Chapter 0406


    After a while, I began to suspect he was just trying to make meugh. Maybe putting me at ease was


    part of his helping me?


    I didn’t know. By the end of Julian’s visit, I had no misconceptions that I was going to be a better actor,


    but I did at least feel better about it, knowing Julian would be there to support me and make meugh.


    Later that afternoon, the candidates were called into the ballroom to start practice for the show, I


    immediately found Veronica, who seemed totally indifferent beside Susie, who seemed so nervous she


    was about to shake right out of her skin. Her eyes kept darting around. She worried her hands together.


    Tiffany was helping pass out the scripts for Bridget, who seemed to be handing out orders like they


    were candy. Nathan took the full brunt of it. Bridget, at his ear, was waving his arms in dramatic


    fashion.


    I waited patiently until Tiffany reached us.


    “Isn’t this great?” she said as she gave us each a copy of the script. “I’m so excited. Bridget says I’ll


    have a big part.”


    Bridget says? Wasn’t this supposed to be apetition for the candidates? Why would Bridget get to


    decide anything?


    I looked at the title of the script. Fated Love Forever.


    A love story.


    A love story with only one romance. Who would be the leads?


    “Are we going to do auditions?” I asked Tiffany before she could get away.


    “Oh, no,” Tiffany said. “Bridget already picked the parts that are best for us.”


    “She did?” Susie asked.


    “Yes, each of your scripts are marked,” Tiffany said.


    Susie immediately opened her script, reading through. I did the same.


    Obviously, I wasn’t selected as lead. In fact, the more I looked, I didn’t see any lines at all. Wait. There


    was one. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    Exactly one.


    And the line was assigned to a nameless character: Maid.


    1/2


    +15 B?NUS


    I frowned. Okay, so I knew I wasn’t the greatest actress, but… to not even have a name? I felt like I


    was being set up for failure.


    Since Tiffany seemed to be so in the know, I tugged her arm to get her attention. “Who are the leads?”


    I knew Bridget would be one, of course. Surely Julian would be the male lead. Out of him and Nichs,


    Julian would be the better actor by far. Nichs was far too earnest.


    Tiffany looked at me and her bright smile wavered. “You aren’t going to like it.”


    I knew before she said a single word who the leading man would be.


    “Nichs,” Tiffany said.


    I looked across the room, where Bridget had stopped giving direction to Nathan to talk to Nichs


    instead. He was holding his script and frowning out it. Every now and then, he would motion to the


    edge of the room, where Julian was talking with Brian. Julian was frowning again.


    Olivia and Lilliana, nearby, were frowning too.


    As a silence swept over the room, Olivia raised her hand.


    “You have a question, Olivia?” Nathan asked.


    “Forgive me,” Olivia said. “I am just curious how these parts were decided.”


    She was being diplomatic. We all wanted to know why Bridget got to decide anything. But if Olivia so


    obviously called out Bridget, a favorite of the crown, she would diminish her own standing.


    Bridget ced her hand on Nathan’s arm, stopping him from replying.


    “I can cover this question, Nathan,” she said.


    He nodded, allowing her.


    “It’s simple really. As a professional actress, I’ve been able to assess your abilities these past few days


    that I’ve been here. So, I assigned each person the part that would be the absolute very best for you to


    excel. These are the parts you were born to y.”


    I looked at my script again.


    The parts we were born to y…


    A maid?