After the incident, Lilia heard that Shirley flatly rejected Sasha's invitation to dinner. But it was William who went with Sasha.
In a film crew of this size, there was no such thing as a secret. The news spread as fast as forest fires to everyone's ears.
Lilia heard the news from her two assistants while they were bathing together. At the back of the hotel, there were several natural hot springs. Lilia reserved one of the pools for a few hours so she could relax there. Then she half dragged her two assistants to accompany her to soak.
Dina had protested that it was already nine o'clock at night and that it was not healthy for her to soak at that time. However, Rini sided with Lilia by arguing that hot springs like this were good for beauty and skin health. Finally, Dina lost her voice and agreed with the three of them to enter the hot spring's pool.
Lilia washed her arms with pool water while glancing at her two assistants. Dina sat stiffly beside Lilia, as if she wasn't comfortable here. On the other hand, Rini immersed herself until the pool water reached her chin. She looked like she was really enjoying her time. Lilia was amused by the contrasting personalities of the two assistants.
"Then?" Lilia asked Dina, "Apart from William Anggara, who else was going to the dinner party?"
Dina straightened her back and immediately replied, "I heard there were some female crews who also went, but William was the only actor present there."
"Hmm…" Lilia dipped her hands and raised a handful of water with both hands. She watched the pool water flow through her fingers until there was nothing left in her palms. This was oddly similar to what William experienced at the moment.
The man had lost his financial support and was forced to humble himself in order to get a few opportunities. All of his charisma and pride as a film king had vanished. Lilia could only say that William deserved his reward!
*****
The next day, they officially started shooting in Magetan. The shooting this time had a greater difficulty level than their shooting in Jakarta. This was because there were many fighting scenes that took place in mountains and rivers.
Today, they would embark on the river near the hotel. Even though the film crew had blockaded their shooting location, there were still many tourists and local residents who came to watch. The large number of heavy equipment lined up on the riverbank also sparked their curiosity. The commotion from the crowd of humans disturbed the birds nesting in the forest, sending them all flying away.
Since morning, Sasha had never left the set. She was standing near the director's chair watching Lilia. The woman's eyes never left Lilia who was wearing her general costume.
Sasha gritted her teeth whenever she saw Lilia having a friendly conversation with the film crew. Her resentment didn't just stem from jealousy at the attention Lilia was receiving. Since last night, Louis had treated Sasha half-heartedly as if she was nothing. Even though the director treated Sonny with the utmost hospitality! Why did that man treat her differently like that?! Didn't Louis know who she was?!
Plus, the film crew had watched Sasha's conversation with Lilia last night—and they chose to side with Lilia! No matter how hard Sasha tried to get close to the crew, they always avoided her for various reasons. Lilia must have been badmouthing Sasha's name in front of everyone!
Of course, all of this was just Sasha's feelings. The main reason why the crew avoided her was because they were busy preparing for today's shoot!
Sasha watched the bustling atmosphere for a while before finally leaving the place. She walked away from the set and called someone.
"This is me. Are you ready?" Sasha asked coldly.
But a reply from the other end of the phone caused her to explode with rage.
"Huh?! What did you say?!" She snapped.
The other person frantically tried to explain something, but Sasha's patience was running out.
"It's enough! Don't go anywhere! I'll be there soon!" Sasha said before hanging up the phone.
The woman looked from side to side, making sure that no one was looking. After she was sure that the situation was safe, she turned around and walked in the opposite direction from the filming location.
*****
The scene that Lilia was about to shoot this morning would involve a battle in mid-air. While the scenes in Jakarta demanded the ability to express emotions appropriately, the scenes here demanded strong physical abilities. But Lilia didn't have any experience filming while hanging in the air.
Louis had offered to have Lilia replaced by a stuntman, but Lilia refused the offer. She didn't want to give up before trying to live up to the challenge.
All the equipment needed for the scene was ready. Lilia was wearing various safety equipment and her body was tied with a rope attached to a device to help her 'fly'. She and Edward stood on a bamboo raft adrift on the river.
Just as Louis shouted the signal, it pulled Lilia and Edward into the sky. The director guided their every move through his megaphone. Then the crew turned on a device that sent a violent churn to the river below.
When Lilia and Edward arrived at their position, a group of men dressed all in black appeared. They surrounded the two men armed with swords.
"Cut!"
Louis suddenly shouted. Everyone stopped moving and turned their heads towards him.
"Lilia, your movements just now were good, but when you were in the air, your expression wasn't quite right. Repeat that part again." Louis ordered.
Lilia nodded without protesting. She herself knew that her expression must have looked strange earlier. That's because Lilia almost screamed when she was suddenly lifted into the air!
*****
After shooting for the whole day, Dina and Rini were forced to carry Lilia back to the hotel. Her thighs and both sides of Lilia's waist were so badly bruised that her skin turned black and blue. The wound was caused by the safety equipment that held her in the air earlier. Lilia didn't know how many times she had been pulled here and there by the equipment until her waist felt like it was about to break.
Now Lilia understood why so many actors chose to use stuntmen in battle scenes. If she had to do this again tomorrow, she wouldn't be able to move for a week!
"Sis Lilia, lie down on the bed first, okay?" Rini said softly while laying down the model on her bed, "We'll order food for you, then deliver it to your room."
"Yes, alright..." Lilia replied weakly.
The woman barely had the strength to speak, let alone move. But she still forced her face to turn to the clock on the wall. It was already a little past six. There was still time for Lilia to rest for a moment before welcoming Jean.
At least, that's what Lilia planned. Unfortunately, she overestimated her physical strength. Lilia didn't think that she would be so tired that she fell asleep and couldn't wake up.
The bruises on Lilia's thighs and waist felt like a burning pain, making the woman unable to sleep well. She continued to groan and fidget around.
Suddenly, Lilia felt a hand gently rubbing her waist. The cold hands soothed the searing heat that was bothering her.. Without opening her eyes, Lilia drifted into a deep sleep.
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