Spoiled By The CEO: Why The Wife Is Kinda Sweet? novel Chapter 191

In contrast, Jessica cared a lot about it.

After all, they were still in the shooting phase and they hadn’t even released any footage. All news was being passed out through this interview.

Because of that, when the media arrived, Jessica got her acting chops on and reverted to her gentle fairy image.

“It’s the most important scene in the show that’s coming up next, sis. You have to give it your best. Don’t drag everyone behind.”

Natalia shot her a mild look and casually said, “Worry about yourself.”

Jessica smiled and said lowly, “With so many reporters here, of course I’ll give it my best. You, though – don’t think that you’ve done well enough just because you did well earlier. You can’t succeed at acting with just hard work; you also need talent. There’s a lot of explosiveness needed for the shooting today. If you don’t perform up to par, everyone’s going to see it. If rumors get out, I can’t help you.”

Natalia looked at her coldly, treating it like a joke.

Seeing her silence, Jessica thought she’d been affected by her words. She smiled contentedly and turned to leave.

The equipment was in place, and so were the actors. They were about to shoot.

This scene was where the female lead, played by Natalia, finally ascended to the position of Empress after many trials and tribulations.

While the original Empress had her plots exposed and got her just desserts as she lost favor with the Emperor, was dethroned as Empress, and locked up.

The new Empress and the former Empress met up in the palace where she was confined, where the new Empress passed her a glass of poisoned wine for her to kill herself with.

To hurt the new Empress one last time before her death, the former Empress revealed the true mastermind behind the deaths of the new Empress’ entire family all those years ago – the reigning Emperor himself.

It was a contrived plot, but admittedly quite a twist, tugging on all the right heartstrings.

A scene like that was naturally the climax of the whole show.

Because of that, everyone had made preparations beforehand.

Last night, Vicente had called Natalia over in the middle of the night because he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to give as good a performance, so he wanted to explain things.

After all, even though she’d performed well before, those were steady, run-of-the-mill scenes, not like today, where there needed to be emotional fluctuation.

The trap had come utterly unexpectedly.

Vicente was in a depressed mood, which had the whole cast feeling down.

With everyone ready, they began filming.

The palace was a dilapidated place, almost in ruins. Weeds grew around the courtyard. A bent willow was growing under a corner in the wall. It was spring, but most of its leaves were yellow. No one had taken care of it.

The bricks on the floor were covered with lichen, becoming a tripping hazard. The stench of mold permeated the place. Combined with a dank scent, it assaulted the nose.

Natalia had to wonder how the cast had found a deserted place like this.

The yard wasn’t big. It took a few steps to reach the interior. Two handmaidens behind her pushed open the door, where a manservant bowed forward, reporting, “Her Majesty the Empress!”

And yet no one came out to welcome her.

It was dark and gloomy inside the palace. The moment the door opened, what greeted them was dust and the moldy scent of moisture.

Natalia frowned. The handmaidens beside her stood in front of her and fanned the air, trying to lessen the stench.

She raised a hand and stopped them. Then she lifted the hem of her dress and walked inside.

One could feel the sense of loneliness and failure from outside the palace. The moment she stepped foot inside, the feeling grew even more evident.

There was a coating of thick dust wherever she went. Cobwebs massed over the corners of the palace with the dried corpses of mosquitoes stuck to their surface. Tiny critters skittered across the area.

Decorations were scarce inside. Even the chairs and desk were left crumbled on the ground. One was missing a leg, the other a corner. It was hard to tell how many years they’d been left here.

The moldy stench continued to waft up from the room. In the east corner, a cot had been placed, and on it lay a person.

Hearing the footsteps, that person sat up.

Her sapphire, courtly dress had been dirtied to the point its original color was no longer visible. Her hair was a mess. Seeing the newcomer, her eyes blazed with hatred.

“What are you doing here?”

Natalia waved her hand, commanded her handmaidens to step back, then walked over, smiling.

“I heard you were sick, your Majesty. I’m here to visit. Are you surprised? Your Majesty?”

The words “your Majesty” jabbed at Jessica’s heart.

She’d once been the mighty Empress, the highest woman of the whole empire. Anything she wanted, she got. With her brother as a general commanding armies, even the Emperor would not dare to go against her will.

And the woman before her was only an insignificant little handmaiden, crawling under her foot like a cockroach. A bit of force, and she could have crushed her.

But now this woman had taken her place as the new Empress.

And she was here, in this dilapidated palace, now an abandoned concubine.

How pathetic!

Jessica laughed coldly, endless melancholy in her voice.

She stopped laughing after a while and glared icily at Natalia, sneering, “To the victor go the spoils. I have nothing to say. If you’ve come to look at the state I’ve been reduced to, then you’ve got what you came for. Now get out!”

“How dare you take such a tone with her Majesty!”

Natalia raised a hand, silencing her handmaiden’s bark.

She looked mildly at the woman before her, stepping forward.

“Do you think you have anything left to show me at this point?”

The light moved forward along with Natalia’s footsteps, stopping one step away from Jessica.

Natalia bent over slightly, grabbing her by the chin.

There was a smile on her lips but not in her eyes. Composited with the lighting, her eyes flashed with a frigid gleam.

Jessica’s head was forced up.

She clearly couldn’t accept the humiliating position, struggling a few times to no avail.

The pain on her jaw, though, went bone-deep from the skin, shooting up towards her brain, as if her mandible was about to be crushed.

Slowly, Natalia muttered, “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?”

Her voice was low and calm. Like a frozen lake, it chilled the ear.

Jessica’s heart trembled.

An indescribable feeling of fear swept her like a gale.