Elise drew a sharp breath.

She had always maintained a strict separation between professional matters and personal affairs.

Her phone screen lit up with another message notification. She glanced down at it, then deliberately looked away.

William sat in the executive office of the Levine Holdings branch in Los Loco.

He frowned at his silent phone, which refused to chime.

Samuel Wilson stood nearby, not daring to utter a single word.

The branch inspection had gone exceptionally well. Every operation and project was performing above expectations.

Yet his boss radiated palpable tension.

"Samuel."

"Yes, sir?"

"Book the earliest flight tomorrow. We're returning to Crestwood."

"But we have that crucial meeting with the city's key figure tomorrow afternoon," Samuel reminded him. They had scheduled important client and partner meetings during this inspection trip.

"Then book an evening flight," William amended curtly.

But he was determined to return to Crestwood tomorrow, no matter what.

"Understood, Mr. Levine," Samuel responded respectfully. They wouldn't finish until midnight, but William's mind was clearly elsewhere.

Samuel had noticed William constantly checking his phone since arriving in Los Loco. Sometimes he simply stared at the dark screen, lost in thought.

Love certainly made powerful men behave unpredictably.

Back at the film set in Crestwood, they were reshooting the kiss scene.

After collecting herself, Elizabeth had spoken with Benjamin Abbott to ease the lingering awkwardness between them.

The camera assistant called out, "Scene three, sequence one, take two. Action!"

Elizabeth and Benjamin immediately slipped into character.

Since the movement sequence from the first take was usable, they only needed to redo the kiss.

Once again, Benjamin pinned Elizabeth against the wall and leaned in slowly.

But just as their lips were about to meet, Elizabeth turned her head away again.

"My apologies."

This time, Benjamin was left hanging awkwardly mid-air.

"Cut!"

Ethan rose from the camera monitoring area and strode directly toward the actors. "Elizabeth, a word please."

Elizabeth pressed her lips together and followed him to a quiet corner.

"I'm cutting the kiss scene. Prepare for the next scene instead," Ethan told her firmly.

Elizabeth stared at him in surprise.

She had expected him to reprimand her for delaying the shooting schedule.

She had never worked with Ethan before and wouldn't have taken this role if not for her brother's insistence.

Still, the entertainment industry was small, and she'd heard plenty about Ethan Parker - the most handsome director in the business, but also the most demanding.

Rumors said he would make actors retake scenes over a hundred times until he was satisfied. Some even called him the 'Director Demon'.

"No, that's not necessary," Elizabeth refused firmly.

Ethan raised an eyebrow as she continued, "If the kiss wasn't essential, it would have been cut from the script during pre-production. I don't want to be responsible for changing the creative vision."

With those words, she walked past Ethan decisively.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he watched her retreat.

The script hadn't been written with Elizabeth in mind. It was completed before the sudden lead actress change and had received investor approval. While changes were difficult before shooting, adjustments could certainly be made during production based on circumstances.

He returned to the camera area while Elizabeth and Benjamin prepared to try again.

"Scene three, sequence one, take three. Action!"

Benjamin approached Elizabeth once more. She closed her eyes tightly, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

In her five-year career, Elizabeth had appeared in over ten films and drama series. Yet would anyone believe this was her first on-screen kiss?