With neither actor able to spark life in the other, the scene fell flat. The performance was mechanical—stiff and uninspired.
Once the last line was delivered, both Caspian and Stella simply stood there, as if their strings had been cut. They looked lost, their expressions blank, like two puppets awaiting direction.
Bradley kept the camera rolling, his eyes cold and sharp as he watched the monitor in silence. Stella, frozen in place, kept pinching her palm in a desperate attempt to stay grounded. Her cheeks were flushing redder by the second—half from embarrassment, half from panic. She knew she had bombed the scene. And yet, for some agonizing reason, Bradley refused to call “cut.”
Each lingering second under that harsh, unyielding spotlight felt like fresh punishment.
Finally, after what seemed like a small eternity, Bradley sighed heavily, rubbed his temples, and barked, “Cut!”
Stella’s shoulders slumped, relief flooding her body as if a weight had been physically lifted from her back. But her moment of peace didn’t last.
“Get over here!” Bradley shouted, waving them over with visible irritation.
It was clear what was coming. Neither Stella nor Caspian dared drag their feet as they walked toward him, knowing full well they were about to be reprimanded.
The moment they stopped in front of him, Bradley exploded.
“Are you both corpses?!” he roared. “What was that?! Just standing there like statues! I’ve seen elementary school kids recite poems with more feeling than that wooden performance!”
His fiery gaze zeroed in on Stella.
“You! Didn’t you say you memorized your lines? Off-camera you were halfway decent. So why did you freeze up in front of the camera?!”
Then he turned on Caspian.
“And you! You’re the one with more experience here! You’ve shot how many films now? And yet you still mess up your blocking? I couldn’t even see you in half the shots! How do you make such a rookie mistake at this point in your career?!”
“I’m sorry, Director Yates…”
“My apologies, Director…”
Both of them admitted their faults humbly, but Bradley was too furious to listen.
“Damn it all! We’ll move on to the next scene for now! As for you two, just get out of my sight. Don’t come back until I’m done filming this next part. And if you’re still as lousy as you were earlier, don’t bother staying. Pack up and leave—before I throw you out myself!”
Caspian didn’t react much. He was used to Bradley’s volcanic temper. The director often threatened to fire people when angry, but rarely followed through. He knew the drill.
But Stella didn’t.
Her face turned ghostly pale. Panic gripped her at the thought of losing this hard-won opportunity. She couldn’t afford for this to be the end—not after everything she’d sacrificed to be here.
As Caspian walked off toward his manager, Stella took a deep breath and summoned every ounce of courage she had left.
“Caspian!” she called after him. “Would you mind rehearsing the scene with me?”
Before Caspian could even respond, his manager appeared out of nowhere, stepping between them like a shield.
“Where’s your manager?” he asked Stella coldly, eyes sharp with suspicion.
“I… I don’t have one yet…” she replied, caught off guard.
The man narrowed his eyes. “Which scene do you want to rehearse?”
His tone was laced with distrust, like a bouncer eyeing someone trying to sneak into a VIP room. In this industry, one could never be too cautious. For all he knew, this young woman could be trying to hitch a ride to fame on Caspian’s reputation. And that was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.
Caspian’s career had been carefully maintained over the years. He had stayed scandal-free since his debut—no rumors, no gossip, no messy headlines. His manager intended to keep it that way.
Staying away from emotional entanglements on set was a big part of that.
Stella, unaware of the industry’s cynical rules, stared at the manager in stunned silence. She hadn’t meant any harm. She only wanted to fix what had gone wrong.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll go rehearse on my own.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away.
The manager scoffed behind her back.
“Don’t think that innocent act can fool me,” he muttered. “I’ve seen plenty like you. I know exactly what you’re after.”
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