Chapter 51: The Cycle of Cause and Effect

About three minutes passed, when a figure walked out from behind the curtain, with steady yet graceful steps. When Clara Bennett looked up and saw the man’s face approaching, she paused for a few seconds, as if she had been frozen in place. That face was just too familiar, not only because of his handsome features, but more importantly, the gentle but friendly smile in his eyes, which left a deep impression. Towering over six feet tall, his casual yet formal style business suit accentuated his commanding presence. The man raised his arm slightly as a greeting, and introduced himself, "Hello, I’m George Taylor. Today we will be performing this scene together, as our roles are set to interact the most if we successfully pass the audition." Hearing this, Clara slightly raised her eyebrows, a trace of surprise and curiosity flashing in her eyes. The person standing before her was the lead actor of this drama. At the same time, he was also the actor she once despised and tried every means to confront in another life. This past event is so tangled, it almost became a mess that couldn’t be unraveled. In the past, her brother fought fiercely with George Taylor over pursuing Nell Sue. Worried that Nell would be bullied, her brother confided his feelings to her at the time. Back then, Nell accused George Taylor of abusing her in the rehearsal room and repeatedly attempting to lure her to his room for inappropriate behavior. At that time, Nell was still a little-known artist. Both Clara and Edward Bennett believed Nell’s words deeply, thinking that George Taylor was abusing his veteran actor status to bully newcomers. Furthermore, at a later gathering, George Taylor indeed publicly invited Nell to dinner. Even more excessively, when Nell was dead drunk, he suggested going to the hotel for a rest, these actions further deepening everyone’s bad impression of him. Therefore, they decided to take measures to severely punish such an apparently evil character. Her brother used his influence to suppress George Taylor, causing him to lose some significant roles and advertising opportunities. This event stirred a big wave in the industry, directly impacting George’s rising fame dramatically, leading to a decline in popularity and reputation. But now looking back at that old story, it doesn’t seem as simple as it appeared. It’s quite possible that George is also a victim under Nell’s deception or even manipulation, just like her brother once was. If she’d only remained at her brother’s initial stage of opposition against George, perhaps Clara would have felt more regret and self-blame. But reality developed beyond her imagination, making her mood now more subtle and tangled. "What goes around comes around" seems especially weighty at this moment. Later, as things unfolded, when Nell decided to leave that circle, she brought up those "misdeeds" of George Taylor again. This not only plunged her brother into a predicament and lost him the support of surrounding friends. It also pushed George Taylor to change his attitude, choosing to side with Nell against her brother. This led to a wondrous and nuanced change in their relationship. Now it was her turn to act opposite the male lead—George Taylor—filled with past grievances. Does it truly mean that karma is playing out? Have old rivals finally met? It’s uncertain, but at this moment she realized that actually both her brother and George were quite unjustly treated. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but let out a light sigh. The past grievances hovered like a mist in her heart, leaving her feeling restless. When will this endless cycle of revenge come to an end? Every retaliatory act seems only to make the situation more complicated. Clara understood that hatred and conflict only lead to losing more in the end. This time being reborn, she’s decided to live differently. This time, she must get along with George Taylor and not act recklessly like before. If they could let go of those trivial misunderstandings, perhaps there would be more possibilities between them. Thinking of the future, her heart brimmed with anticipation. As for Nell Sue, she silently made a note of her again. After all, Nell had caused her quite a bit of trouble in the past, and those memories would not fade easily. But Clara knew that dwelling on the past couldn’t change the present, and the crucial thing would be how to secure her position in the future. Clara speculated that perhaps in their past lives, when Nell acted opposite George Taylor, it was a similar situation. Which is why it may have turned out the way it did. Maybe it’s due to this subtle competitive relationship that drifted them apart. Reflecting on it now, she felt everything back then was too absurd. So upon seeing George Taylor this time, Clara showed a friendly smile and said, "Hello Mr. Taylor, I’ve long heard of your reputation. I hope to gain your recognition this time, and have the opportunity to co-create this drama with you." Her voice was filled with sincerity and desire, hoping her words could convey her genuine wishes. Meanwhile, she also tried to impress him with her acting skills. If her performance could surpass Nell’s, even if George encounters Nell later, he would feel her acting wasn’t as good as hers. This way, her position in this circle would be much more secure. That’s right, that’s what I’ll do! Clara made up her mind, fully immersing herself into the upcoming work. George Taylor had been sitting behind carefully observing those auditioning, because he needed to cast a suitable leading actress for the drama. Every person stepping into the room was scrutinized by him, their appearance and acting carefully considered. But none of the people who came today were even slightly satisfactory. This made him, usually calm, start feeling a bit restless. Even though the vacant role needed an urgent replacement, he hadn’t expected such a lack of candidates. As time ticked away, George even began to doubt if he could still find a suitable candidate. Just when he was about to give up, something caught his eye, indicating something special was about to happen. When he saw Clara appear, a glimmer of light finally reached George. Her simple yet elegant outfit couldn’t conceal her unique charm and glow. As soon as Clara made her entrance, with her looks and demeanor she already held a winning edge. In that moment, George realized this might indeed be the "perfect lead" he was searching for. According to the script, the leading lady was a charismatic Losangle singer who excelled at navigating among influential figures. Such a complex and challenging role naturally required substantial acting skills to portray perfectly. For someone to not have a striking appearance and magnetic aura wouldn’t be quite suitable for playing this role.