When did it all start?
After the success of Scent of a Woman, after the box office miracle of A Few Good Men, or perhaps after Schindler's List kicked off last March… who exactly was the mastermind behind it all? Clearly, it was Tracey Jacobs, and Ron Meyer probably wasn't far behind.
After the audition opportunity for The Firm appeared, Tracey and Ron happened to be frequently in contact with Sydney for the Schindler's List project; the producer of The Fugitive, Arnold, had just finished working with Ron's top actor, Michael Douglas… Was all of this mere coincidence? Obviously not.
If one digs deeper, it's even possible to speculate that on New Year's Eve, Brad Pitt's manager, Martin Baum, and Tracey had both spoken to Uma, who stayed behind; then Uma took Hugo to Malibu for a three-week vacation, completely isolated from the world. Don't forget, Michelle Pfeiffer had mentioned at the Golden Globe Awards that Uma was attending an audition, but Uma deflected and didn't tell Hugo the truth; now, Uma was suddenly on the verge of landing the female lead in The Firm…
Hugo couldn't think any further. The more he pondered, the more he felt drowned in his own thoughts, trapped in an endless spiral of conjecture.
Hugo looked at the newspaper, trying to calm himself. He kept telling himself to stay composed, but it was proving difficult. He took a deep breath, then another, yet his chest still felt heavy, as if he couldn't breathe. He reminded himself that all of this was just speculation. Whether the mastermind was Tracey and Ron or not, or whether the whole world's logic had completely failed, he refused to draw conclusions based solely on conjecture, at least regarding Uma. She deserved a chance to explain herself, and Hugo had the right to know the truth: perhaps Uma had nothing to do with all of this.
Thinking back to the day after the Golden Globe Awards, Hugo had taken the initiative to confront Anthony directly. Even though he was late for the The Fugitive audition, his actions had provided credible evidence for the so-called "A-List Controversy." However, his performance at the press conference disrupted the entire plan, causing the situation to flip entirely.
Currently, discussions about the A-list Controversy were messy and scattered, with each media outlet presenting its own perspective. Public opinion wasn't one-sided; some even favored Hugo. Within the industry, people had their own channels, leaving a small space of innocence for Hugo. It was imaginable that if Hugo could endure this wave of media bombardment, once people realized it was all hype, his positive image would gradually recover.
But Hugo had no time to rejoice in his past courage. He didn't have the luxury to worry about the future. All he wanted to know was whether Uma's candidacy for the female lead in The Firm was part of a conspiracy, whether she knowingly accepted the opportunity despite the circumstances, or if it was just a coincidence.
Hugo wished it was a coincidence, even if it was self-deception.
"Hugo…" Joseph's face went pale in an instant as he saw Hugo's hard-won smile vanish. He recalled Hugo's past heartbreak with a nurse, and the torment he had endured during withdrawal—neither fully human nor ghostly, a miserable state.
It wasn't just Joseph. Charlize and Kal were silent, and even the usually cheerful Alex fell quiet. All of them watched Hugo anxiously, but none dared show it too openly, fearing that a single expression might be the final straw to break him.
Hugo slowly raised his head, then smiled. Yes, he smiled. "I'm fine. Don't worry. It's just an audition. I'm happy for Uma, really. I'm fine." He restrained the ambiguous smile on his lips. "Oh, I… I need to rest. Yes, I want to sit down and rest. You know, I didn't sleep well last night." He took a deep breath, turned calmly, and walked to the living room. Quietly, he sat on the sofa, simply sitting there, watching the NBA game replay on TV.
Hugo's calmness was extraordinary—far beyond anyone's expectations—making their unease grow like wild weeds.
Everyone saw Hugo's trust in Uma. Whether it was Joseph questioning Uma and Martin on New Year's Eve, or Anthony tarnishing her reputation at the celebration, Hugo had unwaveringly stood by Uma, never doubting her even afterward. His trust in her was as steadfast as his feelings.
From cautious beginnings to being touched by Uma, step by step, he had approached her. Observing Hugo's careful steps toward Uma, one could see how hard-earned that trust was. But now, it all seemed at risk, and the blow to Hugo could be devastating.
The four—Joseph, Charlize, Kal, and Alex—stood by the dining table, exchanging helpless glances. If Hugo had expressed his anger, they could have tried their best to console him. But now, seeing him sit so quietly, as if nothing had happened, the abnormal calm was frightening.
" We shouldn't talk about it," Kal muttered, picking up a pen and writing on a piece of paper.
Charlize shook her head and wrote as well, "He'd find out sooner or later." She then glanced at Joseph. In truth, Charlize had always felt a clash with Uma's presence, but she hadn't said much. The main reason was that she didn't want to damage Uma's friendship with Hugo, and she wasn't even sure if her feelings were personal bias. Joseph had always been aware of Charlize's doubts about Uma; he just hadn't expected them to surface in this way, at this particular moment.
Joseph read Charlize's gaze and realized he too regretted showing today's edition of the San Francisco Chronicle to Hugo. But now he understood that what needed to be faced would be faced eventually.
Over this past week, Joseph had contacted more media outlets than he had in the entire previous year combined. While frantically managing the situation, he had unexpectedly expanded his network: industry insiders had a different perspective, and many could see that this time, the attacks were deliberately aimed at Hugo. Naturally, if some were targeting Hugo, others would support him. That was the nature of the media: to stand out in fierce competition, one had to leverage multiple perspectives, and many were willing to lend a helping hand.
This incident became an opportunity for Joseph to grow. Similarly, Hugo could only solve his problems by confronting them; avoidance was always the worst option.
Looking at Hugo quietly sitting on the sofa, everything seemed normal on the surface. But Joseph knew that normally, Hugo would have been lying across the sofa, his right foot propped on the coffee table, slouching in a casual, almost careless manner. Yet now, Hugo sat upright, with perfect posture. The firmness of his back seemed to radiate his final vestiges of strength.
The front door opened, and everyone instinctively looked toward it. The only person with the key who hadn't been around on the third floor was Uma.
As expected, Uma stumbled inside, hastily closing the door behind her. She wore a hat and sunglasses, with a plaid scarf draped around her neck. As she removed her disguise, she exclaimed lightly, "Phew, the reporters at the door are really a nuisance. Good thing my disguise worked." From her cheerful tone, it was clear she was in a good mood. "Hey, everyone's here. Good morning!" Entering the living room, she immediately saw everyone and greeted them happily.
Hugo stood up and greeted Uma with a cheek-to-cheek gesture, as if nothing had happened, saying, "What made you come this morning? Didn't I tell you? Reporters have been lurking around recently. You didn't have to come."
"I haven't seen you in a week. I missed you," Uma replied with a smile, looking at the calm, normal Hugo. She held up a supermarket plastic bag. "And I brought some food for you all. You must be tired of ordering takeout every day." She headed toward the kitchen to put the items in the fridge.
The four standing in the kitchen exchanged glances, unsure how to react to Hugo's unusual behavior. Charlize was the most perceptive; she mimicked Hugo's calmness, speaking in her normal tone: "Alex, didn't you want me to rehearse a scene with you? Let's go—if we wait too long, it'll be lunch time." She nodded to Uma as usual, then took Alex—whose eyes were practically burning—with her toward his room.
Alex couldn't hide his emotions. It was clear he had no patience for Uma.
Joseph and Kal finally reacted. Joseph cleared his throat. "Um… what did you get? We were planning to order lunch…"
"Pizza!" Kal reminded him.
"Oh, right. Pizza," Joseph added quickly.
"Simple dishes. I know you rarely cook at home," Uma said, setting the bag on the table and taking items out.
Joseph noticed the San Francisco Chronicle on the table and quickly tugged on Kal's sleeve. "Well, we couldn't be more thankful. By the way, Kal, Charlize said her wardrobe needs to be moved in her room let's help her out." He and Kal quickly headed toward Charlize's room on the left side of the kitchen.
Uma noticed the slight disturbance but assumed they were just giving space for her and Hugo. She didn't think much of it. "Hehe, the seafood at the store looked really good today, so I bought some…"
As Uma unloaded the items, she spotted the newspaper on the table. She picked it up and froze, seeing the San Francisco Chronicle logo and the article at the top left corner. The seafood in her hands slipped to the floor, and she just stood there, stunned.
Hugo approached the kitchen with a smile. "Seafood? Too complicated to prepare. Let's keep it simple." He came beside Uma and reached to help.
"Hugo…" Uma stared at the newspaper, then at the perfectly composed Hugo. She didn't know how to react. Did he see the news? If he had, why didn't he respond? If he hadn't, why was the paper there? The uncertainty gnawed at her, making her anxious. All she could do was call his name, not knowing what else to do.
.....
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