Chapter 143: Still Thinking About Him
Laura's dissatisfaction with her costume manifested in repeated errors during the first scene.
Infuriated, Lewis slammed his script onto the ground. “Laura, do you even know how to act?! I asked you to portray the grief and anger of losing your loved ones, but what are you doing?! All I see is your anger! Where's the grief for your deceased family members?!” he roared, his face flushed.
With reddened eyes, Laura pursed her lips in silence.
Hensey intervened, saying to Lewis, “Miss Quinn was quite upset this morning, so she’s not at her best.”
Lewis immediately shifted his gaze to Abigail. “How could you do that?! She’s the leading actress! Couldn’t you choose your words more carefully?”
Abigail, huddled in a nearby corner, was startled by his outburst. She replied, “I understand.”
“Let’s shoot the scenes with the male lead first!” Lewis glanced at Laura, then turned to instruct others.
Hensey took Laura aside, comforting her as they sat down. Laura cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The incident seemed to be over, but someone from the film crew deliberately leaked behind-the-scenes footage. Laura had a large fanbase, who were immediately outraged.
One fan commented, “Who does Abigail think she is?! Does she think she can do whatever she wants just because she’s Alana’s assistant at L.Moon? Bullying the leading actress? She must think she's the star! Laura, even if you offended Director Lewis, the Dumplings will always support you!”
Another commented, “If Abigail wants to be the lead, she can be. After all, Sean Graham is her cousin and Anthony Booker is her university senior. With those two, she could probably trample the director, let alone Laura.”
Another fan commented, “L.Moon is so arrogant. Alana should have personally designed the costumes and overseen Laura's wardrobe. Why hire such an incompetent assistant?!”
Someone else commented, “If Alana doesn’t fire her immediately, we’ll bombard L.Moon with messages. We'll see if their co-branded partners are willing to be implicated! Dumplings, let’s boycott Abigail and L.Moon!”
Soon, the trending topics included: “Abigail bullies leading actress and insults Director Lewis on set,” “Laura’s fans demand that L.Moon fires Abigail,” and “Boycott L.Moon.”
Abigail, still unaware of the online furor, received a call from Luna. “How did you offend Laura? The internet is filled with criticism, and L.Moon is suffering huge losses!” Luna said seriously.
“What happened?” Abigail asked, confused.
“Brands are backing out, and previous partners are demanding clarification or threatening lawsuits,” Luna explained, sending links to three Instagram posts.
The posts contained vicious insults from Laura's fans, infuriating Abigail. She finally understood. “I see. I’ll talk to the director…”
Luna interrupted, “No, talk to Anthony. Neither of us understands the entertainment industry's unspoken rules. Anthony is a professional.”
“Okay,” Abigail replied. After hanging up, she considered calling Sean, but remembering his past criticisms, she called Anthony instead.
Anthony anticipated her call. “I heard about it. I spoke to Lewis. He said he didn't expect such a strong reaction. He only spoke in anger and didn't anticipate this fallout.”
“Many brands are demanding a PR statement, or they’ll sue for breach of contract,” Abigail said politely.
Anthony replied, “Stay calm. Keep Sean away from the set; it'll only complicate things. I’ll handle it from behind the scenes.”
“Okay,” Abigail said, still worried about Sean's potential arrival.
“Leaking behind-the-scenes footage is common, but this seems deliberate. What’s your history with Laura? She has a good reputation and temperament,” Anthony said, puzzled.
Abigail wondered if that was just a public image. She explained Laura's issues to Anthony.
While Abigail was on the call, Sean tried calling her for thirty minutes. Enraged, his temples throbbed.
“The online comments are spiraling,” Cameron warned cautiously.
Sean slammed his phone down. “Abigail is innocent. Laura is targeting her. Dig up dirt on Laura and release it online within two hours. Focus on how she treats her staff.”
I have removed the asterisks and replaced the censored words with their appropriate spellings where context permitted. I have also corrected grammatical errors, improved sentence structure, and refined punctuation for clarity and flow. The overall narrative remains intact.