"Light it up for me? One last time?" a soft husky voice spoke out in a slightly petulant manner.

Director Brian Loewe observed the woman in front of him recite her lines as she pulled out a cigarette in an elegant, practiced motion before staring provocatively at the male actor. He had to honestly say that he was impressed with the actress in front of him.

Although her delivery and expressions were a little shaky and overexaggerated, he liked the confident aura she had and the way she carried herself. Additionally, the scene she was currently acting wasn't quite what he had asked her to perform, yet it worked beautifully. The scene had started off the same but then she had seamlessly blended it into another touching moment between the male and second female lead that happened farther along in the script.

Of course, it only worked because her co-actor seamlessly went along with the changes she was making, but it indicated that she was someone who knew the script forwards and backward! She was able to understand the feeling he wanted her to convey, make the connection to different portions of the script, incorporate a separate scene, and still act out something believable that seemed like it belonged right in the drama.

She was simply a diamond in the rough! With some training and polishing, she could go very far!

Additionally, he had to admit that out of all the actresses he had seen so far, she fit the image of what he thought Lucrezia should look like. In his mind, Lucrezia was a complex villain. She didn't fit with the times, frequently got in trouble, openly bullied and scolded others, and lived as freely as she could. Few people loved her while she was hated by many.

However, there was one undisputable fact about her that everyone agreed on. She was a charming beauty. An undeniable, incomparable beauty that caused people to lose their senses and question their morals.

When he first saw Valentina, his first thought had been 'this is her'. When he saw her again, her hair slicked back, her clothing boyish yet form-fitting, highlighting the best parts of her body, he had been unable to look away. She was an undeniably gorgeous beauty that perfectly blended the uncouth mannerisms of a cocky young man into her persona. The arrogant way she had walked in front of them. The cocky look in her eyes as she evaluated his staff before she sat down on the chair, legs spread wide with her head tilted in an aloof manner. Her mannerisms throughout the conversation or even the way she arrogantly held out the cigarette to be lit for her, he knew she was the one. She embodied what he wanted and even surpassed his imagination.

Of all the people he had seen so far, it seemed that she understood the characteristics of Lucrezia and seemed to have perfectly prepared for this scene. Rather than highlighting just her physical appearance which was already immaculate, she focused on the arrogance and freedom of Lucrezia's personality and displayed it in her actions. Lucrezia was a woman who grew up as a tomboy in a time when it was expected that women be demure and subservient. She grew up with a male best friend who supported her during her childhood and carried that freedom of personality and wit into adulthood. Although she became isolated due to her differences and strong opinions from other women, it was also her source of pride.

All the other actresses that had been auditioning seemed to only see the part about Lucrezia being a peerless beautiful not the other parts of her. They didn't understand the driving force behind the woman that he wanted to portray.

The director watched as the actor playing Walter leaned towards her, their heads almost touching as he smiled endearingly before bringing out a lighter and slowly igniting the cigarette. There was a delicate air of ambiguousness, of subtle tension as the two of them looked into each other's eyes. Then it was broken. The actress intentionally turned away as she inhaled. Almost as if it were planned, Walter reached out slowly, his hands almost caressing her cheek. The released puff of white smoke curled around the two, slowly hiding them, and then-

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Cut!" Brian Loewe called out. He couldn't help but burst into a round of applause along with the rest of the judges beside him.

"Good acting! Good acting to both of you. Miss what's your name!" Brian Loewe asked excitedly.

"It's Valentina sir!" as if breaking out from a dream, Valentina was a bit slow to respond. She had accidentally inhaled the prop smoke incorrectly and was doing her best to suppress a cough.

Fortunately, Brian Loewe took it as if she was still immersed in the scene she just acted and smiled approvingly. He usually sent the actors away once their scenes were done, but just this once he decided to give her some advice.

"Valentina good job. I really enjoyed the way you blended the two scenes together. I would say tighten up on your facial expressions and try to make them look less exaggerated. Your body language and positioning are pretty good as it is and if you can fix your expression, I think you'll go very far in acting. Look forward to us contacting you if we decide to move forward. You may leave."

"Yes sir. Thank you so much for the advice." Valentina respectfully bowed before leaving the audition room. She quickly changed out of the costume and left the audition building. As she stood outside, she wondered how she would get home.

As she left, the actor playing took off his glasses and smiled towards director Brian Loewe.

"Mr Starling, what do you think?" Director Brian Loewe asked him. The rest of the people on the panel agreed with him, he just needed to hear a word of acceptance from the man before him.

"Does my opinion matter?" Jonathan Starling arched a brow curiously before sitting on the chair Valentina was previously seated on.

"Of course it does. After all, you're the male lead. You need to portray chemistry with the female castmates. Even if Miss Valentina is the second female lead, we need to make sure the compatibility is there. How did you feel about Miss Valentina?"

Director Brian Loewe asked in nervous anticipation. The man before him was one of the talents of this generation. Although he was still in his late twenties and had started his career somewhat late, he had garnered a massive devoted fan base and won many awards for the various movies and dramas he had acted.

When Jonathan Starling contacted him showing interest in getting the male lead role he was quite surprised since he was from Platinum Entertainment, a rival company. Still, he had allowed him to audition and Jonathan had successfully grabbed the role.

Then his hell began.

To put it mildly, Jonathan was unbearably picky about female castmates. They had to be a beauty. They couldn't look at him lustfully. They couldn't follow him on social media. He couldn't have been involved with them in the past, etc. After many rounds and battles with agents on both sides, they had finally come to an agreement that Jonathan would be able to veto any female cast member from the second female lead down, however, the female lead was set in stone as it was an upcoming actress being pushed by Black Rock Entertainment.

The past couple of rounds of casting for the female leads had gone horribly. He directly eliminated everyone who came based on their looks. The actresses that could pass by looks were directly eliminated due to lack of acting ability. It was a vicious cycle that had been going on for five rounds and he was mentally and physically exhausted. Thankfully this time was better. Not only had five actresses passed the beauty round, but it seemed that they had some skill. After all the one with the least impressive resume among them was Valentina and she had done phenomenally. Director Brian Loewe had hope that his personal hell was going to be over soon and he could get to filming!

When Jonathan thought back to the arrogant smirk on that girl's face and the way she rolled her eyes at him, his eyes curved in amusement. How funny. He had thought he was quite famous, but from the way she acted around him, it seemed that she had no idea who he was. From start to finish, once she was done acting, she properly left without fangirling over him.

Could it be that she couldn't recognize him with his glasses on?

Was this what they called the Superman Effect? Or were his acting skills so good that she couldn't imagine that it would be him?

Deep in thought, Jonathan Starling began running through various scenarios in his brain.

"...ling. Mr. Starling? Shall we pass her or cut her?" Director Brian Loewe asked again.

"I like her. Let's use her. No need to show me anyone else. if they make your cut, I'll come check it out another day." Jonathan Starling smiled mischievously at the director causing the man to clutch his head in agony.

Done with what he needed to say, Jonathan began thinking about the beautiful woman he just saw.

Valentina was it? He was looking forward to seeing her again and asking what rock she lived under that she didn't know him. How could she not recognize his beauty? Although he could not claim number one in the world, in terms of looks he was at least top 10 globally.

"Is it the haircut and the glasses?" Jonathan muttered to himself as he walked away. He really needed to unravel

Valentina had no idea that due to her facial blindness to men's faces, she had accidentally caught the attention of a troublesome narcissist.