Filming Kiss Scene In Front Of My Patron

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I was in the middle of punishing my wealthy patron in the marble bathroom when the glowing text floated across my vision again.

[Does the villainess really think she's tamed the beast?]

[Once the actual female lead shows up, who would want a secondhand kept bird like her?]

I ignored them and glanced back down at the man in the bathtub.

His expensive dress shirt was soaked through. His silk tie hung loose around his neck. The tips of his ears were flushed a deep crimson.

Yet, his sharp, chiseled face broadcasted a single, undeniable message: utter, unyielding defiance.

The spark of dominance that had just ignited inside me was instantly doused by those floating comments.

I stood up to leave, but he frowned, his voice dropping into a hoarse, magnetic register.

"Why are we stopping?"

I looked away. "I just remembered I have a kissing scene to shoot today. It's not polite to keep people waiting."

Reed let out a dry, irritated laugh. "A kissing scene? With Rowan?"

I nodded.

His eyes darkened with hidden meaning. "This is your third time co-starring with him. Do you really love being his leading lady that much?"

I met Reed's probing gaze and told the truth. "Yes. We have great chemistry."

A cold, mocking smirk touched his lips. "I hear the youngest son of the wealthy Rowan family is a notorious clean freak. If he knew what you looked like begging on a bed, do you think he'd still want to act with you?"

I gripped my designer bag tightly, forcing down the spike of humiliation. "It doesn't matter if you look down on me. Other people don't."

After I left the hotel, Reed didn't chase after me.

The next time I saw him was on set.

Reed was the director, and right now, he was standing up for a part-time college extra.

The extra's name was Laurel. She had a bright, spirited face that had recently gone viral online. To protect her from a creepy gaffer, Reed forcefully claimed her as his girlfriend.

I suddenly found it utterly hilarious.

The official title he had vehemently refused to give me had now become a convenient tool to rescue someone else.

I stood a short distance away, quietly watching him warn the entire crew. "Anyone who messes with her is messing with me."

In the past, he never involved himself in other people's business. Even when I ran into trouble, I had to literally get on my knees and beg him to intervene.

But with Laurel, Reed was entirely different.

The floating comments were going crazy.

[Our baby female lead is finally here!]

[The lighting guy harassed our girl, and the male lead is furious!]

[Everyone loves our baby! The male lead is going to be insanely jealous from now on!]

So Laurel was the true female lead of this world. No wonder she triggered Reed's protective instincts the moment she stepped on set.

I suddenly remembered how it used to be. Whenever I was bullied and went to Reed for help, he would simply tilt my chin up.

His eyes would burn with a predatory heat, his tone teasing and cruel. "What exactly are you going to offer me in exchange? Hmm?"

Only after he had tossed me around until I was too exhausted to speak would he leisurely make a phone call and solve my problems with a few words.

As for other male actors pursuing me, he would just wrap his arms around my waist from behind, watching the screen of my phone as I typed out rejection texts.

His voice was always indifferent. "You don't need to reject them so harshly. You have to understand, even a kept bird loses its cage eventually. Nora, you need to leave yourself a way out."

"Whenever you decide you want to get married, we can end this at any time."

I had been by his side for so long, yet I had never once seen him jealous. So when the comments claimed he would be insanely jealous over Laurel, my first instinct was pure disbelief.

Rowan arrived on set earlier than I did.

He was famous in the industry for his flawless temper. Years ago, when I was just a nobody extra, Rowan had bailed me out of trouble countless times.

I was just about to walk over and greet him when the text lit up my vision again.

[Does the villainess realize the male lead doesn't want her, so she's trying to seduce the second male lead?]

[She's delusional. The second male lead has no obligation to pick up a secondhand sugar baby. He will only ever love the female lead.]

[Once he finds out about her filthy past, he'll be utterly disgusted by her.]

My hand, raised halfway in greeting, slowly dropped back to my side.

The comments always said that if the plot of this novel hadn't glitched, a cannon fodder extra like me would have rotted away in a dirty trailer park in the Deep South. I wouldn't have even gotten the chance to be an extra.

The author of this world had effortlessly penned the most shameful backstory for me.

Born to reckless teenage parents, I was dumped in a rundown trailer park. My grandmother raised me, but she despised my existence. Growing up, I experienced nothing but empty stomachs and beatings. Once I hit puberty, I didn't even dare step outside, terrified of the creepy old men lurking around the park.

Then one night, I had a dream.

I dreamt of myself on a massive billboard, beautiful and glamorous.

Because of that dream, I stole the meager cash stashed under the floorboards that very night and bought a one-way bus ticket to Los Angeles.

Soon enough, I landed gigs as an extra and made my first paycheck. My face even went viral on social media for a day. Suddenly, opportunities were knocking on my door.

At that moment, I genuinely believed I could rewrite my own destiny.

Until the next day, a friend I made on set took me to a cheap salon to dye my hair blonde. She said a huge indie film needed a specific role, and the director had asked for me by name. The character required blonde hair.

I showed up to the casting room with that fried, cheap blonde hair, only to be met with a brutal slap across the face from the director.

"Who gave you permission to dye your hair?! You aren't famous enough to go changing your look without my approval!"

All my hard-earned opportunities vanished because of that single slap.

After that, I went to his office every single day to beg for another chance. At first, he just rejected me. But eventually, his mind wandered to darker places.

One night, he cornered me in his hotel room. "If you know how to keep a man happy, the opportunities will come flooding back, won't they?"

I fought him off with everything I had. In the end, I grabbed a heavy glass ashtray from the desk and smashed it into his head, knocking him out cold.

Just as I stood there, terrified that my acting career had ended before it even began, I saw a man walking into the suite across the hall.

It was Reed.

During my time on the studio lots, I had heard the whispers about him. I had even hidden in the crowds, secretly observing him. He had never spared me a single glance.

Looking at the bleeding man on the floor, I hesitated for a long time.

Finally, I stepped out into the hallway and knocked on Reed's door.

When he opened it, the pure contempt in his eyes shattered whatever dignity I had left. "What? Are you here looking for a sugar daddy too?"

At first, I wanted to play the pitiful victim like everyone else did. But looking into those deep, calculating eyes, I chose the truth.

"Yes."

"Instead of settling for some old, ugly creep, I want someone young and handsome. Someone powerful enough to actually protect me."

Reed was royalty in the industry. His background was untouchable. He was young, brilliant, and every movie he directed shattered box office records. Every actress in Hollywood would kill to be his leading lady.

He was the ultimate patron, the only one who could truly shield me.

Reed stared at me. After a long, agonizing silence, he actually laughed.

He stepped aside and let me in. He lit a cigarette, staring out the window, not even looking at me. He asked only one question.

"And what exactly can you offer me in return?"

I still don't know where my confidence came from that night. "I can make you a lot of money."

He finally looked at me, a smile playing on his lips. "But I don't need money."

As I stood there, completely lost, Reed suddenly spoke again.

"Come here. Kiss me."

I had never kissed a man before. When I finally pressed my trembling lips against his, he remained completely unresponsive.

"Terrible technique," he murmured. "Do you need someone to teach you how to kiss, too?"

As the night wore on, the atmosphere grew heavy with tension. But the moment his palm slid down my bare back, he suddenly froze.

He let out a low chuckle. "Why are you so skinny? Does the crew not feed you?"

The catering on set was actually amazing. I was just severely malnourished from years of starvation.

He didn't touch me again that night. He told me to put my clothes back on and took me out to get food.

The next day, Reed handed me a forged ID and a fake college transcript. He erased my trailer park history entirely. He even personally drove me to elite acting classes.

When I tried to thank him, he cut me off.

"By the way, if you have free time, read a book." His tone dripped with mockery. "After all, having an uneducated piece of trailer trash as my leading lady is a terrible look."

"Nora? We aren't shooting a crying scene today. Why the tears?" Rowan's gentle voice pulled me back to reality.

Reed hadn't come over. He was sitting in his director's chair, patiently walking Laurel through the script.

The assistant director followed my gaze. "That girl has raw talent. Reed recognizes it. He really wants to mentor her into the industry."

Yes, Reed always cherished talent. When he looked at Laurel, his eyes overflowed with absolute admiration.

He had never looked at me like that.

Years ago, when the media ruthlessly mocked me for being an industry plant and the internet tore me apart, Reed didn't comfort me. He just sat quietly in the corner, reading a script.

Only when I was exhausted from crying did he finally speak. "Why are you crying? Do you think they're wrong?"

The way Reed looked at me was always a mix of condescension and clinical curiosity.

When it was time to shoot the kissing scene, the assistant director asked if I wanted to use camera tricks or a stunt double. Reed was fiercely possessive; he hated it when I filmed intimate scenes. For years, almost all my on-screen kisses had been faked.

But today, I suddenly didn't want to play by his rules anymore.

"No need. I'll do it myself."

When the cameras rolled, I grabbed Rowan's collar, pulling him in. Yet my eyes uncontrollably flicked toward Reed.

I pressed my lips against Rowan's, my heart swelling with a suffocating bitterness.

Reed didn't even look up. He didn't care. He was too busy laughing at something Laurel said, in such a good mood that he ordered premium coffee for the entire crew.

I heard him specifically instruct his assistant, "The new girl doesn't like bitter things. Make sure you add extra syrup to hers."

When a cup of sickly sweet coffee was handed to me, my heart finally died.

It seemed my untouchable patron was finally preparing to discard me.

I had looked into Laurel's background. Old money, highly educated, lacking nothing. She only came to the movie sets to play around as a hobby.

The floating comments were right. She and Reed were a perfect match.

After my scenes with Rowan wrapped, Reed texted me to meet him. Coincidentally, I had something to tell him too.

The hotel suite was dimly lit by a single bedside lamp. Tonight, Reed was more aggressive than ever before.

As he held me tightly, he whispered against my ear, "I had a nightmare last night. I dreamt you actually had the guts to leave me."

He let out a self-deprecating laugh. "It was ridiculous. How could you ever bear to walk away from me? From all these resources?"

I didn't argue. When it was over, I asked the same pathetic question I always asked.

"Reed, do you love me?"

If he actually said yes, I might not have had the strength to leave him.

Predictably, he just threw the question back at me. "What do you think?"

With Reed, I would never get the answer I desperately wanted.

The comments mocked me relentlessly.

[The male lead hates stupid people, yet the villainess keeps asking these braindead questions.]

[He doesn't love you. Period. Why keep asking?]

They were right. I shouldn't ask such stupid questions anymore.

After his shower, Reed couldn't sleep. He stood by the balcony, scrolling through his phone, and suddenly laughed out loud.

He had a beautiful smile, rivaling any top-tier actor in Hollywood. But he rarely ever smiled when he looked at me.

Noticing my gaze, he explained, "The crew just texted me. The new girl caused trouble again. She punched the lighting tech."

"She's just like you were back then. Throwing punches without thinking about the consequences."

I forced a bitter smile. "Are you protecting her because she reminds you of me?"

"I had to beg you for weeks before you were willing to protect me."

The hand holding his cigarette paused. He didn't look at me. "Really? I don't remember."

Watching the faint, amused curve of his lips, the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Reed, let's end this."

His smile vanished, and he finally lowered his head to look at me.