Most people on the film set noticed that Stella must not have had a good night’s sleep since the dark
circles under her eyes were so prominent. Luckily, because she would be filming scenes in the latter
part of the movie when her character had turned evil, she would basically be wearing heavy makeup,
which meant her drained look wouldn’t affect the filming much.
But then the makeup artist was taken aback when she saw the marks on Stella’s neck. “Whoa… what
are those red patches?” She suspected that they might be hickeys, but Ella was such a young actress
who was just starting out. She couldn’t possibly be so reckless and started dating already, could she?
Stella looked into the mirror and frowned when she saw the red patches.
She must’ve really lost control last night. She reminded Weston time and time again not to leave any
marks on her body. Usually, she could stop him when she was still relatively clear – headed, but she
was completely under the drug’s spell last night. Weston evidently did not hold back —her whole body
was pockmarked with red marks left by him.
“They’re just rashes from my allergy,” she explained calmly, though she was flustered inside. “My skin
is really sensitive , so this happens every time the seasons change…” “I see,” the makeup artist
nodded, though she didn’t seem all that convinced. “I’ll try my best to use the mildest compound on you
then.” “Thanks,” Stella quietly sighed in relief.
Once she had changed into her costume, she made sure to pull up the collar to cover her neck.
Fortunately for her, it was a period drama, so the costumes covered most of her body, enough to
conceal all of the hickeys.
As long as the makeup artist did not spread rumors about what she saw, no one would find out about
this.
The shooting soon started, and although Stella didn’t get much rest the night before, she still gave an
outstanding performance. Being her last day on set, she shot the scene of her character’s final
confrontation with the heroine. She would be defeated by the heroine, of course, and she would end up
dying a miserable death.
Unlike the stereotypical villain, her character’s death wouldn’t be some triumphant scene but a rather
tragic and bittersweet one. Her character, Sophie, was never purely evil and had merely been led
astray because of a single misstep.
***
The shooting was done for the day and Stella was removing her makeup when Bradley Lane suddenly
approached her.
“You did really well today,” he told her, standing behind her as she was removing her makeup. “You
clearly showed the character’s desperation and tenacious determination to see through to the final
judgment.”
“Thank you,” Stella replied, sounding a little uneasy because she didn’t want Bradley to see the hickies
on her neck.
But Bradley didn’t sense anything wrong. He just smiled and added, “You know, it was actually a huge
gamble on my part when I decided to cast a complete newcomer with absolutely no experience. Who
would’ve thought that not only did I win my bet, but you even managed to surpass my expectations!”
“I will never forget your kindness and support, Mr. Lane.”
“Stop being so formal! Anyway, what’s your next plan? Have you decided on which role to take up
next?”
“No,” she replied. “I’m still thinking about it.”
“There’s no rush,” Bradley advised. “Take your time and consider it carefully. I hope you’ll have a long
and successful career instead of just accepting any role hastily for the sake of popularity.”
“Alright,” Stella nodded. “I promise you that I’ll be meticulous.” Although it was still too early to tell,
Bradley had been really impressed with Stella’s conduct so far.
“I’m the one who discovered you,” he said, “so I hope that you can go really far in this industry.”
The crew members around them started to realize that they were having a private conversation , so
they started to slip away to give them some privacy.
Stella gathered up the hem of her heavy costume and got up to her feet. When she turned around,
however, Bradley noticed she was still wearing heavy makeup.
“Why haven’t you removed the makeup yet?” he asked.
Stella was actually afraid that Bradley would see the hickeys on her neck, but she wasn’t going to tell
him that, of course.
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