Everyone on set saw the dark cloud over Luther's face, scattered in fear.
Juliette reached out to take his arm gently, trying to speak. However, he shook her off without hesitation. "You get out too."
In the blink of an eye, only the two of us remained on the set.
Luther turned to face me with bloodshot eyes. "Are you really that desperate for money? You let them humiliate you like that for what? A few bills? You weren't like this before."
Just when I had felt the faintest warmth returning to my chest, his words dragged me back into the cold pit. I could feel tears slipping silently from the corners of my eyes.
But I was no longer the same Jenna Hale.
I replied with biting sarcasm, "That's right. All I care about now is money. The past? I don't want it anymore. I only recognize money."
A flicker of pain crossed his face. He sneered, then turned toward the door and ordered the bodyguards outside.
"Bring everyone back. Continue filming."
I was painfully and humiliatingly filming a scene set in a mental hospital. Not far from me, Juliette was acting coquettish in a bed scene with Luther.
The moment I finished filming, my hands were trembling. I just wanted to leave.
But then I heard his low, possessive voice. "Juliette, since you're so insistent on doing intimate scenes, then do them with me."
After saying that, he turned to look at me.
"We only need one more person on set as a cameraman. Since Jenna is so desperate for money, let her do it."
My face turned pale. I knew this man too well. I could tell from every word that this was revenge.
Still, I did not flinch. I turned back around and walked steadily onto the set.
I picked up the camera and began recording as the two of them acted out the intimate scene on the bed. Her sweet, coy voice and his relentless advances echoed in my ears.
The camera only caught suggestive angles. Nothing really happened, but the way they touched was enough to make my chest tighten.
Finally, he let out a low growl and the scene ended.
My heart felt numb from the pain. I raised a hand to my face and was startled to find it wet with tears.
I wiped them away quickly and walked over, handing the camera to Luther. "Take a look. If you're not satisfied, we can reshoot."
He smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
I stepped forward and turned to look at the two of them with steady indifference.
"Pay me my wage. I'm quite satisfied with this job. If needed, I can be your stand-in again."
Luther's expression was cold and distant when he tossed a card in front of me. "Fifteen thousand dollars. Is that enough? Considering what you just cleaned up, it's not a bad wage."
I crouched down and picked up the card in silence, then numbly began cleaning the mess they left behind on the bed.
From outside the set, the staff watched every second of my humiliation. Once, they had shown me some respect, wary of my identity as the adopted daughter of the Hawthorne Family. But now that they had seen how much Luther despised me, that respect vanished.
They swaggered over without hesitation. Juliette's assistant tossed a pile of clothes at me.
"Wash these for our treasure Juliette Monroe. Make sure they're dry-cleaned properly."
The photographer strolled up after her. "Pick up some mushroom chicken soup for me from that place in the south of the city."
They dropped a few bills and coins on the floor like breadcrumbs. I knelt down without a word and picked them up one by one.
I smoothed the crumpled notes. The humiliation stung, but they were not wrong. Indeed, I was here for the money. As long as I could save enough to replace Anna's heart, none of this would matter. I could die in peace.
In the next life, if such a thing existed, I never wanted to cross paths with Luther again.
From a distance, I caught a glimpse of him.
He was holding a cup of warm brown sugar water, gently offering it to Juliette with such gentle care.
"You're in a sensitive period. Let the stand-in do the river scene in the winter next time. It's too cold for you."
