Chapter 1
KinsleyPOV：
“Cut!” the Director roared.
“Lead actress, you’re stiff as a board! You’re supposed to be shocked—utterly in disbelief at his words. Stop staring at him with those dead-fish eyes!”
The Director’s words lacked even a shred of courtesy.
“Got it, Director,” I mumbled, rubbing my numb cheeks to loosen them up.
Why couldn’t I just satisfy his demands?
I despised my total lack of talent.
“Ten-minute break!”
That was the fifth time he had cut that single scene, and his voice grew nastier with every reset.
I was just a part-time actress.
I knew I lacked experience and skill.
I wanted to approach him, to ask how to capture the right emotion, but one look at his fury made my legs recoil.
I searched the crowd for Chris—my only contact on this set—but she was nowhere to be found.
She was always busy, and I could only ever catch glimpses of her fluttering past.
Wandering off to a quiet corner far from the crew, I flipped open my script, trying to figure out how to handle the failed scene.
My phone chimed, sending a sudden tremor through my hands.
“Mom, how are you feeling?”
“The doctors are taking good care of me, sweetie. Don’t worry. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
“The police said they can’t find the driver who hit me, so...”
I squeezed the phone until my knuckles turned white.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I have enough for your medical bills. I’m on set right now,” I forced my voice into a light, effortless tone.
“Let me send you some money first.”
Mom’s voice cracked, heavy with tears.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I shouldn’t be burdening you with this.”
“Mom!” I cut her off firmly.
“How could you ever be a burden? Besides, I’m doing great here. The director just told me he has another big production lined up, and he wants me as the lead...
“Just focus on resting, okay?”
After a string of tearful thank-yous, she finally hung up.
My heart twisted in a suffocating grip.
I transferred the money immediately.
Looking at the pathetic, nearly drained balance, I tipped my head back toward the sky.
The sunlight was blinding—brilliant to the point of hurting my eyes.
Why?
Why can’t they catch him?
That car broke nearly every bone in her body. She almost died on that pavement, yet we’re the ones buried under these relentless medical bills.
I dragged my fingers through my hair and let my head drop.
“Back to positions!” the director bellowed from afar.
I snapped my head up, my eyes instantly colliding with a man sitting outside the adjacent coffee shop.
He seemed to have been watching me for a long time.
He flashed a slow smile.
I gave him a rigid, awkward tilt of my lips in return.
I stepped backin front of the camera, only to be torn apart again.
The director, who had been relatively patient the past few days, was exceptionally volatile today.
I hadn’t done any worse than usual, and I genuinely couldn’t understand his sudden anger.
After a few more grueling takes, it was finally lunch time.
“Cut. That’s it for now—go get lunch.”
The director muttered, his face dark as a storm cloud.
As the crowd dispersed, he called out, “Kinsley.”
“Yes, Director?”
“You’ve wasted way too much of my time. If you don’t pull it together, there won’t be a next project for you.”
“I understand. I’m so sorry, Director...”
The crew members were handing out boxed lunches, but I walked past them.
The director had mentioned I needed to lose a few more pounds, even though Emma and the other friends insisted my weight was perfectly fine.
“Can I buy you a coffee?”
A deep, velvet voice forced me to look up.
It was the man from the café.
Handsome and effortlessly elegant.
Even when I had only caught a fleeting glance of him earlier, he had commanded my focus.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I don’t know you.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, holding out a business card.
“Perhaps we could still work together. On a business level.”
The card was crafted from heavy, specialty paper—textured with a classic weave and stamped with sleek gold foil.
It felt understated yet undeniably refined between my fingers.
Visto Corporation
Aaron Hoffman
CEO & Director
My immediate gut feeling: Scammer.
Would the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire like Visto really wander the streets handing out business cards?
He was probably just a bored, handsome guy playing billionaire cosplay.
“Business? Like... a commercial?”
I swallowed the rest of my thought—
Since when does a CEO handle commercials?
My day was already in ruins. Mom’s diagnosis was crushing me, the director had dragged me through the dirt, and I didn’t have the energy to show any teeth.
He offered a smooth gesture toward the café.
A paying opportunity was practically begging for my attention. I had to at least try.
I followed him into the coffee shop.
This time, he bypassed the outdoor patio where he’d been sitting earlier and led me straight to a secluded booth tucked away in the back corner.
And then, he laid out his offer.
“A marriage like this... it’s for some kind of purpose, isn’t it?”
“You only need to execute the contract,” he replied, his voice deadpan. “Don’t ask questions.”
“Okay...”
He paused, adding calmly.
“The payout is a hundred thousand. After taxes. Six months.”
A hundred thousand?
Tax-free?
For just... six months?
That was more money than I could earn in years of grueling work.
Right when I needed it most.
Under the table, my fingers clawed into the fabric of my skirt.
To be completely honest, my heart hammered at the temptation.
But no matter how I looked at it, it smelled like a trap.
I took a slow sip of my coffee.
“Why me?”
“Because I saw you.”
My knuckles went white.
He had been watching me from that table for a long time. Was this some sick game where a predator handpicks his prey?
Was Aaron Hoffman even his real name?
Or was he some dangerous fugitive spinning a web?
I swallowed hard, forcing the lump down my throat.
“How do I know you’re not pulling a scam?”
He let out a slow, elegant smile.
“You’re welcome to tour my office before making your choice. But after that... I won’t give you time to hesitate.”
My hands turned white as I locked my fingers together, my thumb digging hard into my palm.
I drew in a ragged breath and met his gaze.
“I’ll take the tour. But I have scenes to shoot this afternoon, so I can’t leave yet.”
“I have a few hours of patience left,” he murmured, unbothered. “Just enough time for you to think it over..”
He signaled the waiter for paper and pen.
“Please write down your personal details.”
I hesitated for a second before filling in my name, social security number, university, and major.
He took the paper, flicking his eyes over it in a swift glance.
His expression remained an unreadable mask.
“Very good.” He folded the paper with meticulous care.
“You may return to work now.”
Stepping out of the café, the set was already buzzing with frantic activity.
Who was this man?
Why would someone like him need a fake marriage?
And why, out of everyone, did he target me?
If this was a trap... I had already handed him the keys to my life.
“Kinsley—!”
The director’s roar cut straight through my spiraling thoughts.
“Coming!”
No answers, yet no time to think.
I had to get back in front of the camera.
