As people slowly trickled in, Valentina politely greeted the rest of the cast as they took their seats. She calmly deflected any questions about her altercation with Aaliyah when people asked and turned the questions subtly back on them or just smiled innocently if they pressed her. Now was the time to make allies and friends, so she wasn’t trying to rock the boat.

This time around, she got to meet more cast mates who would be playing the various parents and older people, as well as a couple of extras filling in the background with a few lines here and there.

Soon almost everyone had arrived except for Aaliyah and Elena. For some reason, she had ended up sitting between Jonathan and Christian Gale, and made small talk with the blond man. As she looked around at the arriving cast, Valentina became a bit nervous as she thought she was quite underdressed.

The older people playing the roles of parents and authority figures in the drama were sharply dressed in suits, while the people around her age, along with their managers and assistants, seemed to be dressed in business casual.

She had worn something simple since the plan for the day was a table read and then a photoshoot. Unfortunately, everyone except her, Jonathan, the crew, and the director were dressed up, making her feel out of place.

As she looked around, she sighed to herself. It seemed as if she would have to dress up slightly starting tomorrow so that she could fit in.

Sigh. There went her extra hour of sleep. Hopefully, the director wouldn’t say anything about her keeping it casual today.

The moment it was 9 o’clock when they were supposed to start the reading, Aaliyah finally showed up. She was fully made up while wearing a navy blue mini-skirt suit set. Her blonde hair was lightly curled and fell down her back. On one foot was a simple white sneaker, while the other one had a grey boot the doctors usually gave out when people were injured.

Walking beside her was Elena Piero dressed in a tight black body con dress with high-heeled thigh-high boots. She was boldly made up as well and rocked a bold red lip while her jet black hair was pulled in a tight slicked back high ponytail with two long bangs framing her face. Behind the two were two women and a man holding their bags and iced coffees. Those were probably their managers or assistants.

As the two approached the director, Valentina caught both Aaliyah and Elena’s eyes. As the two shot a subtle glare at her, Valentina gave them a relaxed smile before looking away. As long as they didn’t mess with her, she had no plans of messing with them either. But if they did, well, she still had a task to complete to completely frame Aaliyah, and she would relish the opportunity.

It would be a bonus if Aaliyah did something big enough that she could blackmail her with. After all, she still needed to break her contract and wanted to do it without outside help.

“Ahhh, my female lead and her maid, you’re right on time. Sit. Sit. Aaliyah, what’s wrong with your foot?” Director Loewe greeted the two women with a curious look.

“Good morning, director. I apologize for our being late. Elena here helped me, so please don’t blame her. As for my foot, the doctors recommended wearing the boot when I’m not doing activities to help it heal faster, but I can assure you, it won’t interfere with filming. As an apology for being late, I’ve ordered a smoothie truck to be here for lunch to treat everyone, so please let it go just this once.” Aaliyah greeted the director with a sweet smile.

“Good. Good, good. How thoughtful of you.” Director Loewe answered with a doting smile, “Please have a seat so that we can get started with the reading.”

“Of course!”

With no hesitation in her steps, Aaliyah came to sit at the table closest to Jonathan.

“Good morning, Jonathan, Chris, and Valentina. I’m looking forward to working with you all.”

Seeing the bright smile on her face, Valentina gave her one in return.

“Likewise. I look forward to working with you, senior Aaliyah.”

“Same here.” Christopher Gale replied calmly.

As Aaliyah stared expectantly at Jonathan, who was leaning back on his chair with a hat over his face, fast asleep, Valentina subtly elbowed him.

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He immediately snapped awake, removing his feet from the table and looking around.

Spotting Aaliyah staring at him, he blinked before sleepily talking, “Oh, Aaliyah. You’re late. Try to be on time next time. Also, why did you put on so much makeup? You know the makeup artists have to put in extra work to remove it, right? Elena doesn’t know better, but you should. Come bare-faced next time; this is common knowledge.”

Seeing Aaliyah’s face twitch before settling into a brighter smile, Valentina hid her chuckle and looked away.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s get the reading done, have lunch, and then get the photoshoot with your outfits done. If things go smoothly, we can end early so you all can have some free time. Relish it now because the filming schedule will be tight.” Director clapped his hands to get the attention of everyone.

“Right!”

As everyone cheered, the reading began as everyone focused on their script.

As they worked through the entire thing, the writers, as well as the director, began giving notes and advice on the delivery.

“Jonathan, your delivery there was good, but you should soften your tone a bit; after all, this is the love of your life. Don’t sound so stiff.”

Jonathan: “Got it.”

“Aaliyah, that was perfect. Make sure you keep that delivery. Remember, Lucrezia is supposed to be bullying you, and you have to hold in your feelings of resentment.”

Aaliyah: “Yes!”

“Elena, you are a servant! You need to have a more docile tone when speaking to your superior!”

Elena: “… Oh.”

“Valentina, I need your voice to be bolder when saying that line. Put some passion and anger into it. Don’t be shy, be condescending! Like you think she’s an ant beneath you.”

“Yes, director!”

The time passed quickly, and before she knew it, she was getting hungry, and the room had gotten hotter due to the sun rising high in the sky.

As everyone began getting antsy as they neared the end of the script, the director was about to dismiss them when one of the general assistants entered the room while flagging Director Loewe.

“What’s the matter?”

“There are several people with deliveries and food for Miss Salazar. What should I do?” The staff member announced in a loud voice, surreptitiously glancing at Aaliyah.

“That’s fine. She notified me ahead of time. Let them in.”

“Yes, sir!”

The assistant nodded before leaving.

“Alright everyone, let’s take a lunch break before coming back. Please say thank you to Aaliyah for providing smoothies to everyone today.”

“Wow!”

“How nice!”

“She’s so thoughtful.”

Sincere cheers and applause sounded out at the director’s words.

As the cast slowly got up and split up among the different cliques, Valentina got up and stretched before removing her sweatshirt. Due to the heat, she had begun sweating and felt a bit sticky.

She didn’t notice that as she fanned herself and followed the crowd, many of the cast members’ eyes were on her.

Although many of them had seen beautiful celebrities, and the cast was full of women who were top-of-the-line beauties, there was just something about a beautiful woman who was casual with her natural beauty.

From the thick curly hair that fell to her waist to the enchanting eyes that curved when she smiled and greeted everyone to the body that was highlighted in her loungewear, several eyes were on her as she yawned while walking out, and many people were unable to take their eyes off her.

As she stepped out with the rest of the cast, dutifully pretending not to see Jonathan as he followed her, Valentina simply blinked at the sight waiting for her.

She had fully expected a smoothie truck since Aaliyah had announced it, but when she stepped out, she was completely shocked.

There was a smoothie queen truck waiting at the front of the manor, but then there was a crazier sight.

A spicy chicken truck from a brand she loved was behind that as well.

That would be fine if there weren’t about 20 people holding humongous bouquets of pink peonies wrapped in a familiar shade of green ribbons. Surrounding the individuals holding the humongous bouquets were red peonies spread out over the entire front of the mansion, forming a carpet of red flowers.

Staring at the veritable garden of flowers, Valentina immediately made a U-turn and wanted to go the other way, but unfortunately, more and more people were rushing out, curious about what was going on, so she couldn’t help but be pushed forward.

Why did this scene look so familiar?

“Miss Salazar? There’s a flower delivery for two Miss Salazar’s. These are congratulatory flowers on your new role.”

“Yes?” As she and Aaliyah both responded, the individual, a young college-aged student dressed in a white button-up shirt and apron, looked between them. In his hand, he held a large bouquet of roses in the shape of a bear with a green bowtie and a clipboard.

He glanced at her, who was hidden in the crowd of people, and Aaliyah, who was walking forward to meet him, before glancing down at the papers in his hand in confusion. Before he could say anything else, Aaliyah interrupted him.

“Hi, I’m Miss Salazar. These are probably for me. Is it from my father?” Aaliyah asked with a shy smile, her face blushing lightly as she took in the sight of the field of flowers.

Although her father had told her he had a surprise for her, she had thought it had ended with the smoothie truck for the cast and a simple bouquet. She couldn’t believe that he had gone all out for her like this! Her status amoung the cast would immediately rise several levels, especially if she decided to be generous and give the flowers out to everyone on the set.

As she noticed everyone staring at her in surprise, she shot a smug look at Valentina.

Look! Even though you’re the real Salazar daughter, Daddy only cares about me, not you. Even though the man had said that the delivery there were deliveries for both of them, clearly, this arrangement of flowers was for her.

Seeing the blank expression on Valentina’s face, the frustration and anger she felt after she was made out to be a fool from the opening ceremony slowly washed away.

This was what she deserved as a daughter of the Salazar family. Despite her beauty, Valentina was still a peasant-raised girl who could never experience something like this.