All Chapters of Dropping the Act: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Elena Youngblood sat by the upstairs lounge window, looking placid as she focused on sculpting the marble block before her. On the table beside her was a sketch, the design on it refreshingly unique.She wore a white bodycon dress, and her hair was styled in a way that seemed at odds with her overall disposition, held in place by a hair clip. Her nimble fingers seemed to dance over the marble block, her chisel clinking against the stone as she worked.The dim light in the corner illuminated her face, accentuating her alabaster, near-translucent skin.Elena was the adopted daughter of the Youngblood family, who were busy entertaining guests downstairs. Only she had been asked to sketch her designs in the upstairs lounge.Suddenly, the door of the lounge flew open. Talia Youngblood, the real heiress of the Youngblood family and Elena's older adoptive sister, barged in with a savage expression. "Everyone downstairs won't stop talking about you. You must be pleased."It was Talia's bi

Talia left the study half an hour later, her arms grasped by the help to keep her upright.Elena watched from the attic door, and it wasn't until she heard noises coming from the stairwell entryway that she turned and retreated into the attic. The footsteps drew closer. She slowly sat before the desk, picked up a pencil, and sketched a design.The cramped, dimly lit space was so quiet that only the soft scraping of her pencil on paper could be heard.Joel pushed the door open and entered, his voice rough. "I told you I already taught Talia a lesson. Why did you have to rat her out to Dad?"Remus hadn't gone easy on Talia. She was badly roughed up after Remus was through with punishing her. Joel had doted on Talia since they were children, and his heart broke to see her endure their father's harsh beating. He reckoned Elena was behind this and immediately went up to the attic to confront her.Elena did not stop sketching, lowering her head to keep her emotions from showing. "Dad sa

A beauty like Elena would never go unnoticed, no matter where she went. She looked like a beautiful portrait, sitting idly and quietly in the corner in her sweet, demure get-up.She caught the eye of one of the scions at the tender conference. He smoothly plucked a red rose from the reception table before approaching Elena. "Hey, beautiful lady. What are you doing here all alone?"Elena hadn't been spacing out. Rather, she'd been thinking about the bidding happening soon when her thoughts were interrupted. She lifted her gaze, and the scion was even more dazzled by her slightly dazed expression. He handed her the rose and said, "This is for you."A faint smile curved Elena's lips, but she did not take the rose. "Sorry, but my family is strict and won't allow me to take things from a stranger.""Do you always do as your family says? What a good girl." He didn't press her into taking the rose and instead claimed the seat beside her. "You look bored sitting here. Care for a chat?"El

The tender conference began shortly after. Over a hundred companies at the conference submitted their proposals in order and elaborated on their design concepts.Clearly dissatisfied with the work presented before him, Nicholas looked increasingly impatient with each proposal. In the end, he closed his eyes and leaned into his seat. There was no telling if he was actually listening to the company representatives.Even then, the company representatives at the conference continued to sell their designs.Nicholas, who had one hand braced against his forehead the entire time, suddenly opened his eyes. He threw the document on the desk with a loud smack and snapped, "I didn't invest billions of dollars in this project for crappy designs like these!"Marcus immediately interjected, "What Mr. Montgomery meant to say was—those of you who are not confident in your designs are excused from participation without needing to present your work."The tender conference had been brought forward on

Elena smelled faintly of licorice—one of those scents that would cling to memory.Nicholas closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. Just as he was about to lean in for another kiss, Elena's phone buzzed."It's my dad. I have to take this."She pulled out her phone and swiped to answer.Remus' anxious voice came through. "Why aren't you out yet?"Elena glanced at Nicholas and answered softly, "I'm on my way.""Hurry up."The call ended at once.Elena stepped out of Nicholas' arms. "My dad's rushing me home. I need to go.""Do you always do what your dad says?"Nicholas prided himself on reading people, but he couldn't see through Elena at all.Elena gave him a playful wink. "My family is strict. I'll be punished if I disobey him."Nicholas let out a low chuckle. "What a goody two-shoes.""That's right. Time for Ms. Goody Two-Shoes to go home."Elena stood on tiptoe and gave him a peck on his lips. When she turned around, her white dress fluttered in the air. She looked l