Reality often slaps you in the face when you're unprepared—
Basil arrived early at the set to handle some matters. As soon as he walked in, he sensed something was off. The crew's glances ranged from ambiguous to sympathetic, and though most of them avoided eye contact, he felt something was seriously wrong. Just as he was about to ask Jakayla what was going on, Darnell stormed over, dragged him into a meeting room, and locked the door.
"I just had the assistant director announce a delay in filming. Look at this first!" Darnell threw a tabloid newspaper in his face, clearly furious and not holding back at all.
Basil bent down to pick up the newspaper and saw the glaring headline: "Famous Love Triangle? Seeing Through the Mist?"
What kind of bullshit headline was that? Despite cursing inwardly, he quickly read on.
The report included a photo of Lettie tiptoeing to kiss him when he dropped her off last night. Another picture, timestamped about twenty minutes later, showed the car of a well-known entertainment mogul, Armando, entering Lettie's upscale residential complex. Paparazzi verified that Armando's car was indeed parked in Lettie's private parking space, and he took the elevator directly to her apartment, staying there until dawn.
The article emphasized that the goddess had met with two men in one night, suggesting that both men were under her spell. One left just as the other arrived, almost seamlessly. The article concluded with a comparison between Basil and Armando. In terms of looks, age, height, and education, Basil was given the advantage, but when it came to wealth, Armando was deemed the winner. The journalist's malicious words were sharp and hurtful, hitting Basil like a slap in the face.
"I told you so," Darnell glanced at Basil's disheveled state, reluctant to further trample on his pride. A prominent, young, and talented director, he had never been so brutally humiliated by reality, and it was all because of A woman of easy virtue.
The thought alone made Darnell's eyes burn with anger.
"Bro, let's stop filming for another day," he patted Basil's shoulder, sighing silently. He and Basil had been unlucky. Their first partnership, their first signed artist, their first film project, and now he wondered if they could even continue filming.
Basil never expected that the scene of the three of them have gotten together so soon again to drown their sorrows in alcohol, in less than forty-eight hours.
He, Darnell, and Zander sat on the balcony. Darnell played the recording from the night he got drunk. After listening, he pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing him like this, Darnell silently crossed out the photos of Lettie with the fitness coach on his phone. Now was not the time to add fuel to the fire.
"Basil, don't be upset. This isn't your fault—"
"Clang!" Basil downed a glass of whiskey, startling Darnell. "Bro, that's whiskey, not normal beer!"
"Another one!" Basil growled, gripping the glass.
Just as Darnell was about to stop Basil from drinking, Zander grabbed his hand and shook his head, signaling to let him be. Darnell could only keep quiet.
"Basil, you know the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry. No matter how beautiful an actress is, she will eventually age. If they can secure a long-term meal ticket through these rules, who will bring up the past? Lettie is not special, and she won't be the last." Darnell patted Basil, suddenly feeling at a loss for words. Although he said this, he couldn't stop feeling immense disdain for that woman in his heart.
"Another one!" The director downed one glass after another with a fierce determination.
"Why are you degrading yourself like this? Even among rich people, there are different levels. Admit it, Basil, you're not rich enough, so you're destined to be Lettie's backup—"
Zander blinked repeatedly. Had he misunderstood something? Was Darnell implying that Basil was the poorest among the rich? Did Darnell actually hate Basil? Otherwise, why did every word feel like a knife stabbing and twisting in Basil's heart? Ouch—even he felt the pain!
