It could be said that all children needed a family. No matter how many babysitters or tutors they had, they would never be able to replace the childrenâs parents.
Ever since Nathanâs parents passed away, Michael took up the responsibility of being his mother and father apart from his actor duties. In addition to that, he still had many other things to handle, so he didnât have much time to take care of Nathan. It was great that Sophia had come into their lives, and Nathan seemed to get along with her very well.
Nathan scowled, having completely forgotten about putting on his adorable charm in front of Sophia despite promising Michael earlier. Michael teased him and said, âNathan, call for Daddy!â
Nathan turned his head away. âHmph!â
Harry had grown up together with Michael, so he had also known Michaelâs older sister, Celine Fletcher, since he was a child. Celine and Michael were twins, and Celine was born ten minutes before Michael. Harry had watched as Celine fell in love and got married; he was even there when Nathan was born. Not only that, he watched as Nathan became an orphan and Michael took the boy in.
Harry teased Nathan as well. âCome on, sonâcall me Stepdad.â
Along with Michael, they were the Power Trio; Nathan was their child!
Sophia didnât know about the Power Trio. Her mind fell into the gutter again as she watched this unusual family of three.
She gave a heartfelt sigh as she watched Harry and Michael behaving so âlovinglyâ with each other. A prince may also fall in love with another prince instead of a princess.
On the other hand, Harry had completely given up on Sophia; he knew that they were just not meant to be. Michael had gotten to her first, and he couldnât behave badly toward his friendâs wife!
Their meal went by awkwardly. Everyone still had their own qualms, and Sophia felt like a third wheel.
Coincidentally, Harry felt like he was being the third wheel as well. Nathan was feeling uncomfortable since he didnât want to sit with Michael. Instead, he leaned in closer to Sophia.
Michael was probably the only one who was eating happily here.
After their meal, they got up to leave. Sophia took Nathanâs hand and headed to their company, not forgetting that there was still the meet-and-greet with the film crew later tonight.
That was the event that the students were looking forward to the mostâthe cast of âDoctor Invincibleâ
would be meeting everyone. After being background actors the whole day and not seeing even a strand of the actorsâ hair, the girls were eager for tonightâs meet-and-greet.
Sophia hastily slipped away to a cyber cafe during the small window of time between dinner and the meet-and-greet. Having booked a computer, she immediately searched for news about âTaylorâ without even booting up her game.
She had never kept tabs on celebrities before; all she knew was Taylorâs name, but she hadnât watched any of his movies. Moreover, Taylor was a person who kept on the downlow. He never went on any talk shows, nor did he take part in any advertisements. Sophia actually had no idea what Taylor looked like.
She had searched for Michaelâs name a million times before, but she had never found anything useful.
Who would have thought that face of his would be so famous online?
Oh, what a blunder she had made!
She proceeded to google some basic information about him.
âA skilled actor, as well as the first actor from his country to win an Oscar. He is known for his performances and his masterful micro-expressions.â
âHis acting skills are so realistic that it is unreal.â
âThe number one sexiest man on the sexiest man list.â
âAs an alumni of Bayside Universityâs acting program, he has been in the industry for ten years.â
Sophia was dumbstruck.
When Joe found her in Duckburgs, Sophia had been informed that she would be married to an old bachelor. She thought she would be fortunate to marry a man who was younger than forty with a healthy body and a relatively nice face, but she had never expected her husband to be a famous actor.
She reflected on her childhood; her mother died during childbirth, and her grandfather died when she was three. At the age of ten, her grandmother passed away. She then lived with her uncleâs family, but she was kicked out when the house wasnât selected for monetary compensation. At sixteen, she got together with that scumbag called Richard, and she was kicked out of school in a disgraceful manner when she was eighteen. It was a conga line of tragedy after tragedy.
Was those eighteen years of misery actually leading up to this one fortuitous moment where she met with this wealthy man named Michael?
It was unfortunate that the one Michael loved was Harry. She was a pitiful excuse acting as a homowife.
She checked the time. It was still early; the meet-and-greet would only begin at seven, so she opened a few analysis articles on Michaelâs movies.
Taylor had debuted ten years ago, and his star-making role was in a movie that was filmed eight years ago called âThe Castratoâ. It was a movie about a male opera singerâs tragic life. That movie caused a huge stir across the world, and it had apparently made close to ten billion dollars through the box office, keeping in mind that it was seven or eight years ago.
Taylor had also been nominated for an Oscar due to that film, and he became the first and youngest actor from his hometown to win one.
The other Oscar-winning actor was Ethan, also known as Harry.
In âThe Castratoâ, Taylorâs character was sold into an opera company when he was child. At the tender age of eighteen, he became the most famed star of the city. When he was on stage, no one could tell whether he was a man or a woman; his beauty was so great that even the female singers were intimidated.
After several failed relationships, Taylorâs character lived his twilight years in misery, and in the end, he committed suicide in his costume.
Taylor had portrayed an eighteen year-old singerâs glorious years to the end of his life. With his meticulous skills, it felt like he was breathing his role; there was not a flaw to his acting. Had this movie not remained as popular as it was and had been dissected and analyzed to death, Sophia wouldnât have thought that the younger version of the character and the older version was played by the same person.
The eighteen year-old protagonist was so baby-faced, and the costumes he wore for the opera were elaborate and majestic, bringing out the softness of his grace. He was elegant, and his voice was beautiful. Off the stage, he was a young, bookish man with an extraordinary beauty. Even in current times, this movie would be listed at the top when it came to movies which broke gender norms; it was a classic that couldnât be surpassed.
Hence, Taylorâs fans affectionately called him âMiss Taylorâ.
Sophiaâs impression of Michaelâthat of a perverted tyrantâsuddenly crashed and burned.
She played some clips from âThe Castratoâ and watched as Michael from eight years ago portrayed a young fresh-faced singer, his voice pitched high as he sang in his opera costume. Her jaw was slack, and she could tell immediately by his posture and voice that he was no ordinary singer.
Nathan was watching her so that she wouldnât hop into her video game. She said to him, âYour dad must have been using a body double.â
Nathan didnât say a word.
She scanned through the articles, and it turned out that Michael had not used a body double in this clip.
The clip where the protagonist was singing on stage in âThe Castratoâ was the highlight of the movie.
Back then, it had caused waves around the world. Not only was everyone in awe of Michaelâs acting skills, they were also dumbstruck by his singing voiceâhis singing skills stood out in the realm of film music.
Sophia rewatched that clip several times, her eyes widening as she scrutinized the video each time. At last, she was certain that it was Michael.
âIs that really your dad?â Sophia asked Nathan in disbelief.
Nathan nodded and said confidently, âYep.â
Her impression of him as a domineering tyrant crashed again.
Sophia scratched her head, not daring to believe it. To her, Michael was the kind of pervert who would bulk buy condoms just for a moment in the bedroom. There was no way that he could be this internationally acclaimed, popular actor that she was reading about online!
She trawled through the information on Taylor available online. He was only fifteen years old when he made his actual debut as the leader of a boyband. His voice hadnât dropped yet, and he sang age-
appropriate pop songsâthe kind that was popular during that era. There were also dance numbers that showed their age. Even now, Taylor looked quite youthful in those clips.
After a few years of radio silence, he suddenly made a comeback by stepping foot into the acting world.
From then on, there was no more turning back. He acted for ten years and was repeatedly hailed as a skillful actor. When she summed all those years out, he had made his debut in the entertainment industry seventeen years ago.
Sophia watched those old music videos of Michael singing and dancing over ten years ago. She sighed to herself, Time is a cruel mistress, for that youthful boy has become a perverted old man now.