Chapter 100 Acting All Virtuous

"Let me try that. Not bad, Aurora. Think you can make more tomorrow?" Emily's eyes lit up as she sipped the chicken soup. She had to admit, it was pretty darn good.

Aurora was caught off guard and replied, "I've got a scene to shoot tomorrow, so I might not have time."

"That's not gonna work. I was hoping you could come over and make some chicken soup for the kids. How about this, I'll talk to the director and push your scene back. You help out here first, okay? It's settled then." Emily decided without waiting for Aurora's response.

Aurora's jaw dropped as she looked at James. She thought he'd back her up, but to her surprise, he was already playing with the kids and Sophia, completely oblivious to what was going on.

Aurora thought, 'How is this even possible? I've been doing great all along, while Emily either yells like a banshee or hits Sophia right in front of James. Comparing the two of us, doesn't James know who's better?'

Emily: [Look at her acting all virtuous. Even if James wants to divorce me, it won't be because of you.]

Emily had long known Aurora's intentions, which is why she brought up the chicken soup to get under her skin. Emily admitted Aurora was good at pretending, something she couldn't master. But it didn't matter. Aurora was under contract, and as long as she was part of the crew, she was under Emily's thumb. Let's not forget, Emily was the boss of the studio.

"What does Emily mean?" James, clueless about her thoughts, asked quietly.

Sophia smiled, glanced at Emily and Aurora, and said, "Emily's jealous."

"Jealous?" James was taken aback. He hadn't expected Emily to be jealous because nothing had happened between him and Aurora. They were just traveling to the same place, nothing more. What was there to be jealous about?

Seeing James's expression, Sophia knew he couldn't understand a girl's mind. But this wasn't something that could be explained in a few words, so she just sighed, shook her head, and let James think whatever he wanted.

"James, what did Emily see in you back then?" Sophia suddenly felt sorry for Emily. She had a sudden feeling that James hadn't appreciated Emily's contributions to the Smith family over the years.

James was taken aback, then thought carefully and shook his head. He wasn't sure. Even when they got married, there wasn't much affection between them. It was entirely arranged by their families. If he had to guess, maybe the Smith family thought Emily was pitiful and hoped James would take better care of her.

Thinking of this, James looked at Emily. At that moment, he realized how fragile the foundation of their marriage was.

James thought, 'So when the board pressured me, I just blurted out that I wanted a divorce? I really owe Emily an apology. It's okay, I've got plenty of time to make it up to her.'

Thinking this, James smiled. Maybe his smile was contagious because a crying kid suddenly started laughing along with him.

Meanwhile, Emily was talking to Aurora about how many chickens they'd need to make soup for all the kids. Aurora looked pretty helpless, wondering how long it would take to make that much chicken soup.

Emily didn't care what Aurora thought. She'd already made up her mind. To motivate Aurora, she told the kids, "Aurora's gonna make chicken soup for everyone. Let's give her a big round of applause."

Amidst the applause, Aurora's mouth twitched. If James and Sophia weren't there, she would've torn up the contract and told Emily to shove it.

James shook his head and smiled. Sophia noticed and smiled too, seeing that James was smiling a lot more now, a big change from his usually cold demeanor.

While everyone was busy, David and Ella were rehearsing a scene. It was a scene where the male lead finally finds the second female lead, but she's already married and doesn't want to see him. One runs, the other chases. The scene was a bit too close to their own past, making it awkward for Ella to get into character.

"Ella, try to really get into the role. Don't think of it as acting; think of yourself as the character. Otherwise, it's easy to break character," David, clueless about Ella's real struggle, earnestly shared his acting tips.

Ella nodded but stayed silent. But during the next rehearsal, she still couldn't stay in character.

"Let's take a break," Ella suggested, feeling it was pointless to continue.

"No, we have to shoot soon. Your current state won't give us good results," David shook his head, refusing to take a break.

If Emily were there, she would've kicked David.

Ella thought for a moment and agreed to continue. But she still couldn't get into character.

This made David anxious. He paced back and forth, trying to figure out how to help Ella get into character. Suddenly, he realized the scene was similar to their own experiences and suggested, "Ella, think about our past. It'll help you get into character."

Ella frowned. It was thinking about their past that made her feel awkward. David really had a knack for saying the wrong things.

"Let's stop. If I can't perform well later, I'll apologize to the director," Ella said, throwing down the script and leaving David bewildered.

"Did I say something wrong?" David pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Ella being upset was a big deal to him, so he decided to throw down the script and seek advice from James and Sophia.