Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Olivia put the contract away and said coolly, “Remember how you’re feeling right now. The female lead in the show is just as two–faced–just act exactly like you are now.”
“How dare you insult me?!” Chloe was fuming.
Olivia gave her a half–smile. “I’m actually complimenting you. Your acting style is perfect for short dramas–over–the–top and obviously fake, Being cringey is also a selling point.”
“You…” Chloe was even angrier. Not only had Olivia called her two–faced, but she’d also trashed her acting skills.
Olivia ignored Chloe and sent the script to her phone. “I just sent you the script. Memorize your lines and don’t fall behind during the shoot.”
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A week later, filming began. Since Olivia was pregnant, she didn’t want to overexert herself and decided not to join the crew on set.
But on the very first day of filming, the director blew up her phone with over 99 messages–every single one complaining about Chloe.
He ranted that Chloe was acting like a diva–showing up late, refusing to let the crew’s makeup artist touch her, and insisting on using her own, who took two hours just to do her makeup–wasting everyone’s time.
She looked down on the crew and the rest of the cast, claimed the male lead wasn’t good enough for her, and accused the staff of disrespecting her just because they kept urging her to hurry.
By noon; she was already demanding that the entire crew be replaced. The filming was progressing at a painfully slow pace. They only managed to shoot a tenth of what was planned for the day.
The next day, the director couldn’t hold it in anymore and called Olivia to vent.
She complained, “Where did you find this woman? She’s a nightmare. It’s bad enough that she acts like a diva and looks down on everyone, but she’s dragging the whole production down.
“We agreed yesterday that filming would start at six this morning, and now it’s ten and she’s still not here! I called her assistant, and she said they didn’t wrap until 3 a.m., so Chloe won’t show up until she’s had her full eight hours of sleep.
“At this rate, there’s no way we’ll finish on time. Most of the cast and crew are already booked for their next projects. Once their contracts are up, they’re
leaving.
“What are we supposed to do then? You’re the one who insisted on bringing her in, so you need to fix this.”
Olivia felt a headache coming on. She’d expected Chloe to slow things down, but she hadn’t thought it would be this bad. She thought for a moment and then suddenly came up with a good idea.
She said, “I’ve got an idea. Reach out to the original actress we had in mind for the female lead and have her shoot the scenes. Get someone to shoot Chloe’s scenes perfunctorily–we won’t be using them anyway.”
The director brightened instantly. “You’re a genius. That’s perfect. But I heard Chloe’s got a powerful backer. If we do this, won’t we be offending her? What if she complains? Her backer could crush us like ants.”
Olivia chuckled. “Don’t worry. Just follow my plan. Nothing will happen.” After hanging up, she thought for a bit and drove to the set.
She was worried Chloe might pull some stunts and mess up the shoot, so she decided to keep an eye on her personally. Besides, with Chloe’s short hours, keeping up with her on set wouldn’t be too tiring.
But when Olivia got there, Chloe still hadn’t shown up. It wasn’t until almost noon that she finally arrived, leisurely stepping out of a luxury van. Seeing Olívia there, she scowled and asked, “What are you doing here?”
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Chapter 54
Olivia replied, “It’s my script. My production. Why wouldn’t I be here?”
Chloe snorted, “That cameraman complained to you? He’s been blowing up my phone all morning, acting like it’s the end of the world
“We were shooting till three a.m., and now they expect me to be up and filming again at the crack of dawn? Who can handle that?”
Olivia said, “Starting today, I’ll be managing your shoot. You don’t need to keep up with the others. I’ve also revised the script–take another look.”
She handed Chloe the trimmed–down version of the script. This new script was tailored to match Chloe’s pace, just enough to keep her busy for the next seven days.
“It’s already lunchtime,” Olivia added. “Let’s eat first, and then you can read the script. There’s no rush.” She went off and brought back their lunch.
Chloe wrinkled her nose in disgust. “This stuff? I wouldn’t even feed it to a dog. I’m not eating that.”
Olivia didn’t get upset and just played along. “Alright then, I’ll order something from a fancy restaurant.”
After placing the order, she texted Dylan and asked him to reimburse her at ten times the price. The extra money was what she got in return for putting up with all of it.
Dylan wasn’t stingy. He transferred 30 thousand dollars to her right away.
During the shoot, every time Chloe stirred up trouble, Olivia would hit up Dylan for emotional damage compensation.
Because Olivia was on set, Chloe never noticed anything unusual about the split filming. Olivia kept her distracted, giving her no chance to realize what they were shooting with another actress.
The week passed smoothly. On the final day of filming, everyone was in high spirits.
Chloe purposely called Dylan, asking him to pick her up. Dylan, not wanting to be photographed, didn’t come himself. Instead, he sent Ivan with his Rolls–Royce Phantom to the set to pick her up.
The moment the car arrived, it instantly became the center of attention. Everyone looked on with envy.
Basking in all the jealous stares, Chloe strutted over to the car with her head held high. As she passed by Olivia, she shot her a smug, challenging look.
Ivan got out and opened the door for Chloe, revealing a bouquet of red roses on the back seat.
He said, “Mr. Wilson is tied up with work and couldn’t come in person. He asked me to bring you these flowers as an apology. He said he’ll make it up to
you with dinner tonight.”
Chloe’s face lit up with joy. She took the flowers and hugged them to her chest. “He’s too much,” she said, smiling coyly. “We’ve been together for years, and he’s still pulling these stunts…”
A girl in the crew asked curiously, “Chloe, are you married? Is this your husband’s car? Did he send you the flowers too?”
Chloe blushed and said shyly, “Yes, they’re from my husband. I told him not to make such a big deal out of it, but he just wouldn’t listen. What am I supposed to do with him?”
The girl hesitated and asked, “But didn’t the news a while back say… What was that all about?”
Chloe smiled. “Just gossip. My husband and I have been together since we were sixteen.”
The girl continued, “Then why didn’t you clear things up?”
Chloe sighed. “I was worried that if I explained, people would dig into my husband’s personal life. He’s just an ordinary guy–I didn’t want to drag him into this mess. I’d rather take the heat myself”
People around started whispering among themselves.
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Chapter 54
“Oh wow, so that’s the real story? Chloe is amazing. To protect her husband, she’s been enduring harsh criticism without offering any explanation.”
“But why would that foreign billionaire lie?”
“Rich people lie all the time. Maybe he had a crush on Chloe but got rejected, so he tried to ruin her reputation.”
“I’m so jealous of Chloé. Her husband’s rich and loves her.”
“Chloe and her husband have been together since they were sixteen, and they’re still so in love. That’s just too sweet–I believe in love again.”
Chloe smiled, deeply satisfied with the attention and admiration.
Just then, a Jeep came roaring onto the set and slammed into the back of the Rolls–Royce, crushing the rear end. Then a handsome, confident man jumped out of the Jeep.
Olivia’s scalp tingled the second she saw him. Her first instinct was to duck and hide. ‘Damn it. Why is he here? What’s he going to do?‘ she thought.
Damn it, this jerk! Please don’t mess with me!
