Все главы Billionaire Producer's Secret Wife: Глава 1 - Глава 10

One Year Ago The Rivera estate was too quiet. Serena stepped out of the sleek black car, her stilettos stabbing into the cobblestone like they had a score to settle. They wobbled when it got stuck in the gap between cobblestone as she walked closer. Reflecting much of her own feelings. She didn’t want to be here. Not tonight. Not ever. Her body still ached from the fourteen hour shoot she’d just wrapped. Makeup clung to her skin like a mask she didn’t have the energy to rip off. And yet, she had come. Because when Robert Rivera said Come home Now, you didn’t ignore the call. Not even if you hated the man on the other end of the line. The mansion’s front doors opened before she could even lift a hand to knock. “Miss Serena,” the butler greeted with a stiff nod. Always too polished. Always too professional. Like everything in this house used to be—before it began to fall apart. "How are you, John?" Serena asked, soft and polite. John never married, choosing to serve the Rivera

Serena didn’t go back to her apartment. Instead, she asked the driver to take her to the studio. It was past ten by the time she slipped into the quiet sound booth of the post-production house tucked away in West Hollywood. The dubbing director gave her a small nod of acknowledgment, no questions asked. She was always like this—showing up late, makeup smudged, coat still on, eyes red but not from crying. “I just have two lines left from episode eight,” she murmured as she adjusted the headphones. Her voice was steady, though her body moved on autopilot. The director didn’t argue. He liked working with her. She never complained. Never caused trouble. Always professional, even when she looked like the world had rolled over her spine. He even told her he didn't understand where the rumours about her came from. Serena smiled tightly when he told her that first time and he didn't say it again, taking the hint. The scene played across the screen in front of her—her character, a determ

Serena stood still, uncertain. She didn’t move. Not right away. She waited two beats longer than she had to—just to gather herself. Quietly. Carefully. Like a ripple waiting to settle. Then she turned. Not submissive. Not defiant. Just… watching. A little hesitant, a little tired. "You'll meet my mother soon." Serena blinked at his back. That...wasn’t what she expected him to say when he said he wanted a word. Her lips parted, but no words came. Lucian's gaze landed on her with the precision of a scalpel—sharp, emotionless. It didn’t ask for understanding. It didn't ask for anything, really. “She doesn’t know anything about this contract. And she won’t.” What? "So…” Serena’s voice was soft, tentative, like she was still testing the ground beneath her feet. “We keep the marriage a secret from the world—but the fact that it is a contract itself a secret from your mother? Am I getting that right?” “Yes.” His tone didn’t waver. No elaboration. No hint of irony. She didn’t know

Back to PresentThe lights flashed like an avalanche. Serena stood between velvet ropes, cameras aimed like snipers. Her name was being screamed in twelve different directions. Flashbulbs erupted every half-second.And then—Questions.“Serena! Is it true Aiden Wolfe requested you personally for this role?”“Was Lucian Vale’s presence during filming intimidating—or inspiring?”“Do you feel pressure stepping into the industry with that last name?”“Any comment on the rumors about Seraphina’s original casting?”“Do you think this film is part of a larger strategy for your image?”“Do you think your mother would be proud?”Each question more pointed. Each smile more loaded.Serena kept walking.Kept smiling.She knew some of these questions came from narrative planted by Lucian for her image. Some from people who saw behind it. She won't answer. Not even to the last question.Would her mother be proud? Serena preferred not to think about it. Lucian was nowhere to be seen after leaving.

Premier Night: Industry Reactions to Half a LifeVARIETY“Produced by Lucian Vale and directed by the reclusive Isobel Myles, Half a Life is an elegant burn through grief and memory, carried almost entirely on the back of a career-defining performance by Serena Rivera.”THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER“From its fog-drenched Berlin interiors to the aching silences of its Vermont flashbacks, this is a film made with surgical care. Isobel directs like a scalpel. Rivera acts like a wound. And Vale Studios lets them bleed.”INDIEWIRE – Grade: A+“The film that wasn’t supposed to happen—the director who doesn’t do studios, the actress who wasn’t even cast six months before shooting—has become the most necessary film of the year.”THE GUARDIAN“At its core, Half a Life is about silence—and the price of breaking it. That it came from a studio-backed production is a miracle. That it’s good is something closer to a reckoning.”How It Happened (And Almost Didn’t):It was supposed to be Seraphina Devacru