One’s a buzzworthy celeb with serious clout, the other’s the newbie backed by the top investor – so yeah, the director personally came to greet Amber and Justin on set.
With the director rolling out the red carpet, the rest of the cast didn’t dare to slack.
They gathered behind him, all eager to see the two VIPs parachuting into the crew.
Amber clearly needed no intro – most people had at least heard her name.
If they could cozy up to her, maybe even grab onto her coattails a little, they might not get the main course, but hey, even a splash of gravy in this industry was better than starving.
And then there was Justin.
The investor’s shiny new favorite.
Compared to Amber, he actually stirred up more whispers.
Everyone knew: get close to him, and the perks down the line might just be endless.
So the moment Justin walked in, all eyes locked on him – he instantly became the main attraction.
Heck, even outshined Amber.
Amber didn’t see that coming.
This greenhorn, this total nobody, actually upstaged her?
And of all people, he was signed under Lisette?
Beneath her elegant facade, irritation simmered.
Meanwhile, Justin was blissfully unaware he’d just made himself her number one enemy.
Folks smiled at him, and he grinned right back, all sunshine and sparkles.
Once he set foot on set, the guy looked like he was in paradise.
It was like every part of him screamed: “Act!
Act!
Let me act!”
Justin felt something big – like he was finally gonna shake off that stiff, wooden acting and show Lisette he wasn’t a complete loss.
Director handed each of them two A4 pages.
“The screenwriter and I picked these scenes out.
Run them together – I wanna see some chemistry.”
Amber glanced at the script, didn’t even touch it, her brows knitting.
“So…
this is an audition?”
She already felt like this show was beneath her.
She’d agreed to join thinking she’d get five-star treatment – best hotel, picking her co-actors herself, the whole crew waiting on her like she was a queen.
And now the director had the nerve to make her audition?
Talk about a slap in the face.
Her elegant expression turned frosty in an instant.
On the other hand, Justin practically lit up.
“Sweet!
Let’s do this!”
He eagerly snatched his pages and buried his face in them.
Amber stared at him.
Was this guy for real?
Backed by Lisette, hand-picked by the investors, and on Phoenix Crest Estate turf, and he’s still jumping to audition?
Amber looked at him like he was yesterday’s leftovers – useless and embarrassing.
If Lisette would just shift that energy to her, she’d be topping charts in no time.
Her disdain for Justin was only outmatched by her disgust for Lisette.
In her eyes, that woman either had something seriously wrong with her or needed her vision checked.
Justin, meanwhile, was already head-down, totally focused.
Amber continued holding her pose, unmoved, still trying to radiate diva energy.
Lisette gave a sarcastic little smirk and casually blew on her nails.
“Amber, you really planning to just stand there and look pretty?
Don’t blame anyone but yourself if you get shown up by a rookie and become tomorrow’s punchline.”
Director turned around and called out, “Cameras rolling in twenty!”
Amber stiffened at his words.
Eric, realizing there was no backing out now, took the script with a soothing tone.
“It’s only a screen test.
Nothing to stress about.
Just show them what you’ve got – use that talent to crush this newbie and slap Lisette in the face with it.
Wouldn’t that be satisfying?”
Amber considered this, then silently took the pages and began reading, finally dialing back the attitude.
Lisette shot her a glance, then walked over to go through lines with Justin.
My Beloved Muse is a story about a heartfelt, motivational romance.
Amber plays Claire Hayes, the main female lead – a girl from a humble background.
She’s tough beneath her gentle appearance.
To afford her mom’s hospital bills, she fights her way through multiple interviews and finally lands a job as a resort staff member.
By chance, she crosses paths with Justin’ character – Gavin Mercer, the spoiled heir who loafs around the resort with nothing better to do.
He’s instantly smitten and starts chasing her hard.
But Claire?
Totally not interested.
Her heart belongs to her childhood friend, Elliot Brooks.
She turns Gavin down again and again, but the more she pushes him away, the deeper he falls.
What began as mere curiosity turns into an obsession.
Gavin, being kinda obsessive by nature, goes off the rails.
Once he realizes how into her he actually is, he starts to sabotage her relationship with Elliot.
Again and again, he sets traps, trying to tear the two apart and corner Elliot.
Elliot’s no pushover, though.
He keeps getting knocked down but always bounces back.
Thanks to his insane talent for investing, he rises to the top of the financial world.
In the end, he takes over Gavin’s family business, driving the once-proud villain to ruin – penniless and hated by everyone.
The story wraps with Claire and Elliot tying the knot in a grand wedding, happily ever after.
The role Justin plays is that villainous second male lead, Gavin – a guy whose downfall is written in the stars.
*****
First scene for auditions –
Gavin bumps into Claire for the first time, acts like a total jerk, and gets shut down instantly. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Lisette had already gone through the script twice and had her lines down cold.
She looked up, totally zoned in on the female lead’s emotions.
She told Justin, “Let’s try it off-script.”
“Huh?
What now?” Justin blinked, totally thrown.
He glanced at the script, then back at Lisette, his mouth already tripping over itself.
“W-wait, you mean no script?
Like right now?
I haven’t even memorized it yet…”
“It’s barely ten lines.
Don’t tell me you still can’t remember them?” Lisette sounded unimpressed.
Justin shrank a little.
“My memory sucks…”
She gave him a sharp look.
“Funny how you remembered Amber’s face just fine.
What, got a thing for her?” One wrong word and she’d get Hannah to drag him out for a “chat.”
Justin panicked and shook his head like crazy.
“No no no!
Absolutely not!
Why would I like someone that…
mature?
If I had a type, it’d be someone like you!”
“Oh?”
Justin blurted out, face all red and stiff, “Don’t freak out, Lisette – I was just using it as an example.
Like, clearly, you’re way better looking than her.
Honestly, you’re the prettiest manager I’ve ever seen…”
Lisette wasn’t in the mood for compliments.
“Cut the crap.”
Justin scratched his head.
“I mean, I can remember faces real well.
Just not texts…
Back in school, I hated memorizing anything.”
Lisette felt like a lightning bolt just zapped her whole brain.
She looked at him in disbelief.
“You want to be an actor, but you’re bad at remembering lines?”
“I love acting,” he said, like it was his whole source of pride.
Lisette rubbed her temples, giving up the mental fight.
“Fine.
Read from the script for now.
Try to show some real emotion; we’ll work on memorizing the lines later.”
“Got it!” Justin perked up immediately.
Head held high, he marched over, full of confidence.
He glanced at the page, gave Lisette a sly smirk, then read like some livestream host: “H-Hey there, gorgeous…
you, uh—rushing into my arms like that…
c-could it be…
you’ve fallen for me?
For real?”
Lisette’s soul briefly left her body.
Wait, what the heck did she just hear?