President’s Sweet Wife novel Chapter 192

“You… you…”

She stared deathly pale at Natalia. Those crystal-clear eyes of hers seemed like bottomless pits, with a terrifying power in them about to suck her in.

“Cut!”

The voice of a man rang out.

Vicente stood up from behind the camera, frowning at Jessica. “What’s with you? Stammering that long without getting a proper word out – can’t you remember a script this simple?”

Jessica snapped back to the present.

She looked, dazed, over at Natalia, who’d stood up, brushed off her sleeves, and maintained a calm expression.

Jessica’s chest jolted.

She gritted her teeth, put away the hate in her eyes, and mumbled, “Sorry, Mr. Langes. I suddenly felt a little off and got stuck on the line. Let’s go for another take!”

Vicente frowned, a little displeased.

But he didn’t say anything and had them go again.

Natalia took her posse, went back to where they’d begun, and started over.

Outside, the tabloids who’d come for the interviews had their own cameras ready, shooting the whole scene from 360 degrees all around.

Someone muttered, “I heard the female lead was a new actress. Thought she’d be a green rookie, it turns out she’s quite good.”

“Yeah, not bad. From the way she’s presenting her lines to her control of her expressions, she’s pretty good. People who don’t know better might think she’s an experienced actress!”

“In comparison, that so-called movie star isn’t giving a good performance!”

“Well, we can’t say that. This is just the take one, and what actor hasn’t ever slipped? The next take might be the one.”

“Yeah, didn’t she just explain that she was feeling ill? Look at her face, maybe she’s sick! Let’s not be too harsh on her.”

The discussion of the bystanders all fell into the ears of the tabloid reporters.

They exchanged glances and didn’t say anything, but they’d already started mentally noting those words.

Meanwhile, Natalia stepped into the palace again, coming up in front of Jessica.

She bent over and grabbed Jessica’s chin. Her face was dark, her glare sharp, a hint of a mocking smile on the corners of her mouth.

Her entire being, from her brow to her eyes, emanated freezing coldness.

“You’re lower than a mongrel in the gutter at this point. What makes you think I’d show any interest in such a pitiful creature?”

Jessica clenched her fist tight.

Accompanying the sharp pain from her nails, her head was forced up to face those chilling eyes.

For an instant, she felt like she’d fallen into a black hole. Her entire body was surrounded by a cold that crept into her marrow, drawing shivers.

She swallowed, then struggled to stammer out her line.

“If… if you’re not interested, then why show up here today?”

“Cut!”

Vicente’s voice rang out again.

He tamped down on his annoyance and said to Jessica, “The emotions were wrong there. Remember, you might be the former Empress, but you still need to have some backbone when facing your hated rival who deposed you! That was too weak, you looked like a handmaiden. I need more backbone, got it?”

Jessica’s face grew sour.

But she still nodded.

“Take three!”

“You’re lower than a mongrel in the gutter at this point. What makes you think I’d show any interest in such a pitiful creature?”

“If you’re not interested, then why show up here today?”

“Cut!”

Exasperated, Vicente stood up from behind the camera, pointed at Jessica and said, “What are you thinking going so hard up against the new Empress? You’ve been deposed and you’re defenseless. She can strangle you to death at a thought; are you trying to get yourself killed speaking to her like this?”

Jessica’s expression sank completely.

She couldn’t hold it back and retorted, “You told me to show more backbone.”

Seeing that she actually had an excuse, Vicente flew into a rage.

“I’m telling you to show some more backbone, not rush headlong into death like you’re storming a beachhead!”

“You!”

Jessica had never been so humiliated since she’d started her career. Not to mention that there were so many tabloids around. She couldn’t take it.

Someone murmured into Vicente’s ear.

“Let’s hold in the temper, Director Langes. It’s a difficult scene and Jessica just couldn’t perform for the moment. Give her another chance and she’ll get it right.”

Impatiently, Vicente snapped, “Difficult? How difficult could it be? The new girl got it right, and she couldn’t? How embarrassing is that?”

At that, Jessica’s face burned.

But throwing a tantrum in front of so many media would sting her reputation.

After a while, she forced her anger down and said softly, “Sorry. That was my fault. Let’s go for another take!”

Vicente shot her a cold look and went for take four.

Still, she didn’t know if it was her mental state or not, but Jessica just couldn’t perform today.

After finally getting past the first few lines, she choked up again when it was time to tell Natalia that the true culprit was the Emperor.

She couldn’t help but feel that there was something hidden in Natalia’s eyes. Something poisonous.

When those eyes landed on her, she felt an endless cold. The words she’d struggled to get out stuck in her throat and couldn’t get out.

Jessica was in a state of panic.

In comparison, Natalia was perfectly calm.

She looked down at her from on high, her face casual but imperious. Her delicate, cool face emanated authority even without any expression.

Vicente knew that they wouldn’t get any results if this went on for a whole day.

Finally, he called for a break and decided to continue in the afternoon.

They didn’t manage to finish the scene after all.

Jessica felt utterly defeated.

She’d wanted to give a good performance with the tabloids showing up, and she’d given this joke of a show.

The moment shooting ended, the waiting tabloids swarmed up.

“Miss Dawson, you were choking up all day back there. Why can’t you manage to finish this scene?”

“Miss Dawson, did you forget your lines?”

“Miss Dawson, you’ve always had a reputation for your acting talent and ability, but you couldn’t even remember your lines. Was the moniker of “talented” a fabrication by your company?”

“Miss Dawson, you were choking up, while Natalia Dawson was giving a good performance in the opposing position. What thoughts do you have on the matter?”

It wasn’t just Jessica being surrounded by reporters, but Natalia too.