Chapter 510
Hearing this, Penelope stopped in her tracks and turned to look, only then realizing the actress surrounded by the crowd was Maria Scott.
A reporter with a lot of nerve was asking a very pointed question. The crowd instantly fell silent, waiting for Maria’s answer.
Maria was tall and carried herself with a gentle, elegant grace; she was widely regarded in the industry as a serious, distinguished actress.
Her career had taken off in recent years. She had gone from being a virtually unknown actress who, after more than a decade in the business, had never landed a leading role or even a significant part, to suddenly being cast in major productions. She won a prestigious best actress award for her very first leading role.
Her publicity was relentless and overwhelming, and her popularity skyrocketed. With her agency’s careful packaging and a series of manufactured headlines, she amassed a huge following.
Now, when people mentioned Maria, they described her as an actress who combined talent, beauty, and intelligence, a woman who had earned her place and her voice in the industry.
But if one looked closely at Maria’s sudden rise, it was impossible to separate it from Natalie, because her ascent had coincided with Natalie’s fall.
Maria’s luck had turned right after Natalie bullied her. That slap was like a curse, as if it had instantly transferred all of Natalie’s good fortune to Maria.
Some online commenters even speculated that Maria had used some kind of dark magic on Natalie. But others argued that Natalie had it coming; her success had come too easily, making her arrogant and causing her to lose her way, even her basic decency, which led to her downfall.
There were all sorts of theories, but now, no one dared to bring up the past between her and Natalie in Maria’s presence.
This reporter was truly audacious, but it was definitely a hot topic.
Maria glanced at the reporter, her smile fading slightly.
“That show hasn’t aired yet. If you watch it carefully, you’ll see that I didn’t bring it up myself. The host asked, and it would have been awkward to avoid the question, so I said a few words. There was no special reason or motive. To be honest, I really don’t want to talk about the person who hurt me so deeply p>
The reporter apologized several times but still seemed to want to ask something else, though he hesitated.
Maria offered a gentle smile. “If there’s anything else you want to know, feel free to ask p>
“Ms. Scott, everyone has always been curious, why did Natalie slap you in front of so many people on set that day p>
Maria let out a breath, as if reluctant to revisit a painful memory, and her expression soured slightly, but she answered nonetheless.
“We had a scene together that was
only a few minutes long. It was a series she was starring in, and I was just a supporting character. But she, the lead actress hadn’t even memorized her lines. We shot for long time, with many takes, and still couldn’t get it right. Seeing the director and the rest of the crew, my heart went out to them for all their hard work and I sympathized with their helplessness, so during the next take, I quietly tried to prompt her with her lines p>
“I was trying to be helpful, but she took it as an insult. After another failed take the director, not daring to scold Natalie, started yelling at me instead. I was furious, so I pointed out that it was Natalie who couldn’t remember her lines, that it was her fault. But Natalie was used to being fawned over, used to being the big boss on set. For a minor actress like me to dare point out her mistake was a huge loss of face for her, so she slapped me p>