Alex understood that she could not hide the reason for all this from her best friend any longer and told her calmly, "There's another reason besides my parents' divorce that I came to New Bell..." she confessed before adding
"My half-brother almost raped me back then. At the time my mother found me quite early, he had not had time to go very far, but the feeling of his hands on me remained, and ever since then I have had trouble being with men, I mean I can not stand it when they touch me "Alex shivered as she talked about that part of her past, her hands clenched into fists because she got angry just thinking about it!
Fidelia was surprised and hurt for her friend, she could not imagine that the reason could be so sad, she could not help but say with a deep frown "The bastard, he deserves to have his little dick cut off baby girl, I am even more with you, I would do anything to help you get your revenge!!!! Count on me!"
Then, as if she had just remembered something important, she looked her in the eye a little confused, "You cannot stand it when a man touches you?" "What was that about earlier then? "
Alex did not know what her friend was talking about, she looked at her with a questioning look.
Fidelia looked at her with a look that said, "Really, girl? "Your Mr. Perfect had his hand on your shoulder the whole time he was talking to you! And I did not get the feeling that you were not enjoying it! If that's the case, then he's an exception for you. Maybe he's your cure," she finished, smiling all excited. She was sad for her friend. She had always wondered why Alex had not given all the men who had approached her in the past a chance, now she knew why. She could do anything to make her friend happy, and if Ethan could help her, she would do anything.
"What are you talking about? I did not feel him touch me," Alex replied in surprise;
"That's the thing, it means you do not feel repulsed by his touch. At the same time, who could be with such a handsome man, this movie might be the solution to your problem. I suggest you try to get to know him first, maybe he's the one you need, what do you think?" She said with a serious face to her friend.
"Why not?" Alex answered not very convincingly. She was not entirely comfortable with Fidelia's idea, but if it was true that she did not find touching Ethan repulsive, she was willing to give it a try. Then the two women returned to the conference room.
Alex took her seat, giving a furtive glance to the man sitting next to her. When she sat down, he was still looking at her with his little smile.
"After the discussion, we decided to accept the role," Fidelia said without mincing words;
Ethan arched an eyebrow and asked sceptically, "You did not agree two minutes ago, why this change?"
Fidelia answered in Alex's place, "We weighed the pros and cons and finally decided to accept. This role is made for her, besides, it can only be beneficial for her to play even more with you in a movie like this."
Leila was the happiest. She clapped her hand without hiding her joy, "Thank you for considering this role. Here is the contract, if there's nothing to change, you can sign it." She immediately handed Alex the contract not wanting her to change his decision again.
After signing the contract, Alex asked Leila very seriously, "Why did you choose me for this role? I see very well how this role suits me, but I am sure you can find an actress or model like me here in Florelia who can play this role as well as I can. All you need is to be good at martial arts and be able to play a traditional instrument."
Leila replied with a wide smile, "To explain, the choice was made directly by our CEO."
Alex and Fidelia were surprised and replied together, "The CEO of ROYALSTAR? THE mysterious man?"
"I see you have been asking around about the company. Seriously, there is not much behind it, the director here submitted several acting videos for the choice of this role, and among them was the video of the advertisement for the games "Kill Nicky" that you shot. After the elimination process, your video was chosen." Leila explained happily.
"I was just wondering why there was no audition for this role, but eventually an audition took place," said Fidelia;
"Yeah, it just was not open to the public because of scene 27 (the bed scene). Because it has to be shot with the lead actor being Ethan, and also because it's his first love scene going that far, we wanted to avoid the rush of applications at auditions." Answered the director.
Ethan, who had been silent until then, asked, "I would like to know why I was invited to this meeting, Leila? Surely not to see you sign a new contract?"
"Yes, now that the contract is signed, we can start working. To prepare the audience and the fans for the release of the movie, the company wants you to pretend to be together for a while," she said leisurely, but you could feel a little pressure in her voice, as if she was giving an order.
Alex was shocked, she widened her eyes and looked at Fidelia. She tried hard to keep a neutral face as she asked, "Is it necessary to pretend to be a couple? on the contrary, it could be a problem for the fans, right? after all, I am not even the leading character" Deep inside her, there were two Alexes on a war footing: on one side, one who shouted, "This is your chance, you can have a relationship with your Mr. Perfect" and on the other side, a scared Alex, who shouted, "This is a dangerous game!".
"The goal is not really what the fans will think, but rather the publicity that will be generated for you, and the film bad or good, we just want people to talk about it. We need to strengthen your presence here in Florence, and this is a good way to do it."
" I do not have a problem on my side," Ethan announced, looking lovingly at Alex.
Leila, who knew him well, could read in his eyes, "I have a feeling I am going to have fun." Looking at him like that, she could not help but think that he was really good at fooling people.
"It's just a game, you do not have to worry your head about it," Ethan told Alex when he saw her panicked look, "Oh, you might already be with someone? If so, that would indeed be a problem," he added, placing his hand on Alex's chair as if to assert his ownership, you could read a certain coldness in those eyes that only Leila could guess.
"I am not in a relationship," Alex replied immediately, stuttering a little as she noticed the hand on the back of her chair.
"Well, then we should not have a problem," he said firmly, smiling slightly.
After all points of the contract were discussed, the meeting could finally end.
In the blink of an eye, two hours had already passed and Alex was a little exhausted from all the emotions she had.
As she left the room, Leila suggested that they take those present out to dinner. Before Alex and Fidelia could respond, Ethan replied, taking Alex by the hand, "Sorry it will be without us, we have our first date to catch up on, bye."
She was surprised by the man's gesture towards her, it was so natural that it even stunned everyone present. Alex was especially amazed that even though her hand was in Ethan's, she did not feel the sense of revulsion that always accompanied it. Besides, it was Ethan, her idol, and her heart could not help but beat as fast as it could.
Once in the elevator, Ethan realised he was still holding Alex's hand and let it go, feeling apologetic. He had never felt this sensation before, her hand was so soft he wished he could have kept it in his forever. He was surprised by his own actions, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. He had made a habit of playing the actor Ethan: a benevolent actor who got along well with everyone and was always smiling, but he avoided contact with people, especially women, as best he could. To avoid trouble.
"Put this on." Ethan handed her a cap and a mask to hide her face.
"Why would I? I thought the goal was to show us together," Alex was perplexed by his demand.
"Keeping the secret is more effective for now, let the fans speculate and see," Ethan said as he opened the door to his car.