Chapter 39

The next day, Francheska together with Rissa and Jess arrived two hours early at the shooting location. The crew was arranging the props as well as the cameras and microphones they will need for today's shooting. Francheska saw Director Cartel talking with someone on her phone with a smile on her face. When the director turned around, she was surprised to see Francheska arrived two hours before their official meeting time. After ending the call, the director quickly approached Francheska and greeted her.

"Good morning. You are so early today, Francheska." Director Cartel said.

"Well... I woke up early and I have nothing else to do. So we decided to show up early." Francheska explained.

"Oh. I guess it is much better to be early than be late." The director said. "Since you are already here, you should change your clothes now and do your make-up. I will shoot your solo scenes first before shooting the others' scene."

"Alright."

Following Director Cartel's orders, Francheska goes straight to a tent designated for her. A staff entered her tent and gave the costumes she will wear for today's shoot. It is a light purple shirt with ripped jeans and a pair of white sneakers. As for the make-up and hairstyling, Jess will handle it for her. It is also part of her job when she applied as Cheska's assistant.

While Jess is styling her hair, Francheska reads the script again to make sure that she will not forget her lines.

'Withering Red Lotus' is a story about a female protagonist named Valerie who falls in love with Raviel. They were the so-called power couple. Their relationship is good until her best friend Cecille entered the picture and she also falls in love with Raviel. Between friendship and love, Cecille will choose Raviel and will betray Valerie who is her sworn sister and best friend. Because of it, the relationship that Valerie and Raviel built together will be destroyed. At the end of the story, Valerie and Raviel will break up.

When Francheska first read the storyline, she thought this will be a movie with a loving ending where the male protagonist will still end up with the female protagonist despite their sad story. But in this movie, the two will break up and they did not end up with each other. When Francheska asked Director Cartel asking who made the story, she told her that it was her best friend who created the storyline. Director Cartel also added that some parts of it happened to her in real life so this movie is somewhat important for her.

"Are you still memorizing your lines?"

Turning her head, Francheska saw the director entering her tent. Jess just finished styling her hair in a messy bun and gave her the accessories she will use to partner with her clothes today. The director sat on the vacant chair next to Francheska. Jess excused herself to give some privacy to Francheska and Director Cartel for a while.

"Ah. We still have to wait for an hour before we officially start shooting the movie." Director Cartel said. "So Francheska, do you have any questions about the character you are going to portray today?"

"Actually, yes." Francheska answered with a smile. "I am just curious about what you had said to me before about the male protagonist and the female protagonist not ending up together."

"Ah, right." Director Cartel said while nodding her head. "Well, you see. Not because a lot of people are telling them to be together does not mean they should really end up with each other. The opinions of other people may be important to some, but what matters are your real feelings."

When Director Cartel saw Francheska's confused look, she laughed before showing her ring to the actress.

"I am sorry. I am not really good at speaking. Let me just give you an example. You see, my fiance gave me this engagement ring. My fiance is an amazing man who runs a big company and many women are always surrounding him. They said that my fiance should marry a woman who is knowledgeable in running a business and a person who can help him expand his company."

At that point, Francheska finally understands the director's point, but she still listened to her story.

"They said my fiance is like an amazing male protagonist and he should marry a female protagonist that is also amazing in a lot of ways. But you know what? He still chose me despite my flaws. I am not an amazing woman just like how other people portray his supposed-to-be partner or a woman who has the so-called 'halo' of a female protagonist. I am just me. But still, my fiance never left me and proposed to me. We will be getting married five months from now."

"Congratulations." Francheska said.

Francheska can't help but smile when she saw the happiness in Director Cartel's eyes. This director is really pretty. Francheska thought that Director Cartel can also become an idol if she did not pursue her career as a director.

"Thank you. Well, going back to the topic. I just want to say that no matter how perfect-looking two peoples are, if they do not have any feelings for each other and their foundation is not solid enough, then their relationship will surely end in a bad way." Director Cartel said. "Look at Valerie and Raviel. Their relationship is good and a lot of people are telling them that they suit each other. But because of Cecille's appearance, their so-called good relationship collapsed."

Right. In the story, Valerie and Raviel tried to save their relationship despite having a lot of misunderstandings, doubts, and trust issues. But just like a broken mirror, the crack on its reflection is still visible no matter how much they fixed it. In the end, they decided to end their relationship and heal their broken hearts.