Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 239: Critcal Point

In the narrow kitchen, the sound of sizzling oil echoed, which should have brought a sense of family warmth, but Anna's eyes were clouded with fatigue. Even her taut shoulders sagged as she absentmindedly stared at the zucchini in front of her. She should have continued chopping, but she was frozen in place, not moving.

Jacob returned from the bathroom. Hearing the noise, Anna turned her head and glanced at Jacob, but Jacob didn't look at her. He simply walked past her, back to back.

Jacob moved to the small table on the side and picked up his phone. Sam had sent him a message earlier: Sam was still his assistant at the studio, managing all the work while he was in London.

After checking the message, Jacob put his phone back down. Anna's voice broke the silence, "So you have a pretty good relationship with your colleague, huh?"

Jacob turned around, puzzled, "Uh... what do you mean?" His voice was filled with exhaustion, not intending to argue, as he leaned against the wall and slowly sat down, his every muscle seemingly groaning. The weariness in his brows spread under the soft yellow light.

"Why didn't you tell me you had feelings for her before?" Anna turned around, her back to Jacob, and picked up the knife again, starting to chop the zucchini.

Jacob picked up his wine glass. Hearing this, he paused slightly, lifting his right hand holding the glass, and gently rubbed his temple with his thumb. The irritation and fatigue spread with his every movement—he didn't even bother using his left hand for the earlier action. He let out a light breath, "Why are you looking at my phone?"

"I wasn't looking at your phone." Anna's voice unnaturally raised, as she turned sideways, waving the knife in her right hand, "I walked over, and your message just popped up." She laughed dryly, masking her awkwardness and unease, "It's not that hard..."

"My message just popped up?" Jacob interrupted Anna, his voice involuntarily rising in disbelief, his sarcasm and suppressed anger becoming even more apparent.

"Yes, I could see..." Anna turned back, awkwardly picking up the zucchini, seemingly checking if the cut was right but actually hiding her panic, "It's not that... you don't need to be Einstein. Tell me what's going on between you two."

Jacob tilted his head, looking at Anna's back with a face full of helplessness, weariness between his brows, unwilling to continue the argument. He slowed his speech, saying each word slowly, "Nothing happened."

But his softened tone betrayed his impatience and frustration. Anna put down the knife, turning to face Jacob, "Why can't you just say it, Jacob?"

"I said, nothing happened." Jacob played with his wine glass, closed his eyes, leaned his head against the wall, trying to keep his tone calm, but failing miserably.

"There's clearly something going on between you two." Anna persisted, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning against the stove, determined.

"I..." Jacob's anger surged. After saying one word, he clenched his teeth, trying to calm down but failing. He slammed the wine glass onto the table but found his fingers disobeying, picking up the glass again, "Nothing is going on between us!"

He leaned on his knees, his tone firm. But Anna didn't believe him.

"Nothing is going on?"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Not even a tiny bit?"

"Absolutely not!"

"You're lying."

In the midst of their back-and-forth argument, their words were a chaotic jumble, interrupting each other, until Anna finally declared disdainfully, making Jacob feel blocked in his chest. He stood up, picked up his phone, wanting to say something but realizing whatever he said would be wrong.

He slumped his shoulders, spreading his hands, standing face-to-face with Anna, "Don't check my phone again..." He looked into Anna's eyes, but couldn't hold her gaze, lowering his eyes and exhaling deeply. He sat back down in the chair opposite Anna, unable to sustain himself for even a second, "It will only make you more suspicious."

"Why didn't you tell me..." Anna was unwilling to let it go, continuing relentlessly, "That you still have feelings for her?"

"I have no feelings for her!" Jacob finally tired of explaining, his anger bursting out.

"You clearly have feelings for her!" Anna raised her voice, not backing down.

"No! Absolutely no feelings!" Jacob gritted his teeth, forcing out each word.

"Yes, there are!" Anna retorted fiercely, ignoring Jacob's denial, "She works with me," directly accusing him, "I saw your message!"

"She! You!" Jacob's words got stuck in his throat. He ground his teeth furiously, roaring, "You shouldn't be looking at my messages!"

"Don't shout! Don't shout!" Anna pressed her left hand down, signaling Jacob to quiet down.

Jacob raised his right hand, covering his forehead, rubbing his temple with his thumb and index finger, his voice returning to a calm tone, "You shouldn't be looking at my messages."

But Anna shifted the topic, "Why are you shouting at me?"

"Sorry I shouted." Jacob closed his eyes, apologizing.

"Don't get mad at me." Anna continued, "If you keep shouting, others will be attracted over."

Looking at Anna, Jacob felt it was absurd, utterly absurd. He shook his head helplessly, decisively putting the wine back on the table, refusing to continue this conversation.

But Anna was also infuriated by Jacob's indifferent attitude, "It's important if others come over." She turned around in disappointment, her back to Jacob.

This time, it was Jacob's turn to be angry. He stared at Anna's back, his eyes wide, "Who would come over? Simon?" His voice uncontrollably rose again, but this time, he was met with silence, a dead silence.

"Cut!"

Drake's voice broke the tense atmosphere. Renly and Felicity didn't move; the scene wasn't finished, but Drake calling a pause meant there was a problem with their performance.

Sure enough, Drake walked over, organizing his thoughts before speaking, "Jacob, your anger isn't strong enough." His voice was thick with congestion, even slightly slurred, but everyone was used to it, "That sudden burst of anger still lacks strength. I feel you're not invested enough today. I need more, more!"

"Anna, your contrast isn't obvious enough." With the filming these days, Drake had gradually gotten into the habit of addressing the actors by their character names. "You're off today. You're questioning Jacob not just because there's something to doubt, but also because you're feeling irritable and exhausted. Compared to Jacob, your emotions are too weak, so weak that I can't feel them. Jacob has stolen the balance of this scene. I need you to wake up!"

Drake looked at Felicity, then at Renly, his voice incredibly hoarse, "I know this scene is very difficult to shoot. Do you need a break to adjust?"

Renly shrugged, saying nothing, the extreme weariness spilling over from the film to real life. Felicity kept her head down, refusing any communication. Drake stood by, helpless, then took a deep breath, "Okay, one minute. One minute, and we'll shoot again!"

Today's scene was crucial, a turning point in Anna and Jacob's relationship.

Anna and Jacob had gotten married, with Jacob constantly traveling between London and Los Angeles. They were continually in contact with the U.S. Embassy in London, appealing and hoping to get a visa for Anna so they could freely move between the two countries. The decision on where to settle would be made once the visa was approved.

But things weren't progressing smoothly. After two years, they were still at an impasse.

This time, they were rejected by the embassy again. Their long efforts yielded no results, leaving them both physically and mentally exhausted. Sitting in Anna's apartment, they began to argue.

Sam had messaged Jacob earlier, mentioning work and saying, "I miss you, when can you come back to LA?" Jacob hadn't responded to Sam, only talking about work. But Jacob's absent-mindedness made Anna suspicious, leading her to check Jacob's messages, resulting in the argument above.

In fact, Anna was also full of flaws. When Jacob questioned Anna's relationship with Simon, whether they had slept together, Anna couldn't respond. This plunged them into a vicious cycle:

Were their efforts still meaningful? They each had their own lives. Was their persistent effort, constantly being rejected, still meaningful? How much love was left between them? Or more accurately, what were they clinging to? What was the relationship between Anna and Simon, Jacob and Sam? Was it love or companionship?

This was a critical point. They were both struggling to maintain their relationship, but it was already precarious.