Chapter 483 Someone Bullying You?
"Is the director giving you a hard time again?" Isla asked, noticing Thalia's troubled expression with concern.
These past few days on set had been really rough, with them constantly getting the cold shoulder. The director was clearly making things difficult on purpose.
All the supporting roles had been filmed early on, but the female lead's scenes were saved for last.
They'd been leaving late into the night the past couple of days.
"Pass me my water bottle."
"Thalia, I heard Rainey invested in this production too. Should we give him a call?"
"You think what happens on set can be hidden from him? If he wanted to help, we wouldn't need to ask."
Since Rainey had once tried to win her favor to please William, it proved he had his ear to the ground. If he really wanted to help Thalia, they wouldn't need to say a word.
"So we just... let the director push us around like this?"
"And Mr. Brown too - now that everything's out in the open, how can he still let you be treated this way? This is just bullying!"
Thalia screwed the lid back on her thermos, wondering if William had woken up yet.
............
In the hospital room, Angelina looked at William lying in bed, her eye twitching uncontrollably.
It had been four days now. William hadn't shown up at the Celestia Group, and the shareholders were practically ready to eat her alive.
Every day, they hounded her about William's whereabouts. Documents were piling up waiting for his signature, and multiple meetings and business dinners had been postponed indefinitely.
"How many days has it been?"
"Three days."
Angelina asked, "What happened? Did Ms. Smith poison him?"
"Not exactly, more like he brought it on himself." Amara sat on the sofa, casually feeding herself slices of fruit with a knife as she told Angelina about what happened that night.
Angelina listened in shock.
She looked at William lying in bed, then at Amara. "He's lucky to be alive. Ms. Smith showed mercy."
"Right? If this hadn't happened at the Brown Mansion, he'd be dead already."
"They're quite the match!" Neither Thalia nor William was any good.
"When will he wake up?" Angelina wished William would sit up from the bed right now and go back to the office with her.
"Not sure."
Angelina thought, forget it. With William unconscious, there was no point in her staying here. "Call me when he wakes up. I'll head back to the company to deal with the mess he left behind."
"If you run into Thalia lately, remember to stay out of her way," Angelina had just turned around when Amara kindly warned her.
"What did she say to you?"
"Nothing much, just a feeling that she won't let you off the hook."
"Damn it!"
Amara sat on the sofa, crunching loudly on her apple. Watching this drama unfold was just too entertaining.
Five minutes after Angelina left, William woke up.
The moment he opened his eyes after days of being unconscious, his eyes darted around the room searching. As Amara took his temperature, she asked, "Looking for Thalia? Stop looking, she doesn't want you anymore."
"Poor thing! Some people are about to lose their wives."
"Where's Finn? Tell him to come up."
Amara called Finn in from the doorway.
"Where's Thalia?"
"She went to the set."
"But John sent a message saying Mrs. Brown isn't having an easy time on set."
Finn had been chatting closely with John, and these past few days, they'd been cursing out the director together.
"Get the car ready."
"Now?" Finn was stunned.
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
The show Thalia was filming had over a hundred different locations. Though most of the time they were in Emerald City, they frequently had to change spots. Today, they were in the suburbs of Emerald City, deep in the mountains, filming a scene where she was being hunted by enemies.
On set, the director was explaining the scene while Thalia stood nearby in a thick down jacket, listening.
"When you run out of the car in a bit, don't wear the coat. Better yet, kick off your shoes halfway through."
Thalia was speechless.
In the dead of winter, in the deep mountains, he wanted her to run barefoot?
"Got a problem with that?"
"No," Thalia shook her head.
"Go get ready! The darker it gets, the colder it'll be."
"So disgusting." As soon as Thalia got in the car, Isla couldn't help cursing.
Thalia took a sip of hot water. "Alright, be careful, someone might hear you."
They'd come this far with filming - they couldn't just quit now, could they?
"The director is such an opportunist. If we'd known, we should have leaked the news about the set fire last time."
"Opportunistic bastard."
Ten minutes later, a crew member came to get Thalia, telling her to get ready.
As soon as she got out of the car, a cold wind hit Thalia, making her shiver. She hugged her arms and walked over to the camera.
In the freezing wind, she stood in a short cocktail dress, looking at a group of thugs across from her.
"Who are you? Who sent you?"
"That's a question we'll answer after you're dead."
Seeing things going south, Thalia turned and ran. Being at the foot of the mountain, one turn took her deep into the forest.
In the mountain woods, cameras mounted in the air captured Thalia stumbling as she was chased, falling to the ground, then scrambling back up.
She didn't even check the scrapes on her palms.
When William arrived, this was the scene he saw. The person standing in the cold wind wore a black down jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, the fur swaying in the wind, forming a stark contrast with his upright posture.
Amara felt a bit chilly from the mountain wind and ducked behind William, who had just recovered from being sick.
"Is Thalia cold?"
"Where are her shoes?"
"In the dead of winter, running through the mountains in a tight short skirt - won't this kill someone?"
Seeing William arrive, Isla got out of the car with newfound courage. Hearing Amara's words, she snapped back, "It could kill someone, yeah, but even knowing that, Thalia will still do it. She works so hard, and still people want to drag her down. Don't they feel guilty?"
As she spoke, Isla huffily glanced at William.
When it came to acting, Thalia was serious about it.
She was different from those Emerald City rich kids who only knew how to enjoy wine and pleasure.
"Cut!" the director called out. The crew stopped, and Thalia, gasping for breath, leaned against a tree trunk, not yet having time to check the injuries on her hands.
A warmth fell on her shoulders - a heavy, warm down jacket. Thalia turned around, and seeing who it was, her eyes reddened. Pursing her lips, she asked, "Why did you come?"
"Came to see you. Is someone bullying you?"
"Isn't it all because of you," Thalia muttered unhappily. Things had been going fine before, but if William hadn't put her on some trending topics, would she be in this situation?
"Mr. Brown, what brings you here?"
In the hospital room, William had learned that Thalia was being bullied on set and couldn't sit still. He had Nicholas leak some information to Rainey. Just as he arrived, Rainey showed up with several investors, rushing over in a panic.
Seeing William holding Thalia - barefoot and barely dressed - in the woods, Rainey's legs went weak, and he nearly couldn't stand.
The man's hawk-like eyes slowly swept over them, sharp and full of menace. "What? I'm not allowed to come?"