Chapter 183 - 181: Slap! Slap
That afternoon, Suzanne Sawyer forced herself to endure both physical and psychological revulsion to finish filming the intimacy scene.
She not only had to suppress her nausea but also had to act joyful and enthralled, which made her stomach churn after they were done filming.
The moment the director yelled "Cut!", she immediately pulled away, turned, and fled the set, running to a deserted spot where she began to dry heave.
With the morning’s incident still haunting her, the afternoon scene felt like she was enduring an attempted assault. The feel of his hands on her skin and his mouth on her neck left her feeling utterly nauseated.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Just then, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, followed by a mocking voice in her ear.
Suzanne Sawyer turned her head, and Henry Marshall’s face suddenly filled her vision. She reacted instinctively, shoving him away with all her might.
Henry Marshall only took two steps back, a smirk on his face as he watched her. "What’s this? Are you throwing up?" he taunted. "This morning, you falsely accused me of groping you. Are you going to claim you got pregnant from filming one scene with me now?"
Such a crude joke only made Suzanne Sawyer find the man before her all the more repulsive.
She was the daughter of a wealthy family herself, so she wasn’t afraid of Henry Marshall. She lifted her chin and said indignantly, "You know damn well whether I’m ’falsely accusing’ you or not. You’re a creep. Get the hell away from me!"
"Heh, you’ve got quite a temper," Henry Marshall sneered, but his expression soured in the next second. "Who the hell do you think you’re putting on an act for? If you don’t want to act, you can get the hell out. My family invested twenty million in this show. Replacing you would take a minute."
Henry Marshall’s words made the color drain from Suzanne Sawyer’s face.
After all, her father had only invested five million.
He was also an actor with powerful backing, but in terms of investment, he had far more clout than she did.
Seeing the flicker of panic in her eyes, Henry Marshall smiled again. "What? Scared now? If you’d been a little more cooperative during the shoot this morning, I might have been in a good enough mood to get you a couple more scenes. But no, you had to fucking cry and scream and ruin it for me."
’It just seemed like a thrill to do it on camera,’ Henry Marshall thought. ’I was just looking for a little fun, but Suzanne Sawyer had to go and ruin it all.’
Suzanne Sawyer’s eyes were red, but she refused to back down. "If you’ve got the guts, then replace me. I’ll expose you for what you did."
"Ooh, scary," Henry Marshall said, stepping closer with a provocative, arrogant swagger. "You think I’m afraid? Who’s going to believe you? Acting is acting. Look at all the truly dedicated actors out there—plenty of them go fully nude for a role. This just makes you look unprofessional and prissy, you know that?"
’He’s clearly twisting things. Getting into character and deliberately groping someone are two completely different things. But it’s my word against his. As long as he denies it, there’s nothing I can do.’
’But I know he did it on purpose!’
Suzanne Sawyer felt a wave of powerlessness wash over her. Henry Marshall was right—even if she exposed him, she had no solid proof.
"I don’t want to waste my breath on someone like you."
Suzanne Sawyer avoided his lecherous gaze and tried to walk around him, but he stepped sideways to block her path.
"What are you doing? This is the film set! I’ll scream!" Suzanne Sawyer warned, her eyes instinctively glancing into the distance.
But she saw that the area where they had just been filming was now practically empty.
"Don’t bother looking. They’ve moved on to the next set," Henry Marshall said with a smile. "And you don’t need to scream. I’m not going to do anything to you here."
As he spoke, Henry Marshall licked his lips and raised an eyebrow. "However, if you’re willing to come to my room tonight to ’chat,’ I can promise I’ll get the director to add more scenes for you. How about it?"
"Get lost!"
Suzanne Sawyer glared at Henry Marshall and snapped, "You’re shameless! You filthy pervert!"
Raised in a sheltered environment, even Suzanne Sawyer’s insults were rather tame. To Henry Marshall, her words, combined with her flushed, angry face, had a certain stubborn appeal.
You have to admit, it had a certain stubborn charm.
"Hey, I’m just trying to negotiate here, aren’t I?" Henry Marshall said shamelessly. "Or do you want to play a lead role? I can talk to my dad about that, too. My family specializes in investing in major productions."
"Stop harassing me, you’re disgusting! If you don’t, I’ll really call the police!" Suzanne Sawyer said through gritted teeth. She shoved him hard and tried to leave, but Henry Marshall grabbed her by the wrist.
"So you’re determined to do this the hard way, huh?"
"Ah!" Suzanne Sawyer cried out in pain. "Let me go!"
Seeing this, his assistant standing nearby quickly moved to block the line of sight from a distance, shielding Suzanne Sawyer from view.
"Let her go!"
But just then, Lily Sterling appeared out of nowhere. She had approached from the other side and saw Suzanne Sawyer’s wrist being held in a forceful grip.
She had just seen Connie off and was passing by on her way back when she unexpectedly stumbled upon the scene.
This was a secluded corner. The sets for historical dramas were often complex, and outside of the active filming areas, few people ever passed through.
Startled by Lily Sterling’s sudden appearance, Henry Marshall instinctively loosened his grip.
Suzanne Sawyer seized the opportunity to pull free and quickly ran to Lily Sterling’s side. Although the two had their differences in the past, right now, Lily was the only one who could help her.
"Are you okay?" Yuna asked, her concern for Suzanne showing instinctively.
Suzanne Sawyer shook her head, still shaken from the ordeal. She gently tugged on Lily Sterling’s arm. "He’s a psycho. Let’s go."
"Now I’m a psycho? Weren’t you just asking if you could come to my room to ’chat’ tonight?" Henry Marshall’s expression hardened as he effortlessly spewed the malicious lie.
Suzanne Sawyer’s face flushed with anger. "I did not! Stop spouting nonsense! It was you who—"
She was frantic and furious, especially since he’d told such a vile lie in front of Lily Sterling. Suzanne Sawyer’s eyes instantly reddened with tears.
Henry Marshall let out a disdainful scoff and turned his gaze to Lily Sterling.
It’s all about comparison. Just a moment ago, he had thought Suzanne Sawyer was pretty attractive, but standing next to Lily Sterling, she instantly lost her appeal.
This Lily Sterling, on the other hand... she just looked so damn appetizing.
He suddenly took two steps forward, stopping in front of Lily Sterling. "Her, I’m not really interested in. You’re Lily Sterling, right? If it were you, on the other hand... I might consider it."
As he spoke, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and caressing Lily Sterling’s face.
SLAP!
The next second, a resounding slap landed squarely on Henry Marshall’s face without any warning. The force was so great it snapped his head to the side.
Lily Sterling herself was startled by her own instinctive reaction. It wasn’t until a faint sting spread across her palm that she came back to her senses.
Henry Marshall was stunned too. ’Did... did she just slap me?’
He turned his head back, his eyes bloodshot as he glared viciously at Lily Sterling. "You fucking—"
SLAP!
Before he could finish, another solid slap landed squarely on his other cheek!
The moment she slapped him, Suzanne Sawyer grabbed Lily Sterling and Yuna, turned, and ran without another word!