Reborn as the Villainess

Eleanor watched as Camilla walked away, pressing her lips. After a moment's thought, she decided to follow and see what was going on.

Grace, however, stepped in front of her, clearly uneasy. "Eleanor maybe you shouldn't go. I've heard that Gregory has quite a temper. I'd hate for you to get hurt." Eleanor responded softly, "It's fine. I know what I'm doing. Besides, this needs to be dealt with sooner or later."

Eleanor carried herself with such composure that it was hard to believe she was still a student.

"But..." Grace was torn, but seeing Eleanor's resolve, she relented. "Alright then, I'll go with you."

As soon as they reached Gregory's dressing room, a loud crash startled them, followed by a booming roar from inside. "Get out!"

The door swung open, and Camilla emerged, red-eyed and on the verge of tears. A large coffee stain marred her light-colored dress, leaving her disheveled and pitiful.

Eleanor frowned at the sight, her displeasure toward Gregory growing. She thought, 'Yelling at a young girl like that-what an undignified thing to do, especially for a grown man. Pathetic

Camilla had been thoroughly shaken by Gregory's outburst. She'd been pampered all her life, never having suffered such humiliation. Just as the tears were about to spill over, she noticed Eleanor standing in the doorway. Gritting her teeth, she forced the tears back. There was no way she was going to cry in front of Eleanor, who had stolen her role.

"What are you doing here?" Camilla's voice was sharp with anger. She thought, "This cunning woman is just standing there to revel in my misery.'

Eleanor, unbothered by Camilla's rage, took a tissue from Grace and handed it to her, saying softly, "Here, wipe it off."

Camilla was having none of it. She scoffed inwardly, turning her head away. 'Hmph, what fake sympathy'

"I wasn't crying," Camilla snapped, her voice still carrying a hint of defiance.

Eleanor gave a quiet nod. "I know you weren't. I was talking about your dress. It looks like a limited edition piece, probably expensive. You might want to clean it up."

It was only then that Camilla noticed the stain on her dress, and this time, tears came flooding out. "My dress. I spent so long trying to get this one."

This was Camilla's favorite dress, carefully chosen for today's opening ceremony. She had hoped to turn heads with her stunning look, but now everything was ruined. She no longer cared who had handed her the tissue or who she held grudges against; she snatched it up and furiously dabbed at the coffee stain, desperately trying to salvage the dress.

Eleanor glanced at the tightly closed door, a strange sensation washing over her. She could almost sense Gregory's movements inside. For instance, he wasn't sitting on the couch anymore. He was leaning against the door, listening in on their conversation. Raising an eyebrow, Eleanor pulled Camilla behind her and kicked the door hard.

The sound of the door slamming into Gregory coincided with his scream after being hit.

Eleanor raised her eyebrow again. She thought, 'Looks like my instincts were spot on. He really has been eavesdropping behind the door.

Both Camilla, who was still dabbing at her dress and Grace were stunned, eyes wide as they stared at the scene in disbelief.

Almost in unison, they blurted out, "You..."

Eleanor calmly dusted off her pants, which had wrinkled a little from the impact, and turned back gracefully. "You two wait outside "Then, she stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

The hallway fell into complete silence.

Grace thought, 'Eleanor's really something, huh?"

6. 6.

On the other hand, Camilla huffed inwardly, 'Sure, she's cool, bi there's no softness in her. It's not ladylike at all.

Inside the dressing room, Gregory scrambled to his feet. Seeing the woman who had just broken in, he jumped in anger. "Who the hell are you? Who said you could come in here? Get out. Do you think you can just kick my door down? Are you asking for trouble?" Gregory raised his fist, but when his eyes met Eleanor's cold, piercing gaze, his confidence drained away, replaced by a strange sense of submission. It was terrifying.

After a long, awkward pause, Gregory sheepishly lowered his fist, muttering, "A real man doesn't fight with women."

Eleanor stood her ground, arms crossed, her expression cold and unmoving. Staring at the arrogant man with the pink hair in front of her, something clicked.

She thought, 'Isn't this the same guy I saw a few months ago outside the school, trying to buy sherbet but didn't have any money, so he offered to pay me back with his autograph? I had thought he was a con artist back then. No wonder the name Gregory sounds so familiar.'

Now lounging on the couch, Gregory squinted at Eleanor, sizing her up. 'Pretty enough,' he thought. Her skin was flawless, her beauty striking but not overdone. She had a great figure too. But she was clearly someone new. He didn't recognize her. "And who are you?" he asked.

Eleanor didn't bother with any pretenses. She cut straight to the point. "I'm the actress paired with you in this film."Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

Gregory leaned back leisurely on the sofa. "Oh, well, that's right. I don't want to work with you."

The hostility was so blatant that Eleanor couldn't ignore it even if she tried. "Why?" she thought. "This is only the second time we've met. Could he possibly still be holding a grudge over that sherbet incident at the school gate and want revenge? But that doesn't seem to be it. His expression shows no sign of recognition. He clearly doesn't remember me."

Gregory cast Eleanor a glance leisurely and drawled. "Because I don't work with people who can't act."

Eleanor was taken aback. She thought, 'Can't act? Me?'

Eleanor had navigated the entertainment world full of baseless rumors in her past life. They'd accused her of everything, like being a gold digger and acting like a diva, but no one had ever questioned her acting skills. Directors used to joke she should be nicknamed "One- Take Eleanor" since she hardly ever needed a second take. She couldn't remember when she was told she lacked talent.

Finding this situation amusing, Eleanor asked, "Have you ever seen me act? How can you be so sure I'm no good?"

Gregory, now engrossed in a game on his phone, didn't even bother to look at Eleanor. With a quick tap of his fingers, he sneered, "A man's intuition."

Eleanor was exasperated. Looking at Gregory's silly appearance, she hadn't expected him to be so difficult to deal with. "If I guarantee I'll nail every take without slowing you down, would you reconsider?"

Without lifting his head from his phone, Gregory replied, "Nope. I said I'm not doing it, and when I say something, I mean it. Even if the king himself showed up, I still wouldn't do it."

Eleanor ground her teeth, feeling an overwhelming urge to slap omeone for the first time.

The problem was that the character of this film's original story was based on Gregory, and the internet had been buzzing about it for weeks. Swapping him out at this point would cause a massive stir, and the fallout wouldn't be pretty.