The day went by in a blur only worsened by the instructor’s expectations compared to Isadora’s actual acting skills. The man had no mercy, not even a shred of patience as he paced before her like a hawk circling prey.

"What do you call that! You speak words yet your eyes convey nothing!" The French instructor snapped in a clearly thick accent that made his irritation sound even harsher.

"You cannot convince me, let alone anyone else!" he continued, his hands gesturing dramatically as Isadora tried not to cringe with the massive headache that had descended on her skull.

She had learnt the lines by heart first, which had taken almost all day, and they had just begun to practice her acting when the shouting started. The more he barked, the more her confidence shrank, until she was just muttering lines and hoping it would end soon.

And from the way it was going, it was only going to get worse. By the time the instructor finally left, Isadora instantly headed to the dining room, filling her belly before heading straight upstairs to fall on the bed.

Falling fast asleep in minutes, only to wake up with a slight headache as she hurriedly got dressed to prepare for breakfast with Dante—something she didn’t think she could actually miss.

She quickly got dressed in a pair of black pants and a comfortable T-shirt this time around, tying her hair up like usual before heading to the dining room.

Relieved to see that food had been served and even more relieved to see that Dante was almost done with his food. Dealing with him was the last thing on her mind considering the torture she went through the day before and what she was going to go through before the day ended.

She greeted and Dante responded even as he continued eating, expecting him to ignore her like before—only to be taken aback when he began to speak the second she sat down.

"You’re going to the set tomorrow, right? Filming is going to be for a day if all goes well!" he said, but he had barely begun to speak when she wondered if he was genuinely curious or simply trying to make conversation as she responded.

"Yes! I’ve been practicing!" she told him with a confidence that she clearly lacked.

"I won’t embarrass you!" she told him, shoving the words he told her back at him even as she watched him continue to eat, nodding his head just a little.

"It’s fine! You don’t have to try too hard. Even if your acting is terrible, there are ways to control public opinion in your favour!" he told her with a serious expression that showed that he meant each word.

His words should have made her feel more relieved, but instead, it just made her feel even more incompetent than she already was, even as she lightly nodded her head at him with a wry smile on her face.

"I understand!" she told him as she went ahead to begin to eat, hoping that the conversation would die once they focused on their food.

’Unless he wants to talk about sex! I don’t care!’ she thought, doing her very best to not make contact with his eyes or face, aware that it would only remind her of the hot and passionate night they had almost shared—one that had shaken her more than she would like to admit.

Only to be sorely disappointed again when barely moments later, Dante began to speak, pausing his hand movements this time around—something he hadn’t felt a need to do since they began to speak.

"Like I said, you’ll be meeting the rest of my family. Most likely next week, after the filming and everything related to it is over!" Dante told her, even as Isadora nodded, bending her head lower as she felt a surge of heat on her cheeks when all she could think about was what came after.

"I-I was wondering if I could take my sister out to the set with me!" Isadora suddenly asked, feeling like she needed all the support she could get, especially with such a daunting task.

"Do as you like!" Dante responded, getting to his feet as he slightly adjusted the suit he wore, about to leave, even as Isadora waited for him—only to hear his footsteps come to a sudden pause and hear him speak from behind her.

"Also! It’ll be better if you remind your family to keep to the security detail and entourage I provided. If they don’t, then it won’t be my fault if something happens to them!" Dante said before walking away, even as Isadora nodded her head hurriedly to show that she would do exactly as he said, even as she heard the door close in a way that proved that he had already left.

Isadora took no time to finish her food, trying to figure out a lot before her torture teacher arrived. Also, she couldn’t help the bit of fire that had suddenly lit up in her soul.

She wanted to be good at acting. Most importantly, she wanted to be great at it, as something suddenly occurred to her. ’If I succeed... won’t I be able to become a millionaire on my own with millions of fans!’ she thought, trembling at the very thought of it.

’No one would be able to touch me without dire consequences!’ she thought to herself, unable to help the giddy feeling she felt the longer she considered it as she slowly got up from her chair with a wild grin on her face—one that instantly disappeared once the door was suddenly pushed open to reveal the face of her torturer.

A cool-looking French man with a French accent.

"I figured it was better to arrive earlier considering how much work has to be done!" he said with a cool, almost exasperated look on his face, looking at her like one would look at a puppy who had broken two of its legs.

In a way that almost made Isadora look upon herself with the same exact pity, even as she opened her mouth to greet him with a smile, trying to remind herself of the goal.

’You can do this, Dora! Think of the benefits!’ she mumbled internally to herself even as she willed herself to not let her smile crack.