Chapter 14

When she walked into the Gilded Times audition room, Ava was shocked by the scene. Were they not just looking for a female lead for a music video? Why were there so many people there for the audition? Even the famous Kate Evans from Celestial Entertainment and one of the four stars of Gilded Times, Amber Young, were there. Since the two of them were present, wasn’t her chance of getting the role lower? Ava took a deep breath and smiled before greeting Amber and Kate. “Hi, I’m Ava from Celestial Entertainment. I’m–” “Celestial Entertainment?” Amber rolled her eyes at her. She then ignored her and walked away. Meanwhile, Kate glanced at her coldly and nodded. That was considered a greeting. “It’s starting soon, so find yourself a seat.” Kate’s tone was terribly cold. She obviously did not intend to chat with her. Ava looked at her leave with rage flashing through her eyes. She clenched her fists. Seeing that everyone had already gotten a seat, she quickly sat down in the waiting area. At that moment, the door was opened and four men and a woman walked in. “Hi, we’re the judges for this audition. You’ll come forward one by one according to the number that you got. The person who gets the most points will be the female lead in Zac’s music video.” One of the male judges paused and looked at the young man next to him. He said while smiling, “Of course, Zac has the final say, which means he’s also one of the judges. The audition will be starting now. We wish you all the best.” Ava’s eyes lit up when she heard that. If she was able to charm Zac, wouldn’t the role go to her? She could not help but look at him as she thought to herself. He was a tall, handsome young man. He looked strong and charismatic, with a little bit of arrogance and wildness about him. His skin was fair, making him look clean. His thick, dark hair covered his forehead, and his beautiful almond-shaped eyes were sharp, which made him look a little lazy. He had a red mole beneath his right eye that made him even more charming. Ava’s breathing stopped. She did not think that Zac would be even more good-looking than he was on screen. She was bewitched. He seemed to have noticed her, as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. When they locked eyes, disgust flashed through his face. She blushed, and just when she was about to say hi, she saw him sit at the judges’ panel. She was smiling brightly, but she kept being ignored. It was like a slap in the face. The good feeling that she’d had about Zac had disappeared by now. Throughout the audition, one could tell how important Zac was to Gilded Times. However, he was hardly excited about the audition. As time went by, Kate remained the one with the most points, but she had only gotten 6 points from Zac. Ava was relieved to see everyone’s points. The main requirement for the role was having the woman play the piano. Ever since the Bennetts had taken her in, Harry had hired a professional piano teacher for her. Thanks to Isla’s additional teaching, she was able to play better than everyone in this room. Therefore, she was not worried. “Ava Bennett, Celestial Entertainment.” She quickly stood up to get on the stage. A smile appeared on her fair face, and her voice was sweet. “Dear judges, my name’s Ava Bennett. I’m from Celestial Entertainment–” “Quit that nonsense and just play.” Zac interrupted her impatiently. The smile on her face froze, and she secretly cursed him. She then walked to the piano and started to play. The annoyance on his face only faded when she started to play. Shock flashed through his eyes, and he seemed full of admiration for her now. Ava secretly peeped at him. Seeing that he was staring at her, she thought he was attracted to her. She felt so proud that she accidentally played the wrong key. Zac frowned and told the judges angrily, “Why did you get me here to look at someone like her? If she played the wrong key for such a simple song, do you think she deserves to get the role?” His voice was quite loud, and Ava heard almost everything. Her face paled. One of the judges smiled guiltily. “We contacted Ms. Fowler’s daughter, but she didn’t respond. Since you’ll have to release your new song soon, can’t you just pick someone? That Kate isn’t too bad. How–” Zac waved in annoyance. The person next to him instantly shut his mouth. When everyone had performed, Kate and Ava were the ones with the most points. Although the latter was not as famous as the former, she could play the piano well. At least Zac was slightly interested in her. However, Kate was the star of Celestial Entertainment… The judges could not decide, so they looked at Zac. He looked at the list and pointed at Ava’s name casually, his tone upset. “None of them are good anyway, so I’ll just go for her.” The judges were relieved. One of them stood up to make the announcement. “After a round of discussion, we’ve decided that the role will go to A–” The door was opened before the judge was done speaking. Everyone looked over and saw an elegant young man and two women standing there. One of the women did not have outstanding features, but she looked experienced, which was unique about her. The other woman looked cool and elegant, and her eyes were beautiful, so one could not look away from her. “You may go in, Ms. Aimee and Ms. Isla.” The man politely gestured for them to go in. “Thanks, Mr. Theo,” Isla said with a smile. She had never thought that Gilded Times’ director Theo Parker would welcome her himself. The people from Gilded Times were surprised as they looked at her, failing to recall who she was. Zac was the only one who lit up the moment he saw her. Ava felt like being splashed with a pail of cold water the second she saw Isla. She felt a chill all over her body and clenched her fists, resentment filling her eyes. She had finally gotten the role. Why had Isla come? This b*tch would never leave her alone! “Mr. Theo, who is this?” “This is Ms. Isla Bennett from Celestial Entertainment. She’s here for the audition.” Theo introduced them. Although Gilded Times had been impressed by her mother’s talent, they would not just be blinded by that. After all, they could only decide after seeing Isla play the piano. The judges looked at each other, knowing what they were thinking about. “Then let’s get Ms. Isla–” “Wait!” Ava, who was sitting in the waiting area, quickly stood up and said, “Didn’t you already choose the female lead? She’s late. Isn’t this unfair for the rest of us?” “That’s right, she only came when the audition was already over. That’s just rude.” “Lower your voice. Didn’t you see Mr. Theo bring her in himself? Maybe her connections are so good that we can’t afford to offend her.”