Atypical billionaire’s true love

chapter 3

Seeing the director again, was already the first rehearsal of the stage play.

There was no doubt that Helena got the part: Kate, who, though the third female, was one of the most difficult roles in the play.

Ten minutes short of the start, a figure running into the theater while taking off his trench coat, ran through the unlit darkness and into the light.

It was him, the third actor.

At what seemed like the first moment, he spotted Helena as well, and with a flash of light in his dark blue eyes, he rushed over with the intention of shaking hands.

"Wait!" The director stepped forward and stopped him, while signaling Helena to come over and whispered to them, "Listen, there are two principles regarding you guys. Number one, from today until the end of the show, regardless of rehearsal or not, considering the needs of the character, it's best for the two of you to keep a physical distance and not have any physical contact. Number two, read the script together at least five times a day."

The director of this stage production is none other than Aaron, a reputable director in the industry, who has a lot of experience and is said to have a unique method of rehearsal.

Kate and Frank, the man and woman who aren't the leads, but who string together the story line of the whole play, behind the spiritual communication and rich emotions, but always maintain extreme physical restraint.

That’s definitely the difficulty of this performance.

The third actor probably understood the director's intention, he looked at Helena but didn't reach out again, "Hello, my name is Felix. Nice to meet you, Helena."

"Rehearsal begins, everyone gather in the center of the stage." Aaron, the director, stood at center stage, his lean body making his bushy beard that took up almost half of his face stand out even more.

”From this day forward, whenever we walk into this theater, we should all call each other by the names in the play."

Kate.

That would be Helena's alias for the next two months.

The actors introduced themselves one by one.

Helena looked at the blonde girl who was now smiling sweetly with two dimples and facing the group as she introduced herself, "Hello everyone, my name is Valerie, which happens to be the same name as the character I'm playing this time."

Now, she finally confirmed it.

This was the expressionless blonde girl from the hallway the other day, the one who had laughed in Michael's arms, the one who had been mentioned on the gossip news broadcasts.

The child star, Valerie.

Unsure if her thoughts were being sensed, Helena distinctly felt her looking her way, like a accomplished victor.

She subconsciously clenched her fists, the pain of her nails squeezing her palms forcing her to calm down. She was an actress, she was here to rehearse, and whatever the child star was, it didn't matter right now.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a little... shaky?" Felix's soft voice came from beside her.

Helena curved her mouth up as much as she could and looked over at him, "I guess I'm probably just too excited."

After giving some precautions, Aaron announced that the groups would start rehearsing freely.

Helena found a corner and sat on the ground, looked at Felix, who was a person's distance away from her, and moved back a bit.

Upon closer inspection, she realized that he had cut his hair short for the role, clean shaven, and his muscular curves were visible under a simple loose cotton smock.

Helena thought about his character's features, and, well, it was really something like that.

And then, Aaron purposely came over and stood next to them, watching the rehearse. But it wasn't long before his bitter smile emerged from between his bushy beard.

"Really, I have a feeling, you two are going to be broadcasting current events next. I don't expect you guys to show something screams out at the beginning, but at least, seriously, don’t really perform it as if it's just a simple interview. Think of a way, can't you show love without holding hands?”

Obviously, ways don't just pop up on their own. Helena decided to start by getting into character.

She opened the script and went over the first act of the play from beginning to end again: Kate, a rich girl who dreams to be a documentary writer, in her first field interview which full of confidence and enthusiasm, had made a big fool - her elaborate makeup, tailored dress, jewelry, and high heels don't fit in with her interviewee Frank's rustic wooden cottage.

On the day of rehearsal, she woke up half an hour early to put together her outfit.

"Wow, you are very thoughtful." Valerie's voice not only drew everyone's attention, but even made a point of showing Aaron the same, "Director, look at Kate!"

Aaron didn't say anything, nodding noncommittally. The stage for the first act had already been set up, and Aaron raised his hand, signaling Helena to take her place.

She stood in her designated spot, took a deep breath, tried to put behind her Aaron's nonchalance about her dress code for the day before she went on stage just now, and Valerie's look that seemed to be waiting for a joke.

Be yourself. Do what you think is right!

When Helena's Kate, wearing delicate pearl earrings, a tailored one-step dress and high heels, pushes open the small wooden door of Frank's house on stage, Frank is only dressed in a simple cotton smock and jeans. For a moment, embarrassment spread quickly between the two men.

Frank spun in place twice and sat down on the couch, but in the next second, stood up again as if on fire, moved the chairs from the dining room table and set them down, and found a clean blanket to cushion the top of them, "Have a…please have a seat."

"Tha...thanks."

Helena could almost hear the faint sound of laughter coming from that darkness in the audience offstage.

But it must be admitted that Felix was excellent at this part of the show, so she was quickly getting her act together.

As she sat down in the creaky wooden chair, pulled her leather notebook and pen out of her bag, she had a real sense that Kate was sitting on the edge of her seat due to her highly unprofessional interview.

"Hello Kate, I'm Frank, I've heard a lot about you. "

The same words, but in a tone that Felix had chosen to handle very differently from the earlier rehearsal: the overwhelming smell of derision that made her want to find a hole in the ground right away.

But the interview continued.

Kate could only sit up straight, keep her head up and try to salvage some of the impression with as carefully worded a response as possible.

"Hello Frank, thank you for the interview and it's an honor to hear your story. If you're ready, shall we get started?”

As if the ordeal wasn't enough, Frank didn't begin his story right away. His ten fingers were crossed on his lap, and his thumbs were rubbing against each other. His blue eyes were staring at the empty photo frame on the wooden shelf across the sofa, not saying a word, like remembering, yet also seeking some kind of consent.

And Kate, she had her hands crossed on the notebook, trying to show the qualities of a qualified listener, maintaining silence.

For a moment, there was only the gentle sound of breathing in the room, floating in the air and falling down.

Finally, with his profoundly clear voice similar to a quiet lake, the story slowly spread its wings.

"My mother, I never saw her in my life.”…

As the performance ended, Helena's anxiety finally came to an end, and she couldn't wait to hear Aaron's comments right away.

But as the lights in the entire audience area came back on, she saw Aaron's face clearly, still expressionless.

He flipped a page of the script in his hand, his voice devoid of warmth, "Next scene.”