Chapter 3

Jefferson stared at the medical articles on his screen about 'schizophrenia' and 'neurological auditory hallucinations.' His frown deepened, a dark irritation clawing at his chest.

Just then, a sickeningly sweet wave of perfume hit his nose.

Candice Meadows walked up to the monitors, her face arranged into a mask of pitiful innocence.

"Jeff, what a surprise to see you here," Candice said, lowering her voice to sound breathy and vulnerable, angling her face to show off her best side. "We had a little accident on set earlier. I'm so embarrassed you had to see that."

Jefferson calmly locked his phone and slid it into his pocket. He gave her a freezing side-eye and leaned back, putting physical distance between himself and her suffocating perfume.

"I was just passing by to see Arthur," he said. His tone was dead flat. He didn't offer her a single extra syllable.

Candice's fake smile twitched, but she quickly recovered, opening her mouth to try again.

Arthur cut her off completely.

"Jeff! Perfect timing! You will not believe what I just caught on camera!" Arthur yelled, completely ignoring Candice's awkward presence.

Arthur's fingers flew across the control board. He pulled up the unedited long take from a few minutes ago-the exact moment Karina caught Candice's wrist and dominated the entire room with a single look.

Jefferson's eyes locked onto the screen.

When he saw the dead, bloodthirsty look in Karina's eyes, his pupils contracted sharply.

This was the exact same woman who, just moments ago, had stumbled into him because of low blood sugar, screaming in her head about wanting a burger. The contrast was staggering.

On the screen, she looked like a drawn blade. The raw, oppressive power radiating from her was so authentic that even Jefferson, a two-time Oscar winner, felt a jolt of genuine awe.

"Look at those micro-expressions! Look at the tension in her jaw!" Arthur slapped his thigh in excitement. "She's a genius! All those PR articles calling her a talentless vase are pure bullshit!"

Standing next to them, Candice watched her own pathetic, stumbling fall on the monitor. Her fingernails dug so hard into her palms they almost broke the skin. Jealousy ripped through her chest like a saw.

She couldn't let Jefferson think highly of that bitch. Candice took a deep breath and let out a dramatic, helpless sigh.

"Karina has been acting really strange today," Candice said softly. "It's probably because Kole is about to go on that reality dating show with her. She's just putting on this edgy act to get his attention."

Candice smoothly dropped the gossip, trying to reduce Karina's stunning performance to the desperate tactics of a obsessed ex-girlfriend.

Jefferson turned his head. His deep, amber eyes swept over Candice's hypocritical face, slicing through her dirty little calculation in a second.

"Is that so?" Jefferson's voice was quiet, but it carried a terrifying weight. "Because from where I'm standing, the way she looked at you... she genuinely wanted to kill you."

The words choked Candice. The blood drained from her face, leaving her pale and trembling. She took a step back, unable to form a single word of defense.

Right at that moment, the crisp voice echoed in Jefferson's brain again.

[Burp- This iced cola is literally giving me life! If only I had some fried chicken to go with it. ]

The corner of Jefferson's mouth twitched upward. It was a microscopic movement, but the heavy irritation caused by his supposed 'hallucinations' miraculously vanished.

He turned his head toward the craft service area in the distance. He couldn't see clearly through the crowd, but he knew exactly where she was-hiding in a corner, burping without a shred of dignity.

Arthur caught that fleeting smile. "Jeff? Are you interested in her?"

Jefferson pulled his gaze back, his face returning to its untouchable coldness. "Her acting is passable. Which is more than I can say for some vases who only know how to spray perfume."

The insult hit Candice like a physical slap across the face. Her cheeks burned a dark, humiliated red. She bit her lower lip so hard she tasted copper.

Realizing she was only humiliating herself further, Candice muttered a weak excuse, grabbed her assistant, and fled the monitor area like a beaten dog.

Once inside her luxury trailer, Candice swept every expensive bottle of makeup off her vanity. They shattered against the floor. Her chest heaved violently.

"Call the gossip blogs right now!" Candice screamed at her assistant. "Leak the story that Karina threw a diva fit and assaulted me on set! I want her cyberbullied into the ground before that reality show even airs!"

The assistant shrank back, pulling out her phone to contact the troll farms. A massive storm of public hatred was already brewing in the dark corners of the internet.

Back on set, Karina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her stomach was full. She stood up, ready to finish the last scene of this miserable day.