Chapter 424: Tearing Up the Script

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: Tearing Up the Script

The host hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted. After a moment of stunned silence, he looked at the person who had spoken and asked, "Best Actor Donovan, is something the matter?"

"There’s still one guest who hasn’t arrived. The event can’t start."

"Another guest?" The host quickly turned to the director for confirmation, only to see the director nod and gesture for him to continue with the program.

The host was completely baffled, but he maintained a professional smile, trying to control the situation. "It seems we have a mysterious guest today that no one knew about! Might I ask if this mysterious guest has arrived? Could we ask them to come over, meet everyone, and say hello?"

Hector Donovan just smiled without a word and turned to wave in Arabella Donovan’s direction.

Arabella Donovan was suddenly struck with a bad feeling. She pointed at herself, a look of utter confusion on her face.

’This mysterious guest... is me?!’

"That’s right, it’s you." As if sensing Arabella Donovan’s shock and confusion, Sheldon Webb explained in a low voice, "On the way here, Hector made a request to the production team. Both the director and the investors agreed."

To be precise, they were more than happy to agree. Rumors about Hector Donovan’s sister had been circulating for a while.

Not long ago, Arabella Donovan had gone viral for a time as a non-celebrity after she tore into Cassandra Lynch on a livestream.

When the director and investors found out that Hector Donovan’s sister was the same person as that mysterious online influencer who had unexpectedly shot to fame and then vanished, they agreed to Hector Donovan’s request without a second thought. They even offered her a talent fee just slightly lower than Hector’s.

Sheldon Webb rubbed his nose. What he didn’t mention was that Hector Donovan had initially planned to have Arabella Donovan on the show for no fee, covering the cost himself. But before he could even make the offer, the production team had already quoted a price.

Since that was the case, well... they could only reluctantly accept the production team’s generous gift on his sister’s behalf. After all, only a fool would turn down a free lunch!

Arabella Donovan didn’t know about these little details at the time. After her initial shock wore off, she vaguely guessed her brother’s intentions.

Although she was a bit annoyed at a certain someone for acting first and reporting later, giving her no time to prepare, she still obediently walked to her brother’s side.

"Hello everyone, I’m Arabella Donovan, and I’m Best Actor Hector Donovan’s... little sister."

"Yes, Serena is my little sister. I was worried that since I’ve never been a father and have no experience, I might not be able to take care of a child alone for the next few days, so I asked her to come as my backup. I hope nobody minds, right?"

Arabella Donovan cringed. ’You’ve never been a father and have no experience, but do I?’ she thought. ’This excuse sounds like total nonsense.’

At this moment, none of the guests, nor the director, realized the gravity of the situation. They all just assumed these were Hector Donovan’s words to test the waters for his sister’s entry into the entertainment industry and offered kind smiles.

"As expected of Best Actor Donovan’s sister, she’s so lovely. The kids will definitely like her." This was the female singer who had brought her daughter.

"Don’t underestimate kids. They’re all about looks. They love a pretty young lady like her who’s close to their age and can play with them." This was the semi-retired, washed-up veteran actor.

"Hector, your sister looks pretty young. Is she even an adult? If you two can’t handle it, you can come to us. We can’t promise much, but we can at least make sure you don’t go hungry." This was Screenwriter Lambert, who was casually acquainted with Hector Donovan.

Dylan Dawson was busy trying to please his son, so he just nodded at the two of them.

In contrast, it was Jude Underwood, a new celebrity and fellow guest star like Hector Donovan, who seemed a bit embarrassed upon seeing Arabella Donovan. "I didn’t know Miss Donovan would be coming, so I didn’t bring a gift for you. I have some snacks here; if you don’t mind, you can take them to pass the time. As for a proper gift, I’ll make it up to you later."

As Jude Underwood spoke, a gentle, faint smile played on his lips, causing his female fans in the livestream chat to shriek and scream, wishing they could swap places with Arabella Donovan.

But Arabella Donovan, the person he was talking to, wasn’t fooled by his appearance at all.

She stared for a moment at the man’s face, which clearly showed signs of plastic surgery, and said meaningfully, "It’s fine. I’m not a child, and I’m not the star of this show anyway. Mr. Underwood just needs to remember to prepare gifts for the actual children here."

Jude Underwood’s expression stiffened for a moment before he quickly recovered. "Of course. I could forget anything but that."

Milton Lambert and the others didn’t notice the strange tension between the two and watched them with friendly expressions.

Hector Donovan, however, immediately sensed that something was off about the man. He wanted to ask, but his sister stopped him with a look, so he had to temporarily suppress his curiosity and continue with the production team’s scheduled program.

Now that all the guests had arrived, the urgent matter of choosing children and forming pairs was next.

The host enthusiastically introduced the two children participating in today’s selection process: Riley Coleman and Chloe Coleman.

Arabella Donovan keenly noticed that the host described the children’s relationship as "sister and brother." While that wasn’t wrong, she stroked her chin thoughtfully.

Thanks to his immense popularity and his seniority in the industry, Hector Donovan was given the privilege of choosing his child first.

The two children stood before him—one chubby, one thin; one tall, one short; one nervous, one excited.

Logically, girls at this age are naturally more mature than boys of the same age and tend to look bigger. Moreover, the older sister, Chloe Coleman, was a year older than her brother.

But in reality, Chloe Coleman was half a head shorter than Riley Coleman. She was frail and looked malnourished, her head bowed low. She seemed afraid of strangers, and it was hard not to suspect that she had experienced something terrible at home.

Seeing Hector Donovan approach, the two children had vastly different reactions. Riley Coleman took the initiative to step forward, tilting up his chubby little face to give Hector a strangely enthusiastic smile. In a high-pitched, affected voice, he said, "Mister, you’re so handsome. Riley likes you. Can you be Riley’s daddy, please?"

Anyone could tell an adult had deliberately taught him to say that. Hector Donovan glanced at him, then at the little girl standing a short distance away, head down, silently and anxiously clutching the hem of her dress. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he gave the answer he had long since decided on.

"I choose her."

"Alright, let’s congratulate..." The host stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something. The smile on his face froze, and the other guests, who had also received the script beforehand, looked on in astonishment.

The triumphant smile on Riley Coleman’s face also froze in an instant. His beady eyes, squished small by his chubby cheeks, shot out a look of disbelief as he shrieked, "Why didn’t you pick me?"

The only one who had anticipated this and was delighted to see it happen was Arabella Donovan, who was quietly hiding beside her brother to watch the show.

’Whoa!’

’Excellent. Today’s episode of "Dad for a Day" begins with Best Actor Donovan tearing up the script!’