Chapter 1041: Chapter 1041: What if I Insist?
The story of "The Doctors" is inspired by the story of Brandon Piers and Abigail Green, but it is not entirely about them.
Much of the content has been reimagined and reconstructed by David Locke, making it more dramatic.
Especially as the story progresses, the plot unfolds, and the characters’ emotions accumulate, Bertha Swift’s performance improves significantly, but everyone can also see that she has fully immersed herself in the role.
She even stays in character after the shooting ends.
Adam Piers is very anxious. Finally, after the first kiss scene between Bertha Swift and Brian Joule, he approached David Locke, "The day after tomorrow, several crew members are going to record ’Wilderness’. Give Bertha Swift a three-day break as well."
"Even if you leave, there are some scenes we can shoot with her alone." David Locke refused without a second thought.
"No way." Adam Piers protested with displeasure.
However, David Locke looked at Adam Piers, "Bertha Swift has no acting experience. It’s quite difficult for her to completely immerse herself in the role. If we interrupt, she might not be able to return to this state. Are you sure you want to wake her up?"
"But if she doesn’t wake up, she’ll truly fall in love with Brian Joule!" Adam Piers was agitated, as he noticed the changes in Bertha Swift’s eyes day by day.
David Locke remained silent, "Her current state is excellent, and whether she falls for Brian Joule is not my concern."
"You..." Adam Piers was annoyed, "Aren’t you supposed to be my friend?"
"It’s you who isn’t clear-headed. Even if she falls for Brian Joule, it’s not for him as a person, but for the character Bernard Hume that he plays. Don’t you even have that bit of confidence in yourself?" David Locke intentionally provoked Adam Piers.
Adam Piers wasn’t fooled, "What if after her scenes are over, she can’t get out of the role and brings those emotions into her real life?"
Especially since Adam Piers noticed that Brian Joule also had a strange look in his eyes when he looked at Bertha Swift.
If this continues, something is bound to happen.
Adam Piers was very anxious. He already didn’t have much of an advantage with Bertha Swift, and if she fell for someone else, what chance would he have?
"If Bertha Swift easily falls for someone else and not you, what good would it do to wake her up now?" David Locke asked calmly, looking at Adam Piers.
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over Adam Piers’ previously anxious face, making him motionless as he stared blankly at David Locke.
David Locke had never seen the unruly young master of the Piers family so disheartened before, and he sighed lightly in his heart, "Matters of the heart cannot be forced."
"What if I insist on forcing it?" Adam Piers suddenly asked harshly.
David Locke frowned, "Don’t do anything rash, Adam Piers."
But as soon as he said this, Adam Piers had already turned and left his room, leaving David Locke to sigh as he saw Mary Scott coming out of the bedroom.
Mary Scott looked at David Locke, "What did Adam Piers want? Why are you sighing?"
"What else could it be, it’s naturally about Bertha Swift." David Locke replied helplessly.
Mary Scott, thinking of Bertha Swift’s situation in recent days, furrowed her brows slightly, "Forget about Adam Piers, even I’m worried about Bertha Swift’s condition. Why don’t you give her a few days off to let her rest?"
"I... I fear that if she rests, she’ll come back as confused as on the first day of filming. What then?" David Locke hesitated, but his attitude was much less firm compared to when he responded to Adam Piers earlier.
"If she could find the right state the first time, she can find it again. Don’t push too hard. Besides, the day after tomorrow, I, Brian Joule, and Mr. Foster are going to record a variety show. The crew will only have Bertha Swift and a few irrelevant roles left. Giving a two-day break won’t be a big deal, right?"
"Who says so? I can shoot some of Bertha Swift’s individual scenes. Even if all of you leave, my crew still has to run. Wasting a day costs millions." David Locke struggled.
"Why worry? Isn’t the money invested by Adam Piers?" Mary Scott blinked at David Locke and suddenly thought of something, "Wait, why are we giving Bertha a break? Why not let Adam Piers stay and shoot scenes of the two of them together?"
Mary Scott suddenly had an inspiration, "This way, we won’t waste resources, we don’t have to wake up Bertha Swift, and we can let the two of them stay together."
David Locke’s eyes lit up too and promptly called Adam Piers.
As Adam Piers left David Locke’s room, he was in a bad mood. Seeing David Locke’s call, he asked irritably, "What is it now?"
David Locke restrained his impulse to lash out at Adam Piers, "If you don’t take a leave the day after tomorrow, I can consider arranging those two days for scenes between you and Bertha Swift."
"What did you say?" Adam Piers didn’t quite catch on at first.
"Think about it yourself. This is as far back as I can retreat. Do as you wish." David Locke hung up without wasting more words.
Adam Piers understood what David Locke meant.
Though he hadn’t agreed to give Bertha Swift a break, waking her from the role, it gave him and Bertha Swift two days of alone time together.
This was already a concession.
Adam Piers’ previously restless emotions slightly calmed down. He sent a quick "OK" to David Locke, then instructed Ray Leighton to contact Simon Baker, the director of "Wilderness," to discuss withdrawing from the show. Meanwhile, he headed towards his room.
However, as he reached the elevator, the elevator doors dinged open, and out came Bertha Swift and Brian Joule.
Neither of them expected to see Adam Piers, and they were momentarily stunned but quickly recovered and gave him a simple greeting.
Adam Piers didn’t move, his face unusually grim, feeling there was something very abnormal about the two of them.
However, Bertha Swift and Brian Joule paid no mind to his reaction and walked together towards Bertha Swift’s room.
When Brian Joule left Bertha Swift at her room door, Adam Piers was still standing in the same spot. As Brian Joule passed by, he looked at Adam Piers’ severe and cold gaze and swallowed the words he wanted to ask.
Not until Brian Joule entered the elevator did Adam Piers slowly approach Bertha Swift’s room, pressing the doorbell slowly and repeatedly.
Bertha Swift thought it was Brian Joule coming back. But when she opened the door, she met Adam Piers’ angry eyes. She was momentarily taken aback, then coldly asked, "What are you doing here?"
After wrapping up the shoot today, Abigail Green was invited by Brian Joule to take a walk. Her mood had just slightly emerged from the story’s grip. When she saw Adam Piers still in his scene hairstyle, she subconsciously put herself back into character, displaying an extreme indifference and even strong resistance towards him.
Adam Piers recalled the startled look on their faces when they exited the elevator and saw him. This led to certain suspicions in his mind. Earlier, Bertha Swift seemed gentle and soft while with Brian Joule, but her demeanor turned cold and distant the moment she faced Adam. Clenching his teeth, he asked, "What were you just doing with Brian Joule?"
Bertha Swift looked at the person in front of her with displeasure, not quite understanding why he was questioning her. Her gaze was detached as she looked at Adam Piers.
Adam immediately caught the emotion in Bertha’s eyes, feeling increasingly irritated. Suppressing his bitterness, he asked, "Are you dating him?"
The question left Bertha even more bewildered. Although she had been deeply immersed in her role, her mind was aware that shooting had ended. Yet, Adam’s persistent questioning blurred the lines between script and reality, leaving her more confused as she looked at him.
Adam had reached his limit. He barged aggressively into Bertha’s room, closing the door behind him. "Bertha Swift, I’m asking you: are you dating Brian Joule?"
He had always suspected Bertha and Brian of falling for each other during shooting. The natural intimacy he observed earlier had aggravated him, causing his persona as a dandy scion to erupt with a menacing pressure.
Facing Adam’s seemingly deranged demeanor, Bertha finally realized he wasn’t Dyson Hardy but Adam Piers.
Her expression changed slightly, her eyes cooled, "What does my business have to do with you, Master Adam? Must I inform you every time I start dating someone?"
She thought this man had genuinely listened to her last time, but now it seemed he hadn’t, behaving even more outrageously, questioning her as if she owed him something.
Already furious, Adam’s suspicions deepened when Bertha refused to clarify her relationship with Brian. "If you don’t answer my question, it means you really are with him? Where did you just go, what did you do?"
"Adam Piers!" Bertha growled lowly.
Her low growl was filled with intense anger, fully bringing her out of the story. Her gaze was one of disappointment towards Adam. His recent behavior, along with the words he spoke to draw her into character, made her think he had changed, but clearly, he hadn’t.
All this time, he had just been pretending, still inherently the self-important young master of the Piers family.
Adam was jolted awake by Bertha’s growl, finally realizing what he had done. His face went pale, wanting to explain but stubbornly replied, "Tell me you’re not involved with Brian Joule and I’ll leave..."
Bertha took a deep breath, "Whether I’m involved with Brian or not is none of your business. Adam Piers, I’ve said this many times already; I don’t want to repeat it a third or fourth time."
"You..." Adam couldn’t understand why Bertha couldn’t simply say she wasn’t involved with Brian. Did she have to push him to the edge before she’d relent?
"I, Forbid, It." Adam almost let loose something harsh, but held back, instead repeating, "I forbid you to fall for Brian Joule, and even more so, you can’t be with him, no, you can’t be with anyone."
As he spoke, the obsession in Adam’s eyes made him seem a bit mad, as if possessed by Dyson Hardy from "The Doctors."
Bertha frowned tightly, "Adam Piers, our engagement is broken. We have no relation now."
"So what? You are, and will only be, mine." Adam insisted word by word, disregarding any pretense of restraint and understanding. If it resulted in her liking someone else and being with someone else, why should he hold back? To hell with this tragic love drama; he just wanted to be himself!
Bertha’s face was pale. She saw Adam’s determination and suddenly didn’t understand if he truly liked her or if he was just challenged by seeing her with Brian, affecting his male pride?
Regardless of which it was, Bertha knew this man wouldn’t easily let her go. Although she was in a warm room, she felt cold all over as Adam grabbed her chin, forcing her to raise her head, and kissed her fiercely.
In pain, Bertha pushed him away, only to see him rubbing his lips with a finger. "Remember what I said tonight."
After speaking, Adam didn’t make things difficult for Bertha any further, opening the door and leaving. He only saw Zoe Thatcher at the door, who paused, wanting to ask something, but he didn’t give her the chance, opening his door and closing it again with a bang.
Listening to the door’s opening and closing, it took a while for Bertha to steady herself against the sofa, her body trembling. Her lips still ached from the lingering sensation of the man’s touch; her heart, once tranquil after the storyline, was churned again, leaving her unsure of what she was thinking.
With a beep, her phone snapped Bertha back to reality. Opening it, she realized she had been so absorbed in her role lately that she had completely forgotten about her real life. Her phone was filled with missed calls and unread messages, with the latest one just in, asking her how she was from Brian Joule.
Thinking of today’s conversation with Brian, Bertha’s mood lightened a bit. She replied to him, seeing the typing indicator on his side, but even after waiting a long time, no message came until finally, it arrived, "Is Adam Piers all right?"
Bertha frowned, wondering why Brian was asking her if Adam was okay. The next moment seemed off to him too, and he quickly followed with an explanation, saying he had seen Adam staring blankly at her earlier.
Understanding fully now, Bertha simply replied that she didn’t know, not saying anything further.
The other messages were a mix of different sorts, including ones from Maria White. Some were from people wanting to watch her act, who had heard she was cast as the lead in Director Locke’s film and tried to get close to her, as well as some from entertainment companies and advertisers who somehow found her contact information.
In any case, Bertha didn’t pay much attention, setting the phone down after a bath and forcing herself to focus on lines and memorization again.
But the next day, she still stumbled.
And continued to stumble through ten lines.
A complete stop on ten takes, prompting David Locke to finally burst out a curse under the compelling stares of Adam and Mary Scott, telling Bertha to take a rest.
Bertha was full of apologies, yet since last night she had broken free from the character, she couldn’t find the feeling today, ending up dejectedly watching the others shoot.
At this point, Zoe, waiting for her scene, had somehow ended up beside her. "Are you dating Brian Joule?"
Bertha quickly looked up, puzzled by how these people deduced that she was dating Brian.
Since she wasn’t familiar with Zoe and their relationship was delicate, Bertha neither confirmed nor denied it, just glanced at Zoe lightly before lowering her head back to the script.
Zoe wasn’t bothered by the cold shoulder, continuing leisurely, "If you’re dating Brian Joule, keep your distance from Adam. He may look like a dandy, but he’s incredibly single-minded; if you don’t like him, don’t string him along."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Bertha snapped her head up, "Who says I’m stringing him along?"
"Are you going to deny it? I saw Adam coming out of your room last night." Zoe felt it was unfair for Adam.
Bertha chuckled coldly, "Just because he came out of my room means I’m stringing him along? Why isn’t it that he’s clinging to me? I know your relationship isn’t simple, but instead of telling me these things, maybe you should manage him or let him cling to you!"
"Adam and I aren’t..."
"Whatever you are doesn’t concern me!" Zoe attempted to explain her lack of involvement with Adam, but Bertha cut her off outright.
Zoe’s face turned unpleasant; she hadn’t expected Bertha to be so unreasonable. Could it be that Adam liked this sort of person? Should she give it a try?