A very Lousy Teammate

Because of this brainless girl, Vanessa was close to dying from frustration.

“Aren’t you seeing that everyone is starting to sympathize with her because of this incident? Don’t tell me you want her to rise from the ashes and continue acting with Jason?”

Vivienne hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she refused to back down.

“I’m not going! I’d rather die than apologize to that bitch!”

What effect could such a small incident have?

All she had to do was buy a few small gifts later to smooth things over with these people.

Vanessa saw that Vivienne couldn’t be persuaded, so she could only leave things as they were and hope she wouldn’t cause any more trouble.

It was already a foregone conclusion that Isabella’s reputation would be destroyed. No matter what schemes she tried, she could only rely on petty tricks like these.

How could she possibly turn things around?

Vanessa estimated that the mysterious sponsor behind Isabella would abandon her soon enough. After all, who would want a lover with a terrible reputation who cheated on him?

Thinking this, she finally calmed down.

In the end, to prevent further conflict, Director Phil decided not to reshoot the previous scene and instead used the clip where Isabella spat out blood.

The next scene scheduled for filming was one where Natalie had just been bestowed the title of Consort, while Consort Katherine had lost favor and was thrown into the Cold Palace. Natalie entered the Cold Palace to visit her and reveal her true identity.

Luckily, this scene was relatively safe.

It relied mostly on expressions and dialogue—very little action.

“Three, two, one… Action!”

Filming began.

Inside the Cold Palace, Consort Devan sat in a wide chair, looking down disdainfully at the pitiful figure collapsed at her feet.

“Consort Katherine, do you know why I hate you so much? Why I want to push you to your death?”

“Bitch! You’re clearly jealous of me! Jealous that the Emperor favors me!”

Consort Devan laughed, as though she had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

“You think I’m jealous? Of the favor of that rotten old man?”

“Devan! Have you gone mad? I’m going to tell the Emperor! I’m going to tell him you insulted—”

Consort Devan shot her a cold, sinister look, instantly silencing her.

Then, word by word, she said—

“Katherine… I wonder if you remember the name… Natalie Frostman?”

“You… you…” Vivienne faltered, unable to continue.

“Cut! Do it again!” Phil snapped.

Second take.

“Katherine… I wonder if you remember the name… Natalie Frostman?”

This time, Isabella’s gaze was even sharper, her words tightening around Vivienne’s throat like a noose.

“You… you are… are…”

“Stop. Again!”

Third take.

“Katherine… I wonder if you remember the name… Natalie Frostman?”

This time, Isabella’s tone was chilling—like a vengeful spirit come to claim a life. Even the surrounding crew could feel the overwhelming wave of resentment and fury.

“You… you’re Natalie Frostman? How could you be… be… be…”

Vivienne froze again.

“Cut!”

This time, Director Phil completely lost his patience. He threw the script aside, his voice thundering across the set.

“Vivienne, what is wrong with you? You can’t even remember such a simple line? Do you even read the script at all?!”

He had every right to be furious.

Isabella had executed the scene perfectly, pulling everyone into the atmosphere. It could have been flawless—but Vivienne’s repeated mistakes had completely ruined it.

The staff watching from the side began whispering among themselves, their expressions full of scorn.

“Is Vivienne serious? Repeating the same line over and over—I can recite it myself now!”

“‘You’re Natalie Frostman? How could you be Natalie Frostman? She’s already dead!’ It’s not even a long line. How hard is it to memorize?”

“That post said Isabella’s acting was bad—but look at Vivienne. That’s what real trash acting looks like.”

“Honestly, Isabella is actually really good. Have you noticed? Almost all her scenes are done in one take. The only NGs are because of other people.”

“You’re right! Yesterday, I thought she was just being herself, but she completely nailed young Natalie!”

“And the way she teased Jason—it didn’t feel awkward at all. It actually made my heart race!”

“Exactly! If they replace her now, I won’t even watch anymore. In my mind, Isabella is Natalie Frostman.”

Vanessa had not expected things to spiral this badly. Internally, she cursed Vivienne a hundred times over.

Outwardly, however, she maintained a concerned expression as she walked over.

“Vivienne, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well today?”

Vivienne was on the verge of losing her mind.

“I don’t know what’s happening! Every time I look at Isabella, my mind just goes blank—it’s like I’ve been cursed!”

Vanessa didn’t believe her.

She simply assumed this was the result of Vivienne’s usual laziness and poor acting skills. Still, she kept her composure and comforted her.

“Take it slow. I’ll run the lines with you.”

After going through the scene together, Vivienne was finally able to recite her lines smoothly.

“See? You can do it,” Vanessa encouraged.

Vivienne’s confidence immediately returned. She hurried over to the director.

“Director, I’m ready now!”

By this time, Phil had calmed down slightly. His expression was more composed.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

However…

The moment filming started again—

Vivienne forgot everything.

Again.

She grew increasingly frustrated, insisting on retrying over and over.

In the end—

She NGed twenty-eight times.

What should have been an easy scene dragged on until nightfall, yet still remained unfinished.

The entire crew began complaining.

They were filming a movie, not a TV show. Every extra take meant wasted time, manpower, and money.

By the thirty-third NG—

Vivienne stood frozen.

Then suddenly—

She screamed like a madwoman and lunged at Isabella.

“Isabella! You bitch, what did you do to me?! Why can’t I remember my lines?! Why?! It’s you! You did this!”

The assistants rushed forward to restrain her, but in her frenzy, she shoved them aside—even scratching Vanessa in the process.

That was the final straw.

“She’s insane…”

“She can’t remember her lines and she’s blaming others?”

“What does she think—someone can crawl into her brain and erase her memory?”

“She doesn’t even feel guilty for making everyone stay this late!”

“Poor Isabella… to provoke someone like that…”

“Don’t you think what happened last night is suspicious? All this started right after Jason came on set…”

“If Isabella gets kicked out, who benefits the most?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

At those words—

Everyone exchanged knowing looks.