Chapter 9: Breaking

Two weeks after its release, it successfully garnered $24 million in the United States. Simultaneously, people were deeply impressed by the hero Josh, played by Connor.

He instantly became the favorite of the media; after all, what they like the most is digging into the stories of successful people, as people would always buy the newspaper for this.

They successfully dug into his story after coming to the United States, like how he is a good singer and sang in a bar near Universal Studios in Los Angeles. He lived in the same house as his girlfriend. Yes, the media dug into the information about where he lives and discovered that he is co-renting with his girlfriend. Yes, the media didn't even ask and just assumed that Meg is his girlfriend.

Today, Connor returned from the audition for the role in "When Harry Met Sally," and he succeeded. So he immediately recommended Meg for the role of the heroine, as they had not found anyone else for the role. They accepted to give her the opportunity, so he was happy to give the good news to Meg.

Meg is a little worried this week because she received a call from the legendary director of "Terminator," James Cameron. He promised her the role of the heroine in his new movie "The Abyss," with a budget of $45 million, if she convinces Connor to play the male lead in the said movie.

After Connor returned home, he shared the good news with Meg and said, "Meg, I successfully got the role of the male lead for my new movie and also won the opportunity for the audition of the female lead for you."

Meg was not as excited as he thought but seemed a little troubled. Finally, she said, "I got the role in the new movie of James Cameron, 'The Abyss.' The budget is over $40 million, but the condition is you will play the male lead."

The moment he heard her finish speaking, he knew things were bad because Meg would only have money in her eyes. So he said, "Meg, Cameron called me before, but I refused because I don't think it'll have much success. So he bypassed me and is using you."

Meg was shocked by what Connor said because she didn't expect him to be so arrogant as to say that a movie with such a budget would be a failure. She thought he was a little conceited. Then they argued a little, after which she returned to her room.

James Cameron, who was still planning his movie, recalled what happened last week. He watched the movie and was impressed by the protagonist. Then, in the next few days, he saw news about Connor; there was news about him every day. He called Anne Spielberg for some information about Connor. Then he was shocked to find out that he was only 16 years old and would turn seventeen in September.

Then he took his numbers from Anne, thinking about how, after hearing that he didn't have a broker, he could fool him. In his opinion, such a good, cheap, and topical actor would definitely be a good addition to his movie. But unexpectedly, he refused. So he thought, after looking at the movies played by his girlfriend, that she looked not bad, so he decided to try to fool him through Meg.

Then he received a call, "Hello, this is James Cameron."

Meg on the other end of the phone replied, "Hello, Mr. Cameron, it's Meg Ryan, Connor's girlfriend."

Then James became a little excited and directly asked, "How, did he accept?"

Meg replied, "Sorry, Mr. Cameron, I really tried very hard, but he refused and auditioned for a role."

Cameron was a little angry, thinking how could Connor, a young actor, reject him and even audition for a role in another movie? Doesn't that mean that Connor is not optimistic about him? So after thinking for about ten seconds, while Meg's heart was beating very fast, he decided to teach the first lesson of Hollywood to Connor. So he replied, "Okay, I will give you one last chance. Are you willing to end your relationship with Connor for the role of the heroine in my movie? I will give you ten seconds to think about it carefully."

Meg was a little shocked and wide-eyed, hesitating a little but thinking of the opportunity to appear as the heroine of a blockbuster movie and the relationship between Connor and Ellie. Feeling imbalanced and betrayed, she replied, "I will."

James replied, "Have you thought carefully about this? We will use your relationship with him as hype for the movie."

She replied coldly, "Yes, I accept." After that, she accepted, and upon hearing that she would receive $800,000, she became more determined. So that night, she didn't even inform Connor. The paparazzi saw her leaving their apartment with her suitcase, looking a little angry and pitiful.

The next day, when Connor woke up, he didn't see Meg. After looking for her but not thinking much, assuming she had something to do and was still a little angry, so she didn't inform him. As he reached the door to take the newspaper, he saw a few more paparazzi than usual but didn't wait for them to react and quickly took the newspaper and returned.

Then, looking at the photo of Meg with a suitcase leaving the house at night, he was shocked, and seeing the headline saying , he dialed Meg's phone, but although it was ringing, she didn't pick up. He knew something must have happened but was not aware of what.