287 Chapter 287: Could You Forgive Me?

Once Dinah was alone, she phoned Ethan. She was Kylie's friend, but one thing Kylie did not know was that she was Ethan's employee first. When he answered, she told him everything that had happened and asked him to tell her what to do next.

"Let her do whatever she wants," Ethan replied, "but I want you to follow her around the clock to make sure that she's safe."

Once Dinah was off the phone with Ethan, she called Stephen and relayed to him everything that Ethan had said. "What's going on?" Stephen wondered. "Lately, everything seems to be going crazy, and Kylie and Ethan have been acting very strangely!"

"I don't know," Dinah lied, "but I do know what you're talking about."

"Why don't you and Kylie come to my place?" he wondered. "It would be safer than anywhere else you might go."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Dinah laughed. "If we did that, I would be able to see you every day without violating Ethan's instructions. Kylie is back on set today, but when she is done, we will go straight to your place."

The blind girl had always admired the killer's chief, Quintus Anthony, who liked the female knight, Larissa, and not her. During a duel, the blind girl once plotted against Larissa, which had caused Larissa to be scolded by her chief.

Kylie stepped onto the set prepared to begin up on the cliff, but she was quickly informed that they would be using a body double to finish her scene. Hearing this, her face turned red, and she began to curse out anyone with any amount of authority.

"Sally doesn't mind using a double for dangerous scenes," the director pointed out. "Why are you making such a big deal about it?"

"She is older than I am," Kylie scoffed. "Anyways, are you holding me back at the request of Mr. Benjamin?" 

The director turned away suddenly and refused to look Kylie in the eyes. "It has nothing to do with Mr. Benjamin," he lied.

"There is no real danger in this scene," Kylie insisted. "Therefore, if it is not because of something that Mr. Benjamin said, you must be doubting my skills as an actress. Is that it?" 

The director increased his grip on the script, and he said, "You are crossing a line right now. I am the director here. You are not. If I want a stand-in, then we will use one. If you don't learn how to take instructions without throwing a fit, you will get a reputation for being hard to work with. Certainly, you do not want to be the next Jennifer Love Hewitt. The director spoke Hewitt's name with scorn as if it came with a curse.

"Furthermore," he continued, "do not forget that I could let you go and recast your role at any time!"

"I understand," Kylie said, "and I apologize."

"He is definitely extraordinary," the second man agreed. "I heard that he is picky about which jobs he will take, though. He has made it clear that he never wants to be more than a stand-in, and he never wants his face to be shown on camera."

The more Kylie listened, the more curious she became. His specifications were definitely strange. Once she had heard enough, she put down the script and went in the direction of the dressing room.

Because of the limited amount of space, all leading actors shared a dressing room, and, on the way in, she ran into her make-up artist. "Miss Finch," the make-up artist wondered, "Is everything okay? Do you need a touch-up?" 

"No," Kylie laughed. "I just left something inside."

"Shall I help you look for it?" the make-up artist wondered.

"Don't worry about it," Kylie replied. "I may not have even left it in here��"

Once inside, Kylie was surprised to see the stand-in that she'd just heard so much about. He had his back to her, but he had his shirt off, and, by that alone, she could see that he was gorgeous. As she entered the trailer, she began to look all around her while muttering to herself, "Now where did I leave my earring… It must be here… somewhere… I am certain that this is where I last saw it…"

As she searched the trailer, she got closer and closer to the stand-in, and an idea popped into her head. She took off one of her earrings and threw it at the stand-in's feet before shouting, "Oh, here it is!"

Kylie stepped quickly behind the stand-in and bent down to pick the earring up but, before she was in front of him, he purposely kicked it under the dressing table. She couldn't believe it. He has done it on purpose!

Bottling up her anger, she crawled under the table to pick it up. Just then, she saw that the stand-in had gotten up and was heading towards the door – and all she could see of him was his back…

As Kylie walked back to the set, she put on her earring and regained control of her emotions. With his back to her, she saw the stand while talking to the director, and she got the sense that she knew him somehow. Then, just before the shooting began, the director called her over. "I've changed my mind," he said. "You are back in the scene.

Kylie grinned happily, and she thanked him profusely.

"Was I wrong to save you?" the blond woman asked with tears in her eyes. "Quintus Anthony, am I wrong to like you? Am I wrong to want to be a hero like you, with you?"

Being blind, she didn't know that he had his back to her.

The blind woman raised her hand and tried to grasp the man's sleeve. She couldn't find it though, and, after a few seconds, she brought her hand back down to her side. There was a self-deprecating smile on her lips as she said, "If… if I'm hurt in the same way… could you forgive me?"

The camera panned slowly behind her.

Quintus Anthony turned his head. He looked her in the eyes, and at that moment, the scene was ruined. The part of Quintus Anthony had been given to the stand-in for this particular scene, and the stand-in was none other than Ethan Parker!

Kylie gasped and fell out of character the instant she saw him.

"Cut!" the director growled.