who that woman is and why I find her so familiar,' she thought.The following day, Stella was woken up by her phone in the middle of her slumber.She frowned and picked up the phone. Then, she groggily said, "Hello? Who's this?""You're not awake yet, Stella?"Stella was instantly terrified by the woman's steady voice on the other end. She hastily got up from the bed and cleared her throat before she said in a low voice, "Dahlia? What's wrong?"Dahlia responded coolly, "A few of my friends are coming over today. Come over and help me entertain them."Stella was incredibly reluctant.Dahlia's friends were
"You can't make accusations like that, Mrs. Wood," said Mrs. Chapman.She intended to remind Mrs. Wood that Stella was still Dahlia's daughter-in-law, no matter what. While it was usually acceptable for them to banter around, going overboard was a little inappropriate.However, Mrs. Wood thought that Mrs. Chapman did not believe her."I'm not making accusations. Back then, one of my nephews worked at the Department of Transportation and took part in this accident's investigation. He said the car was badly damaged, and the two supposedly shouldn't be alive. After they were rescued, it turned out only her mother was badly injured while she only had some cuts."She continued, "She doesn't die easily. Women like her can easily cause the death of the people around her. They kill their husband, their sons...""Mrs. Wood!" Mrs. Chapman kicked Mrs. Wood under the table when she saw Dahlia's expression.Mrs. Wood finally realized that she had inadvertently spoken ill of Dahlia.Since Dah
Keegan snorted icily, "She doesn't have what it takes, yet she insisted on going. Letting her get the short end of the stick will teach her a lesson."Since Keegan had already made himself clear, Aldor kept quiet.It seemed like Mrs. White was somebody. When Dahlia spoke to Mrs. White, her tone was evidently more polite than when she was talking with the other two ladies. No matter the food preference or casual conversations, they all centered around Mrs. White's likings and habits.Naturally, Stella could not join their conversation. Thankfully, they ignored her most of the time, aside from their discussion about her in the beginning.Stella played her part as the person who ate and chatted with them, so things were not too difficult for her.After the ladies had their meal, they started Mah-Jongg, a tile-based game. Stella then played the part of the tea lady. She poured them tea and got them desserts.Once everything was prepared, she sat aside and spectated.The guests had n
Stella turned to Dahlia out of reflex.Dahlia indifferently said, "Mrs. White is talking to you."Stella pursed her lips."I'm not that good at it," she said.Mrs. White laughed."I like people who aren't good at it."And so, Stella took over Mrs. Wood's place and played Mah-Jongg with the three women.Mrs. White discarded a 3 of Bamboo. "I haven't seen Aurora the entire day. Where did that girl go? She's graduating this year, right?"Mrs. Chapman laughed, "Where else would she be? She must've gone to your nephew's law firm. Why don't you play matchmaker and tell your brother and his wife? After they get engaged, you and Dahlia will be considered in-laws in the future.""My sister-in-law likes Aurora. Naturally, she'll agree. As for Marshall, it's hard to say. That boy usually seems soft-spoken and easy to talk to, but he's actually very opinionated. I'm afraid we can't make decisions for him," said Mrs. White."They can bond after they get married. Didn't we go through the s