Chapter 6 Stand In

Sheila obviously felt humiliated, which made Winnie happy. Winnie looked her up and down and snorted. "Humph! You're not so stupid after all. Go wash the dishes now."

Sheila didn't dare to refuse. Enduring the pain in her knees, she stood up and answered in a low voice, "Okay."

In the kitchen, tons of greasy dishes were piled up all over the sink. Worse yet, Sheila found that the hot water had been turned off.

Sheila had no choice but to endure washing countless plates, forks, and knives with freezing cold water.

By the time she was done, she was shivering and her lips had turned blue. Exhausted and in pain, she dragged her tired body back to her room and wanted more than anything to take a warm shower.

But, to her dismay, she found that the hot water in her room had also been turned off.

Sheila leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, trembling with her arms wrapped around her knees.

She sobbed helplessly, not knowing when her suffering would end.

A few days later, Saul Larson called her to ask about Ivan's condition.

"Hi, Sheila! How's your brother doing?" Saul was Sheila's good friend.

He knew about Sheila's situation. Working as an agent in the entertainment circle, he sometimes helped her get some work to ease her financial pressure.

"I've paid the medical fees. The doctor said that his condition stabilized," Sheila said steadily, though she couldn't help but worry whenever she thought about Ivan's disease.

"That's great! If you need any help, just call me, okay? By the way, there's a star who needs a stand-in for a bikini shoot. The rate's a thousand dollars per hour. What do you think?"

"I'll do it! Be right there!" Sheila agreed immediately. Although she wasn't that comfortable in a bikini, she needed the money.

As soon as Sheila arrived at the site of the shoot, she saw Saul wave at her, so she ran to him in a hurry.

"Go get ready."

Saul took Sheila to the changing room and told the dresser to style Sheila.

When Sheila came out, Saul heard her and turned around to look at her. What he saw nearly made him gasp.

The bikini looked perfect on Sheila, while the heavy makeup brought out her natural features. The second Saul's eyes met hers, he felt as though the world had gone still.

A few seconds later, they heard exclamations from all over the site. Everyone was shocked and delighted to see the woman in the bikini.

Could it really be Sheila, the girl in the black-framed glasses from earlier?

Glancing at Sheila from head to toe, Saul shook his head, thinking it was a pity that such a girl with great potential had no resources.

The shoot didn't take that long. Sheila was a professional after all and was used to standing in for actresses. When the shoot was over, she walked off the set in her ridiculously high heels.

Saul was busy talking to the director. Just as Sheila was about to go to him, she saw Gerald walking in her direction.

Oh, shit!

Sheila was stunned but it was too late to run away. In a state of panic, she turned around too quickly and twisted her ankle. With a yelp, she fell forward.

But instead of slamming into the cold, hard ground, she fell into a pair of strong arms.

Confused, she looked up and saw that it was Gerald.

Before she could respond, Gerald pushed her away and she fell to the ground. Frowning in pain, she lowered her head and didn't dare to look up at him. "Sorry, I... I didn't mean it."

Then Sheila struggled to her feet and turned around to leave. She didn't want to spend another second with Gerald.

However, Gerald felt as though the scene in front of him was unusually familiar.

He narrowed his eyes and studied Sheila. "Stop!"

Sheila stopped in her tracks. Standing still, she didn't dare to move nor look back. Even her fingers were trembling slightly.

She was still afraid of Gerald, the man she had slept with that fateful night.

Seeing this, Saul quickly ran over, shrugged off his suit jacket, and wrapped it around Sheila. He smiled apologetically at Gerald and said, "So sorry, Mr. Lamont. She's a newcomer under my management. Please forgive her if she offended you."

Lowering her head, Sheila tugged at Saul's sleeve and whispered under her breath, "Get me out of here!"

Understanding what she meant, Saul shot Gerald one last apologetic smile before putting his arm around Sheila, covering her from Gerald's sight. The two walked away, Sheila hobbling with Saul's support.

Gerald didn't stop them. He watched Sheila leave, lost in thought.

How could this woman look so familiar?