Contract Marriage: Let's Make It Real, Mrs. Sterling!-Chapter 343 - 342: The Bruise on Her Waist

Mia Sutton initially felt a bit uncomfortable, but that feeling quickly dissipated.

After all, they even had their marriage certificate, so that was... alright, I guess?

Mia quickly gave herself some mental preparation.

Jensen Sterling went out, and Mia sat on the couch, giving herself another round of mental pep talk.

Two seconds later.

"Ahhh..." She ran her fingers through her hair and scrunched it up wildly, almost turning it into a bird’s nest.

Her frustration was visibly apparent.

Ugh, mental preparation is one thing, but... the awkwardness just won’t go away.

Just as she was messing up her hair, she glanced over to see Jensen holding two cups of milk tea by the entrance, looking at her playfully and amused.

Mia was suddenly like: "..."

Dammit, she’s doomed.

Jensen looked at the little girl’s expression and laughed.

Thought she was really calm, turns out it was just an act.

Mia now wanted to disappear on the spot, or maybe knock herself out to forget about this social death moment. How likely was that to work?

After thinking for two seconds, she gave up.

She had spent so much energy pretending to be calm all morning, who knew it would all crumble now, her heart bleeding out.

Mia covered her face and sulkedly said, "Mr. Sterling, stop laughing."

Jensen walked over with the drinks and stood next to her, "Hmm, I’m not laughing."

Looking at the little girl’s expression, Jensen lifted the drinks, "Not having milk tea?"

Mia: "..."

The next second, she sat upright, holding a cup of milk tea, sipping away like an adorable hamster.

...

A couple of days later, Mia was completely back to normal, and soon there was news from Director Lawson’s side.

Said they should go shoot the makeup tests.

Since Mia and Jensen were the leads, they used the same large makeup room.

By the time they arrived, a few others had already trickled in.

When they saw Jensen, they all greeted him humbly, then looked at Mia with curiosity.

Although the news hadn’t been released, everyone in the crew knew Mia was the lead actress this time.

No one was surprised about Jensen being the male lead in Ian Lee’s script, given his impressive skills and the fact it wasn’t his first time shooting Director Lawson’s films.

But Mia...

In terms of acting, calling her a newcomer wouldn’t be wrong, yet she got Ian Lee’s female lead role.

So everyone was quite curious about her.

Mia wasn’t afraid, noticing others watching her, she simply turned her head and looked back confidently, giving them a smile.

Eventually, people stopped looking.

The makeup test was a tedious process, especially for Mia since she had many looks to try on.

From a wealthy lady to a performer in a troupe, and then a lady in a brothel.

There were a lot of outfits, especially towards the end, as she wore either costumes or cheongsams, due to Ian’s strict shooting requirements, even more so in this film.

Basically, she had to change into a new cheongsam for every scene, making it very cumbersome.

Mia had to try them all on, one by one.

As for makeup, Mia sat in her chair, closed her eyes, and let the makeup artist do whatever on her face.

...

Next door in the makeup room, there were several actresses, both leading and supporting ones.

One woman said, "Anabelle, I wonder what background Mia Sutton has to directly get Director Lawson’s approval for the female lead."

"To be honest, given your status, having you play a supporting role for her seems off, considering that you and Jensen would be the right match."

The one addressed as Anabelle Hughes was from the same company as the woman who just spoke. As a leading actress, Anabelle was well-known both in terms of popularity and discussion, virtually the company’s top star.

The reason for the woman’s flattery was no more than these factors.

Anabelle was well aware of the situation and glanced at her indifferently, saying in a lukewarm tone, "Watch your words; trouble often lurks on lips."

In the entertainment circle, there’s a time and place for everything, but as the saying goes, "walls have ears." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

You never know when what you say might come back to bite you.

Having been in the industry for many years, Anabelle understood this better than anyone and wouldn’t have made it this far otherwise.

Upon hearing this, the actress’s expression stiffened slightly, masking it with a smile, and she quietly worked on her makeup, no longer speaking.

Anabelle sat there with her eyes closed while her makeup artist applied her makeup, pretending not to hear their conversation.

Staying quiet, being makeup artists within the entertainment industry, they often witnessed things like this and knew to keep quiet.

Despite Anabelle contradicting the actress, only she knew what she truly felt inside.

Her brows slightly furrowed.

Mia Sutton was a newcomer, Anabelle had heard of her and knew she’s been quite the buzz recently, but that’s just in the idol scene.

In acting, she had only participated in one drama; someone like that being cast by Director Lawson as the lead actress naturally didn’t sit well with her.

As a popular leading actress herself, having to play a supporting role to her, she initially wasn’t willing and almost opted to drop the script.

However, her manager stopped her.

For nothing else but because it was Director Lawson’s film, and there have been precedents where the second female lead overshadowed the first.

If she performed well, the audience would see, and the final outcome was still uncertain.

Following a long makeup session, the look was finally set, and after changing clothes, a staff member exclaimed beside Mia.

"Ms. Sutton, why is there a bluish mark on your waist?"

Mia: "..." Her heart fluttered nervously.

The waistband of this outfit had a clever design, featuring a hollow cut, and at that spot was a faint bluish mark, just barely visible.

Mia calmly said, "Accidentally bumped into something."

The makeup artist didn’t think much about it, seeing as it was just one mark, and looked typical of a bruise.

"Shall I cover it with some foundation for you then?"

Mia: "No need, I’ll handle it myself when I change clothes."

Mia dared not let the makeup artist help her; only one mark was visible here, who knew if there were more elsewhere.

It certainly wasn’t caused by bumping into something.

That mark was from Jensen Sterling’s fingertips, perhaps pressed a bit too hard, thus leaving it.

Two days later, the mark wasn’t noticeable anymore, just faintly visible, not overly serious.

Since Mia’s skin was naturally fair, any mark showed up distinctly, hence it looked bluish.

In front of the mirror, Mia painstakingly used foundation to cover it until it was no longer visible.

After changing her clothes, Mia exited and instinctively glared at Jensen twice upon seeing him.

It was all his fault, why did he have to use so much strength.

Jensen noticed the little girl’s visible frustration, though he had no idea what he’d done to annoy her.