Chapter 6

Charlotte slowly peeled his hand off her arm. "Chill, I'm here to help Olivia out. Nobody else wanted to play the second female lead in this crappy drama anyway, right?"

For some reason, seeing Charlotte acting so cooperative made Richard feel a strange heaviness settle in his chest.

He barely had time to process it before Olivia came over and dragged him away.

Charlotte didn't spare them another glance, quietly focused on her script.

She was cast as the scheming second female lead, trying to steal the heroine's boyfriend, while Olivia played the sweet, innocent main character.

The shoot started with the most dramatic scene.

In the scene, Olivia, playing the scorned girlfriend, yanked Charlotte's hair and landed a heavy slap.

But as the slap hit, Olivia would intentionally flub the take and ask for another shot.

After ten takes, Charlotte's lip was bleeding, and not even her makeup could hide it.

Olivia put on her best innocent act, flashing a fake smile. "Sorry, Charlotte. Guess it's been too long since you last acted. You're not catching my cues, so we have to keep reshooting."

Everyone on set looked away, pretending not to notice.

Everyone knew Olivia was doing it on purpose, but nobody had the guts to stand up for Charlotte.

Richard walked over, and Charlotte thought he'd at least call Olivia out for her behavior. But instead, he turned on her. "Charlotte, you haven't acted in years. You can't even handle a rookie's scene now?

"Or are you pretending for the cameras, so the press can stir things up?"

Charlotte felt her heart freeze over, the disappointment hitting her harder than ever.

Back when she was starting out, Richard would stay up all night with her, poring over scripts together.

He always got the characters better than most guys in the industry.

Olivia's little tricks were so obvious. Charlotte knew Richard wasn't blind. He chose to defend her anyway.

She lowered her gaze, a cold smile tugging at her lips, then stood tall.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ford. You won't see any more issues from me next time," she said.

Richard, feeling stifled with frustration, turned and dragged Olivia straight to the luxury trailer parked out back.

Charlotte had always been sensitive to the heat, so when she was a rookie, Richard made sure she had her own private trailer to keep her comfortable.

But now, that trailer he'd once designed so carefully for her had become Olivia's personal haven.

The assistant director Charles finally couldn't stand it anymore and handed Charlotte a bag of ice. "Charlotte, you're a veteran in the industry and the biggest star at Ford Entertainment. How can they treat you like this to boost a newcomer?"

Charlotte glanced up and gave a tired smile. "It's okay. You get used to it. Anyway, in a few days, this won't happen anymore."

Charles was about to ask why when Olivia called for another take.

But this time, before Olivia could even swing, Charlotte beat her to it. She smacked Olivia right across the face, hard.

Everyone was stunned.

Olivia, furious, tried to hit back, but Charlotte grabbed her and slapped her hard on the other cheek. "Olivia, weren't you always saying you couldn't find the right emotions? Well, now you've got shock and frustration; everything you need.

"Since you called me your senior, it's only right I teach you a thing or two. Consider this a free masterclass, no charge.

"Looks like your acting's been off all day. I've already shown you how it's done, so the rest is up to you to figure out.

"If you still mess up like this tomorrow, your days as a rising star will be over. You'll be another has-been."

With that, Charlotte didn't spare anyone a glance and walked off without looking back.

Behind her, Olivia's sobs rang out, and Richard hurried over to soothe her, not wasting a second.

Richard was always fussing over Olivia's feelings.

But he'd forgotten that Charlotte's skin was allergic to UV rays. Too much time in the sun could be deadly for her.

That afternoon, Charlotte spent the whole day getting an IV drip at a nearby clinic.

The doctor handed her some ointment and told her to make sure to use it regularly once she got home.

But as she stepped out of the clinic, someone knocked her out cold.

When she came to, a bucket of cold water had shocked her awake.

Standing over her were Richard, Olivia, and her former best friend, Emily.