Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Rosita's weak grasp of the script and her shallow understanding of tradition left

her performance hopelessly superficial.

After a week on set, progress had ground to a halt.

At last, Grover snapped.

"Cut! Cut! Cut!" His shout rang out across the studio for what felt like the hundredth time. "That's it! We're done for today!"

Bill rushed over, hands raised in a placating gesture. "Grover, take it easy. Getting worked up isn't good for you. Ms. Lockwood's just a little out of practice-it's been a while since her last film. She just needs some time to get back into the groove

"It's been a week!" Grover barked, arms akimbo. "We haven't gotten a single usable take! There's a whole crew here, wasting their time because of her. Didn't she even read the character notes I gave her?"

"She did, she did..." Bill said quickly, his smile stretched thin.

"Then why is her acting still such a mess?" Grover rubbed his neck, inhaling deeply, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. "I told you from the start, she wasn't right for this role! But you insisted..."

He let out a heavy sigh, then turned to Bill with finality. "Call the boss. Tell him to replace Ms. Lockwood. Get the girl from our company—what's her name, Mary? Yes, Mary! She's got real talent. She's perfect for this part! Let her do it."

Bill hesitated, looking genuinely troubled. "That's... not possible. Ms. Lockwood's the lead the boss personally chose. We really can't replace her."

"Then I can't direct this film anymore," Grover shot back. "Tell the boss to find someone else to run this circus!"

Grover," Bill said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't be hasty. I'll call the boss and let him know what's going

Grover snorted in disgust.

out his phone and

in her chair, watching Bill make the call across the

heard every word Grover had

to look down on her? Wanted

cold, mocking smile

company's rising star-if anyone was getting replaced,

a few minutes, Bill returned to Grover's

will have a week of private coaching. A specialist in traditional arts will work

"Let's hope Ms. Lockwood shows some improvement after this

grinning. "She will! You know Ms. Lockwood-her dedication is

hard he nearly

she learned the

there was no use fighting his

told her classes would start tomorrow. For

a moment's thought, Rosita decided to visit Lauren at

when she arrived, a nurse informed her that Lauren had checked herself