Twisted Ties of Love

Chapter 334

"Why are you even bothering to talk with her? Her acting sucks so bad; even if you explain the techniques, she won't get it. It's a total waste of time."

Ariana pulled Harper along with an air of arrogance, her gaze toward Izabella filled with disdain like she was looking at trash.

Harper disagreed silently with Ariana but didn't vocalize it. Instead, he just patted her forehead affectionately.

Surprisingly, Izabella could see the vibe of "Federic" and "Melinda" from them.

Unfortunately, she was not Danielle, incapable of portraying the intense possessiveness and obsession towards the male lead.

Ariana despised wasting time on acting scenes with Izabella. After running through the lines, she dragged Harper away forcefully.

This scene revealed Ariana's intention to Izabella.

Izabella didn't want to let Ariana win, to give her the chance to bully her.

Facing difficulties was normal at this point. What lay ahead was not just a step but a towering wall. Without this hurdle, she would never climb up.

Izabella was well aware of her own abilities. Among the 68 artists in the program, she was the only non-professional with no work, audience, or fans. The only impression she left was a bad one.

She needed to work harder, to put in more effort to make up for her shortcomings.

She might lose in the first round if no one was there to practice lines with her.

She had to figure something out. She had already memorized her lines; she needed to polish her emotions, bring out the subtle feelings, and become "Danielle" truly.

Maybe she should find an acting coach but who would have the time to practice lines with her now?

As Izabella was immersed in the script, her phone in the bag suddenly vibrated.

She checked and saw a message on WhatsApp.

Casey: Are you busy? How's the script preparation going? Need help?

Izabella smiled lightly.

Well, that was quick. A free-acting coach just showed up.

"I'm in the rehearsal room, there's no one to practice lines with me, and I'm not doing well with the dialogues. What should I do?"

Casey, reading Izabella's message, was taken aback. Izabella had never used this tone in her texts before.

He tried reading it in Izabella's tone, and her image involuntarily popped up in his mind, like a cuddly bunny tugging at his sleeve.

"Wait for me," Casey replied, put on a hat and mask, and quietly left the hotel for the rehearsal room.

Walking out of the hotel, he didn't feel anything. But when he reached the elevator to the rehearsal room, he started to get nervous. As the floor rose, so did his heartbeat, as if it was lodged in his throat.

Suddenly, he felt the thrill of skipping school to meet a girlfriend.

Casey couldn't resist imagining some romantic scenarios, like if there was a kissing scene, would he really kiss her? Or just pretend?

What if he couldn't control himself and really kissed Izabella, and she got mad? Girls tend to be timid; he shouldn't scare her off.

But thinking about not kissing, he felt like he was at a loss. Or he could explain that he was too engrossed in the role; he was an actor, after all, it's a professional hazard! Kiss, he was definitely gonna kiss her!

Thinking about it, Casey's ears inexplicably heated up, and even his cheeks started to burn.

Exiting the elevator, he didn't immediately look for the rehearsal room but first went to the restroom to splash cold water on his face. After cooling down, he started looking for Izabella's rehearsal room by checking each room number, finally finding it in an inconspicuous corner.

He stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and gently knocked twice, then stood still, waiting for the person inside to open the door.

After waiting for three or four seconds, Casey saw the doorknob move. Izabella opened the door with one hand and said, "Come in."

The rehearsal room was lit at two o'clock in the afternoon; the curtains were tightly drawn, not letting any light in, Casey felt the atmosphere a bit ambiguous.

"There are no cameras, no recording, no one followed you here, right?" Considering Casey's status, Izabella thought it would be better to be careful. She wasn't afraid of causing trouble for herself, but she didn't want to cause trouble for him.

"No one followed me, don't worry; I won't cause any trouble for you."

Casey noticed that Izabella was staring at him; he involuntarily slowed his breathing, standing stiffly, not moving.

He couldn't help but speculate Izabella not only texted him goodnight before going to sleep but also put down her fork to chat with him during meals. Now she was staring at his face; she must be attracted to him.

When Casey felt proud, his ears would move; the prouder he was, the more his ears would twitch, like a dog wagging its tongue.

But gradually, Casey realized something was off, Izabella was looking at him, but it seemed like she was looking through him at someone else.

The last time they met was at the airport, and they had only been chatting on the messaging app since then. Looking at Casey's face, which was similar to Ryker's, Izabella found it hard to concentrate.

Realizing the issue, Izabella snapped out of it and quickly changed the subject, "Why is your hair wet?"

"It's too hot; I washed my face in the restroom when I came up." Casey quickly forgot the awkwardness just now when Izabella changed the subject.

"Let me see your script."

They quickly got down to business; Izabella handed Casey the script of Golden Age.

The script was full of her notes and various color tags. Casey had seen the movie before, it was a good piece back then, but compared to current films, it was lacking.

The plot wasn't intense enough, the dialogue was mediocre, and the characterization of the male and female leads was even less dynamic than the second female lead.

So when he saw that Izabella was playing the role of "Danielle", a spark of interest flickered in Casey's eyes.

"Where do you think you're lacking?" Casey asked. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"I'm not good at expressing emotions. I understand Danielle's extreme possessiveness and the feeling of unrequited love, but I can't fully express my emotions when facing Harper."

"Don't sweat it; acting is all about teamwork. And let's face it; Harper was a total mess. It's only natural you couldn't get into character with him," Casey spoke with an inexplicable mix of smugness, pride, and confidence.

"Let's run some lines for our scene, starting from the top."

In the first scene, Federic brings Danielle back home for a wardrobe change. The maid presents her with a plain dress that accentuates her slender waist. Raised in a brothel, Danielle exudes an irresistible allure, yet she fears this might put off Federic, so she tries hard to change herself.

Izabella closed her eyes, running the script in her head. When she opened them again, her eyes had transformed.

Her gaze was pure, reminiscent of an innocent deer. She clutched at her dress and sneaked a glance at Casey, her eyes reflecting only on him.

"Brother... do I look pretty?" Her voice was coquettish, her face innocent. She stared at the man in front of her, twisting her dress nervously, a mix of anxiety and anticipation in her eyes.

Brother, do I look pretty?

The words from Izabella left him utterly stunned. Casey kept reminding himself that he was just playing along; it was all acting.

But for some reason, he couldn't control himself. As Izabella called him "brother," it felt like a bomb had exploded in his brain. His ears rang, his face turned from pale to crimson, and his earlobes looked so red that they would bleed.

Who could resist such temptation?!

Seeing Izabella as "Danielle" simply made one want to hold her close and "take care" of her.

Izabella waited for Casey's response. But there was none. Seeing his handsome face all flushed, she suddenly realized something and decided to tease him a bit.

She slowly moved closer to Casey, her hand gently touching his burning earlobe, launching a playful attack, "My big movie star, care to explain why your face is so red?"