Chapter 4
1096 Words
Winston could tell the dissatisfaction in Chelsea's tone, but he could only repeat Russell's request.
"I don't have money. Doesn't Mr. Murillo know this better than anyone?" Chelsea sneered.
Russell first suspended her credit card, and then he claimed that she ruined his suit, asking her to pay for it. To put it simply, he was trying to force Chelsea to concede.
Chelsea did not want to argue with Winston and was about to hang up the phone.
Then she heard a familiar voice on the phone.
"Chelsea, you've ruined my suit, don't you think you should do something about it?" Russell grabbed the phone from Winston and said sarcastically.
Chelsea took a deep breath to suppress her rage.
"Sure thing. I will pay for it. Please email the bills to me. Oh, by the way, let me remind you that since we don't have a prenup, I can get fifty percent of your assets after the divorce. I think that will be more than enough to pay the bill. Also, I don't have a job, so you have to pay alimony, Mr. Murillo."
"Is that what you are really after?" Russell sneered. "You're greedier than I thought."
Chelsea clenched her phone and felt suffocating and heartbreaking at the same time.
She knew that in Russell's eyes, she was nothing but a greedy woman. However, hearing those words coming out of his mouth still upset her a lot.
Chelsea suddenly lost interest in arguing with Russell.
She said dejectedly, "Whatever. Anyway, fix the time as soon as possible so that we can get a divorce soon."
"Chelsea!" Russell seemed exasperated by her words, and there was a hint of anger in his voice.
He said, "Who gives you the nerve to divorce me? You want my money? I can make it really hard for you to live in Lorwick!"
"Is that so?" Chelsea smiled mockingly. Then she continued, "I guess you don't care if the stock price goes down when your affair is exposed, Mr. Murillo."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Russell frowned and said.
He figured that Chelsea sounded like a jealous wife.
If she was jealous, would she really want to divorce him?
Russell ruled out the possibility. He thought it might be some new ruse Chelsea had come up with to get his attention.
He said lazily, "I get it now. You don't really want to divorce me. So, just come home and apologize to me. I will spare you from paying for my suit, and you'll get your credit card back."
Chelsea was shocked by Russell's blind confidence.
She shouted back after a few seconds, "You know what? I'm done talking to you!"
Chelsea hung up the phone.
With that, Gisselle asked tentatively, "What's wrong? What did Russell say to piss you off so much?"
"It's nothing. I don't want to talk about that bastard," Chelsea waved her hand and said.
"Then what is your plan?" Gisselle changed the topic.
"Well, I need to make some money." Chelsea sighed.
After the divorce, she had to support herself. Also, once her father found out about her divorce, he would stop paying for her mother's medical bills.
She had to consider the worst-case scenario.
Gisselle looked at Chelsea and said, "Why don't you consider what I just suggested? I really think you'll make a great actress. I was your dream."
Chelsea hugged Gisselle and said, "Well, dreams are expensive. I'd better think about survival first. A studio bought my book and is making a movie out of it. Maybe I can go for the audition."
"Great. See you tonight then." Gisselle checked the time. Then she said, "Good luck."
Gisselle drove away. Chelsea took a taxi to Zephyr Media.
The boss of the company was Broderick, who happened to be Russell's friend.
Unlike Russell, Broderick was not a workaholic. Broderick seldom showed up at the company.
A month ago, Zephyr Media reached out to Chelsea via email and bought the copyright of one of her novels to turn it into a film.
Today, the company was holding an audition for one of the roles.
Though this audition was not about the female lead, this character played a key role in the story. So, it was still very important. Chelsea hoped the director would choose a suitable actress for this role.
The receptionist ushered Chelsea to the audition site. She saw a well-known actress acting out a part of the story in front of the director.
Chelsea frowned since her performance was a bit pompous. She exaggerated the pain of the role she was playing, and it made people feel uncomfortable about it.
The director shouted, "Cut!"
The actress was a bit dissatisfied, since she was interrupted. She said complacently, "You should at least let me finish and show some respect for my effort in playing this role."
Chelsea chuckled.
"Who's there?" The actress immediately glared at Chelsea.
Chelsea spread out her hands and said, "I don't think you can handle the role given your acting skills. You're trying too hard."
"What do you know about acting? No one is asking for your opinion," the actress said as she walked over. "Security? Get her out of here!"
"I don't know much about acting, but I am the scriptwriter," Chelsea said coldly. "So, I bet no one understands this role better than I do."
"You are T.H.?" The director asked in surprise.
Chelsea went by T.H. on social media. She specialized in writing tragic love stories, and she had many followers, but no one knew her true identity.
Today was Chelsea's first visit to Zephyr Media.
Apparently, neither the director nor the actress had expected that Chelsea was the scriptwriter.
"So what?" the actress snorted. "I am a professional actress."
"T.H., why don't you show her the feeling you want to convey?" asked the director in a deliberative tone.
Chelsea thought for a few seconds and then agreed. She wanted to act, too, and she didn't want her script ruined by some incompetent actress.
Chelsea walked up to the director and started to recite the character's lines.
Soon, the actress's expression turned from disdain to surprise.
The director was impressed.
He felt the role was made for Chelsea.
He looked at the actress and then at Chelsea. He thought it would be a shame for Chelsea not to become an actress with her exceptional look.
After Chelsea finished her performance, she remained where she was and looked at the director.
The director patted his thigh and said, "T.H., will you take this role?"
- Writer
