To Be a Popular Actress

A pack of banknotes was smashed into Mia Smith's face. However, although Mia's face hurt sharply, it was the pain in her heart that was killing her.

A well-dressed, middle-aged woman sat opposite Mia, wearing delicate makeup and looking at the latter like a proud queen.

The expression in the woman's eyes was contemptuous. It seemed that she felt an intense loathing for the young woman and did not want to say much to Mia as it would damage her nobility.

Still, the middle-aged woman could not help but curse the young lady.

"Collect the money and get lost. It should be enough for you to squander for a while. I'm telling you the last time. Stop seducing my son. He is getting married. I don't mind if you want to be an underground lover of his. But with your status, you're absolutely not allowed to marry him!"

An underground lover? Getting married?

Mia felt like her head was about to explode. Her classmates chattered around her, but Mia could not hear what they were saying. She only knew that her heart hurt badly.

The man she loved for three years was getting married.

The mother of the man she loved for three years hit Mia with a pack of money to humiliate her in public and force her to stay away from the man.

Where was Luke Powell, the man Mia loved for three years?

Was he holding his fiancée in his arms? Did he know that his mother came to humiliate Mia but deliberately ignore it?

Mia laughed at herself. Wherever Luke was, he would marry a young lady from a powerful family.

Mia should know about this long ago, did not she?

Only it happened slightly earlier than she expected.

"Don't worry. I won't bother him!"

Mia sneered. No one knew whether that sneer was for herself or the woman across from her.

In fact, Mia thought that the other woman was quite pathetic and that there was nothing else but money in the latter's mind.

Mia bypassed the middle-aged woman, stepped on the banknotes, and left without looking back. From beginning to end, she did not spare a glance at the bills on the floor.

After the farce, Mia knew she had to stay away from campus for a short period.

Unexpectedly, that was just the beginning.

Mia initially thought she would be left in peace once she was home. However, before entering her place, she found that nudie photos covered the familiar alleyway walls.

And it was Mia in those photos.

Mia widened her eyes open in shock. She knew well that the body in those photos was not hers, but it was indeed her face matching that body.

Mia ignored the photos and rushed home. A vehicle was parked in front of the door.

Mia instantly recognized that it was the same car before the school entrance a while ago.

"Tell your daughter to stop seducing my son. Even if she doesn't mind being a mistress, I care about the Powell Family's reputation! Take the money on behalf of her as compensation for her youth spent on my son. If she continues pestering him, I'll let her pay the price in addition to those nudie photos."

Mia realized that it was Luke's mother speaking.

The arrogant, domineering woman behaved like a queen and humiliated Mia's mother contemptuously.

Seeing the aged features on Mia's mother's face, the woman intuitively touched her own and mocked, "Look at you. You should be in your forties, but you horribly look like in your fifties or even sixties. Oh my gosh!"

The woman waved her handkerchief and wanted to say something else. However, the other woman with a slightly older looking suddenly rolled her eyes and fell in a faint.

"Mom, what happened?"

Mia hurried to hold her mother. But no matter how she cried, her mother did not wake up.

"Mom, wait. I'll call an ambulance. I'm calling an ambulance."

Mia took out her mobile phone nervously, her finger trembling. The young woman tried hard. However, she could not stop her hand from shaking.

Her Mom was a patient with hypertension and coronary disease. For years, Mia kept Mom in peace and from irritation.

She was worried that Mom would never wake up.

And Mom was the only family member Mia had.

With tears blurring her eyes, Mia eventually called the hospital and anxiously stated their address. Just then, a wedding invitation was thrown upon her head.

"Don't forget to come to the wedding. Then you'll get a clearer idea of the huge status gap between you and Luke."

With that, the haughty woman wiggled away in high heels.

The freezing look in her eyes said that she did not give a damn about Mia's mother's life or death.

An ambulance soon arrived. Mia followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited outside the operating room, feeling like a nightmare.

The lights in the operating room stayed on.

One hour, two hours, three hours... For ten hours, Mom did not come out.

With her tears dried up, Mia sat on a bench as if she had lost consciousness.

When Mia had lost track of time, the door to the operating room was finally opened. The young woman rushed over to tug at the doctor's sleeve.

The doctor, however, shook his head apologetically at her.

In an instant, Mia felt the whole world collapsed. She sat back on the bench and stayed motionless like a corpse.

She did not even blink her eyes.

She could not believe or accept Mom's death. Mom said that she wanted to see Mia get married and give birth to a lovely child.

Mom also said that they would go on a trip when Mia entered the work world and made some money.

Mom once promised that she would witness Mia make dreams come true.

"Mom, how could you leave me alone?" Mia asked helplessly.

Mia broke down and cried hysterically. For that moment, the entire whole was a wasteland to her.

A luxury business vehicle was parked at the Powell Family's mansion. A woman in a white dress stepped out of the car. Her long, wavy hair was tied behind her head, and her makeup was delicate.

The expression in the woman's big eyes was standoffish. When she walked, her long legs looked gorgeous.

"Where is Luke?"

The lady glanced at the Butler and asked.

The Butler looked at the Powell Family's mansion embarrassedly, paused for one second, then replied, "He is in the dining room."

"I see."

The woman then headed straight for the dining hall.

It was nighttime, and the dining room was dim as the lights were off. Also, it was full of the smell of alcohol and a man's murmuring.

"Luke?"

The woman called out tentatively but got no response.

She went in there with care. "Ouch!"

The abrupt, sharp pain in her knee annoyed the woman. Flames of irritation were shining in the darkness.

"Luke?"

The woman called out again and walked up to the faint figure not far away.

The moment she bent over to listen to the man's murmur, the woman's facial expression grew gloomy in an instant.

"Mia, Mia..."

Luke called out subconsciously. Meanwhile, he moved his hand to grasp the woman's wrist and leaned over.

"Mia, here you are. Please don't blame me. Although I'm going to marry Bella, I will still love you. We can still be together in the future."

Being together in the future?

Bella Wilson's facial expression grew even gloomier.

"Luke, you're marrying me. How could you hold the idea to maintain your relationship with that bitch? I definitely will not allow that to happen!"

Bella said angrily. But Luke clutched her arm and kept shouting, "Mia, Mia..."

Bella narrowed her eyes and lowered her head to look at the drunken man. Gradually, the expression in Bella's eyes got blurred.

While caressing the man's hair, Bella whispered, "Mia is not as good as you think. She is slightly calmer than others and doesn't show a strong desire for money. In fact, however, she is no different from other women. You'll find out later I am the one who loves you the most."

Bella bent down slowly to lean in closer to the plastered man and kissed upon his thin lips.

The night passed away, and the desires were gone. Luke opened his eyes in a daze, rubbing his aching forehead. Some images flashed across his mind, but he did not think further.

Last night, he eventually chose to compromise after a long talk with his mother.

Luke knew that Mom had gone to the university as well as Mia's home, but he could not see Mia or comfort her.

Because he knew his mother well, what she had done to Mia was just a start, and Luke's attitude and performance would decide whether she would make things even more difficult for Mia.

As long as he stopped seeing Mia and married Bella following his mother's arrangements, what happened the day before would not happen again.

Luke hated himself for being incompetent and weak. If he could be independent enough to get rid of the family's control and be as capable and powerful as his elder brother, he would not be subject to his mother.

"Mia, wait for me. I will bring happiness to you as soon as possible!"

Luke vowed inwardly. At this moment, he had no idea that after what happened the day before, he and Mia would never be able to get back together.

What separated them was not only the humiliation Luke's mother brought to Mia but a life. And the gulf between them was insurmountable.

Luke would become the most hated person in Mia's life!

Everything about Luke would not become Mia's sweet memories but her shame!

Luke rubbed his sore temples and sat up. The white silk quilt slipped off his body, revealing his naked upper body. He then frowned.

He only remembered that he had a drink or two at a restaurant last night and nothing else. Who the hell had taken his clothes off?

When Luke was wondering, someone suddenly opened the bathroom door. Bella walked out in a white bathrobe and long, wet hair casually hanging about her shoulders.

While walking, Bella dried her hair. Sensing Luke's sharp gaze, the woman raised her head with a coy smile.

"Luke, good morning."

Bella's smile was sweet, and her face was blushed. Meanwhile, a trace of an indistinguishable emotion crossed her eyes.

Luke was so drunk last night. Bella had no idea what he could remember. What if the man found out that she was not a virgin before last night?

The thought disturbed Bella mentally.

"Luke, you..."

"Nothing happened between us last night."

With a gloomy expression on his face, Luke stared at the woman as if he could see her through. He could not deny Bella's attraction and did not mind having sex with her. However, she couldn't enter his heart and replace Mia's status in there.

Luke lifted the covers and got dressed calmly.

What was the point of feeling embarrassed since they had already slept with each other?

Luke had slept with many women, including when he was with Mia. But those women were all just friends with benefits. Mia was the only one he wanted to marry and loved from the bottom of his heart.

In his mind, bodies and souls could be totally separated.

One's body was just the combination of various desires, while one's soul was the purest being.

Luke had given his purest being to Mia. Naturally, he loved her the most.

Luke's words were inserted into Bella's body like cold arrows, and her facial expression instantly grew gloomy.

Nothing happened...

"Luke, how could you do this to me?"

Bella grabbed a towel and threw it at Luke. She was going to marry the man and loved him wholeheartedly. How could he say such irresponsible words to her?

"Luke, I have given you the most treasured thing that I own. How could you... Do you have any conscience at all?"

Bella cried, feeling heartbroken. However, witnessing her sadness did not make Luke feel anything. Even worse, the look in his eyes was filled with disgust.

"Save your tears and stop pretending to be innocent. I know that you're good at acting. It's useless to put on an act before me. That's enough!"

After putting on his jacket and fixing his hair, Luke walked outwards.

He had to get out of this suffocating room and get rid of the crazy woman to feel better.

No one's tears could have any effect on Luke except Mia's.

"Luke, stop right there!"

Bella caught up with him and tugged at Luke's sleeve. "We'll soon get married and become the closest person to each other in the world. You can't do this to me!"

"Can't do that?" Luke raised his brows and cast a sidelong glance at Bella. Seeing that tears covered the woman's face, Luke lifted his hand to wipe them off Bella's cheeks gently. "All right. Don't cry or worry that I won't marry you. You are a nice sexual partner indeed."

"What a sugar-coated bullet," thought Bella to herself.

She fell from heaven to hell in less than a minute and was lifted from hell to heaven again.

What a badass Luke was.

Bella bit her bottom lip hard and lowered her eyes to conceal the gloom and coldness inside.

"Mia, it's all your fault. It's all your fault. I won't let you get away with it! I am obviously better than you. What makes you qualified to obtain Luke's heart?" Bella thought to herself.

On the other hand, Bella decided it was good enough that she at least got something to attract Luke.

As for the others, she could take her time.

She believed that her beauty would eventually conquer luke's heart after a rather long period.

At the thought of this, Bella curled up her lips into a smug smile.

Just then, Luke impatiently moved Bella's hand off his arm. "Get away from me. Don't follow me!"

Soon after Luke left, Nova Jones walked up to Bella.

Seeing Bella standing outside the room in her bathrobe, she yawned and asked with displeasure, "What's going on? What were you quarreling about early in the morning?"

"It's fine. Luke and I had sex last night, and he seemed to be somewhat irritated."

Bella felt shy and slightly disappointed.

At Bella's words, Nova's eyes lit up.

"You and Luke had sex?"

Nova fixed her eyes upon Bella's stomach, and the look in her eyes grew hot. The elderly woman knew that her son had many women outside, but because of Mia, Luke had never got a woman pregnant.

However, Nova desperately needed a grandson to secure her son's inheritance right in the Powell Family.

"Bella, hurry to clean yourself up. Mom will take you to shop and buy whatever you fancy. Give birth to a kid soon. I am getting old and want nothing else but a grandson."

Nova patted the back of Bella's hand affectionately. Bella nodded with a smile, but the look in her eyes was full of mockery.

Just a grandchild?

Bella did not buy Nova's words at all.

She knew that Nova wanted to use a grandkid to occupy more assets in the Powell Family.

Although Nova's words sounded selfless, Bella knew that she used to be a home-wrecker.

Seeing that Nova was gone, Bella returned to her room.

Mia came back from the cemetery and looked at the messy house, full of frustration.

It was empty, and she was alone. Whenever she went out, she was accosted and jeered by the neighbors.

Actually, she did not care about that.

She did not care how the others see her. Those people were the owners of their mouths. Of course, Mia could do nothing to button their lips.

The red, gold-trimmed invitation lying on the ground stung Mia's eyes.

At the thought of Nova's proud, haughty attitude, Mia picked up the invitation from the ground with anger rolling in her eyes.

That hateful woman wanted Mia to attend Luke's wedding.

Fine!

She would be at the wedding. Besides, she was going to make a scene there.

Was not Luke's mother obsessed with her own reputation?

Then Bella would disgrace her utterly!

Bella's mother died. She had nothing else to worry about.

She would avenge herself sooner or later.

Holding the wedding invitation, Mia gritted her teeth tightly with her heart full of resolution.