Chapter 1

After the director finally called “cut,” Whitney Lockwood slipped into Yarden Stein’s outfit and walked toward me unsteadily.

Under her sweat-dampened clothes, bruises from their earlier scene were clearly visible.

“Yale, Yarden is just a rookie. He couldn’t get into character, and he ended up wasting time. I don’t want this scene to ruin tomorrow’s wedding.”

“Wedding?” I scoffed. “You know the wedding is tomorrow, yet you did it for real with someone else today?”

Whitney stepped right into my arms. “Don’t be mad. Even when I was with him, all I could think about was you.”

“But didn’t you just say being with me feels so good you could die?” Yarden’s voice came from the side.

He wore only a towel. The red marks on his upper body practically seemed to flaunt themselves.

“Yale, Whitney is incredible. You’ve never had a chance with her, and honestly… It’s such a waste.”

“Yarden!” Whitney’s face flushed bright red. She grabbed a shirt and tossed it at him. “That’s a line from the script!”

Yarden laughed and picked it up. He raised a smug eyebrow at me.

“Yale, you know that, right? That scene wasn’t even in the original script.”

Watching them like this made my stomach churn.

Everyone knew how madly I loved Whitney.

For five years, I had used every resource I had as the richest man in the country to push her to the top and make her an award-winning actress.

Even when she mentioned wanting to make her childhood friend Yarden famous, I gave him every resource and favor I could.

No one could point to a single thing I had done for Whitney and find fault with it.

Even my own family told me I was putting in too much effort for an actress.

However, I never expected her to treat me like this. Who exactly did she think I was?

“Honey… Yarden’s still young and careless with his words. Don’t take it to heart.”

She leaned in for a kiss. It was her usual trick to calm me down.

This time, I instinctively pulled away and pushed her back.

Whitney froze. Her face flushed bright red, and her tone turned cold.

“I only did this so our wedding could go on as planned! If this scene drags on all night, how can we get married tomorrow?”

I looked at her self-righteous face and sneered.

“Get married? You cheated before the wedding, and you actually expect me to go through with it?”

“Whitney! That was an incredible performance!” The director’s voice cut me off.

As soon as he saw me, his face lit up with a fawning, eager smile.

“It’s all thanks to Mr. Foster’s coaching. I wouldn’t even know how to direct a scene like that with her.”

“What does he have to do with it?” Yarden raised an eyebrow and said mockingly.

“This was Whitney’s first time. Isn’t it all thanks to my skills?”

The set fell completely silent.

The director looked embarrassed. He stammered as he tried to smooth things over.

“Young people are proud. Mr. Foster, don’t take it personally. Whitney was just sacrificing herself for her art. You wouldn’t understand. It happens a lot in this industry.”

I scoffed. I forced myself to stay calm as I questioned the director.

“So, changing the script just to give someone a chance to ‘sacrifice themselves for art’ is considered normal?

“Tell me, who decided to change the script?”

The director froze, as if he finally realized something. He did not dare speak and just shot Whitney a guilty glance.

I scoffed.

I suddenly lost all my strength. I did not want to bother with this bunch of schemers anymore.

I said, “Whitney, the wedding’s off. We’re done.”

With that, I turned and walked away. Whitney grabbed my arm in a panic.

“Yale, you can’t be serious! How can we not get married? You’ve always understood me before, so you have to now. Don’t say things you don’t mean. We’re supposed to get married tomorrow—”

Before she could finish, Yarden cut in angrily.

“If you’re not getting married, then fine! Whitney, let’s be honest. He’s just a businessman. He knows nothing about art. Why are you marrying a man like him?”

“Yarden!”

Whitney finally snapped. Her body shook as she slapped him.

The moment the slap landed, she quickly raised her hand in apology.

“Y-Yarden… I’m sorry, I—”

Yarden covered his face in disbelief. “Whitney! You actually hit me over some money-grubbing man?”

Then, he turned to glare at me with even more fury.

“Yale! I’ll remember this slap! Just you wait!”

He deliberately knocked over a nearby camera. The crew gasped. Eyes red with anger, he stormed out and slammed the door behind him.