Chapter 131 Chase to the Film City to Deal with Her
Thalia was rehearsing with Gregory, holding the script. This scene had no dialogue—everything depended on their eyes.
A makeup artist stood nearby, fixing her hair.
"Thalia, Gregory, the director wants you to shoot the kimono scene first."
This scene only had a few shots, from the wedding venue all the way to the bedroom, then kissing and falling onto the bed.
The second half was the exciting part—they'd undress while exchanging meaningful glances.
The distance between them, the unfamiliarity, the tension—all had to come through in their eyes.
Behind the camera, the assistant director was flattering the director: "Your arrangement is perfect, director. The feeling comes through right away."
"Thalia's acting isn't as bad as people say. In the entertainment industry, being better-looking than others is already a crime. If you're also a better actor, plenty of people will trash you."
The crew had always been skeptical about Thalia's acting.
Although she'd impressed everyone when she first worked with Andrew, Thalia had been away from the set for so long that everyone had forgotten...
"Cut, excellent."
The director led the applause. The set filled with clapping. Thalia bowed politely to everyone while picking up the clothes from the floor and handing them to Gregory.
Gregory looked at Thalia's outstretched hand, his eyes somewhat dark.
"Thanks."
Gregory returned to his chair to watch Thalia's next scene.
"Gregory, I feel like Thalia isn't what people on set say she is."
Gregory watched Thalia as she looked down at her script: "When people talk, just listen and let it go."
"Didn't Linda say Thalia was difficult to work with?"
Before they joined the production, someone had specifically come to brief them about Thalia's history.
The agent hadn't wanted Gregory to take this role, but he insisted.
"You know why Andrew ended up so miserable?"
"Why?"
"Because he listened to Linda too much."
The assistant caught the warning in his words and shut up.
"Didn't Thalia have some family emergency? Why did she suddenly come back to set? Go find out."
Twenty minutes later.
The assistant came back to gossip with Gregory: "They say last time she left because her dad was dying. This time no one knows if it's good news or bad—nobody's heard anything."
"But looking at her, it probably wasn't a bad outcome."
By the time Thalia finished shooting, it was already past midnight. After resting for a few days, the sudden intense work left her feeling dazed.
"Tired?"
Thalia leaned back in the car and glanced at Layla: "Half dead."
"Hotel or your apartment?"
"Has the apartment been cleaned?"
"Isla cleaned it this afternoon."
"Then the apartment!"
Years ago, Hayden had bought her an apartment near the film studio.
Not big, but better than a hotel.
Whenever she was filming, Layla and Isla stayed there with her.
Just a few minutes' drive from the studio.
Thalia rubbed her waist as she unlocked the door with her fingerprint. As soon as she entered, she saw Isla standing at the entrance, staring at her blankly.
"Thalia."
"What's wrong?" Thalia looked her up and down, confused.
"You got married?"
As soon as Isla said it, Thalia covered her mouth and pressed her against the wall in the entryway.
"What are you talking about?"
Isla: ......
Layla pulled at Thalia's arm, prying her hand away from Isla's mouth: "You got married at twenty-two? Are you out of your mind?"
"I didn't get married. Where did you hear I got married?"
Isla pointed toward the living room.
Thalia peeked over.........
"Ms. Smith isn't married?" William sat on the sofa, flipping through Thalia's script, his tone casual but with a hint of menace.
Thalia: ........
"Should I pull out the marriage certificate and show them?"
"Go ahead!" She didn't believe this guy carried their marriage certificate around with him.......
Thalia's words stopped abruptly when she saw William pull out the marriage certificate from his pocket.
Layla snatched the marriage certificate from William's hand, flipped through it, and when she saw their registration photo and names, she nearly had a heart attack.
"Let me make excuses... no, I mean explain."
Layla: ...."I spent three years developing you into an actress, and you just... got married?"
Thalia knew that if Layla found out about this, she'd skin her alive.
"Secret marriage, secret marriage, secret marriage."
Important things must be said three times.
........
Half an hour later.
Thalia sat on the sofa, hands and feet together, feeling Layla's murderous glare.
And William sat there with his legs crossed, watching her as if nothing had happened.
Thalia had just thought he was a decent person, and now he was causing trouble.
"You'd better keep this marriage secret to the end."
"I swear, absolutely."
Thalia was practically holding up three fingers to swear.
Seeing Thalia swear, Layla turned her attention to William—only he was left.
Clearly Layla wanted him to make a promise too.
William's lazy gaze slowly drifted over, his tone casual as he spoke: "Am I one of your artists?"
Layla choked with anger. Just as she was about to argue with William, Isla's heart jumped to her throat and she quickly pulled Layla away.
"Why are you pulling me?"
"Layla, Mr. Brown has connections everywhere. How could he possibly listen to you?"
"Be careful not to offend him, or we won't be able to survive in the entertainment industry."
Layla: "I'm so angry!"
"The actress I spent three years developing just got taken by him?"
In the living room.
Thalia grabbed a cushion from the sofa and threw it at William's head.
"What do you mean by that?"
The cushion hit William's shoulder and fell to the floor.
He reached down to pick up the cushion.
He patted it, placed it on the sofa, stood up, and walked toward Thalia while taking off his suit jacket: "I've been thinking—the surprise Ms. Smith gave me is a bit too much for me to handle. I've decided to find a way to deal with it."
Thalia watched William toss his jacket on the sofa and looked up at him: "So you came looking for me?"
William responded: "That's right."
"You want to..." Thalia, who had been so tough just moments ago, backed down now.
She shrank into the sofa, looking at William: "Do what?"
William's slender fingers brushed the stray hair on her shoulder: "Ms. Smith, everyone knows I'm a workaholic."
"So?" Thalia held her hands in front of her chest defensively.
"Work one day, rest five—that's not my style."
Thalia: ........"Mr. Brown, you really are petty and vindictive. I just said a couple of things, and you drove two hours to the film studio to get back at me?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"No..."