Chapter 1609

A year later, in a hotel room, a woman lay on a large, messy bed. Clutching the sheets close to shield her body, she looked both panicked and smugly triumphant as she stared at another woman standing before the bed. A man jolted upright, reaching desperately to grab the hand of the woman in front of the bed. She quickly stepped back, evading his grasp. "Scarlett, listen to me," the man pleaded urgently. "It wasn't my choice to be with this woman. She schemed and seduced me, and last night, I was drunk. That's why I ended up sleeping with her. "You have to believe me; even if I slept with her, you're the only one in my heart. I love you, and only you. It's impossible for me to love her, let alone marry her—" While Stella was deep in the throes of betrayal, and before the actor playing the scoundrel could finish his lines, a figure burst in. He delivered a swift kick to the scoundrel, followed by a verbal and physical assault. "You can't even control your own desires, and you dare to talk about love? Believe me, I could have kicked you to death. A real man, if he truly loves a woman, thinks of her before anything else. You're not worthy of love!" Nobody on set could have predicted the sudden outburst from the visitor. The actors, along with the cameramen, lighting technicians, and others were stunned into silence. Even the director, usually so in control, forgot to call "Cut." The actress in the bed was genuinely terrified, trembling, and hiding under the covers, fearing the wrath of the man might turn toward her next. Only Stella snapped back to reality, rushing to help the actor who had just received a forceful kick from Lucas. "Are you alright?" she asked anxiously. It was a heavy kick; how could he be alright? But as the actor met Lucas's increasingly dark gaze, he quickly withdrew his hand, insisting, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Mr. White didn't kick hard. It doesn't hurt at all." After ensuring that the actor was not seriously hurt, Stella turned to glare fiercely at Lucas. "Have you lost your mind? If you want to go crazy, do it somewhere else, but don't disrupt my work, okay?" Lucas truly left Stella speechless. She had made it crystal clear: she did not want him anywhere near the set. But Lucas, defying her wishes, showed up anyway. And not just to watch quietly from the sidelines, but to cause a ruckus. Realizing his impulsiveness, Lucas knew he had overreacted. Seeing Stella seemingly bullied, he forgot it was all just acting and could not stop himself from lashing out. Lucas, who had just been as fierce as a raging wolf, suddenly appeared under Stella's glare as submissive as a puppy, almost as if wagging his tail in apology. "Stella, I was wrong," he admitted meekly. "Wrong? Then get out of here, now!" Stella snapped. The others on set, hearing this, were sweating bullets, especially the director, whose heart was in his throat. "Stella, Mr. White is the big financier of our show. You're treating our financial lifeline like this? With the market being so tough, aren't you scared he'll pull his funding?" Lucas, far from being angered by Stella's rebuff, actually seemed contrite and subdued. "Stella, when I saw that guy bullying you, I just... My heart ached. I lost my cool in the heat of the moment, and acted impulsively." "Get out! Go far away and don't disturb everyone here," Stella shot back. "All right, all right, I'll back off," Lucas said, beating a hasty retreat. But after a few steps, he turned back, grinning cheekily. "When you're done filming, let's have dinner. We had a deal, no backing out." "Get lost!" exclaimed Stella. This time, Lucas did not dare linger and scuttled away dejectedly. After Lucas's departure, the director and the others acted as though nothing had happened. "Let's clean up and get back to shooting," they said, getting back to business.