Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

Two weeks back, Director Madden had a chat with Oswald about this show; because Rosemary wasn't hanging at Heritage Revive Studio, and since Oswald knew she was not keen on showing her face in public, he just went ahead and said nope on her behalf.

Last documentary they did, Rosemary only flashed her hands and teamed up with the handsome Hans, which got the netizens all hyped up, trying to get a glimpse of her. They made a not-so-hot documentary trend like wildfire.

When Rosemary got the buzz from Oswald that she agreed to join the party, the other side was over the moon and told her the shoot was going down in a week.

They were all average people here - the one thing they weren't short on was free time.

The day before the cameras rolled, Rosemary got the rundown and the who's who list from the crew. Even though they were strangers, she gotta go through the motions.

She wasn't there for the cameras; she just wanted to ride on Director Madden's hype train and let everyone know she was the mystery “Rose” of the restoration world. NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

So she took a quick peek at the schedule and then bounced. Squinting at those tiny words on her phone was a real eye-killer.

But what she didn't expect was to bump into Victoria in the makeup room on D-day. This show was like a no-star island - no celebs to boost ratings, not much cash flowing, and no big names meant no fancy private makeup rooms.

Thinking back to when Victoria was all about breaking into showbiz during their Meadowlark Retreat chinwag, Rosemary didn't think they'd cross paths so soon. Talked about a small world!

The makeup room wasn't exactly roomy, so if Rosemary could spot Victoria, obviously the feeling was mutual.

Tracy was drilling Victoria on the schedule when she noticed the latter was staring closely in the mirror, so she too cast a glance and that was when she caught Rosemary's eye.

She glanced around and with a sneer, she said, "We're about to roll, and what's-her-face 'Rose' isn't here yet. What's she doing, playing diva on day one and making us all wait?"

She had spotted “Rose” on the list last night and had a moan with Victoria, "Some big-shot mystery, huh? Just another money-grabber, charging an arm and a leg for her work, and now she's even hopping on this show!"

Tracy was an early bird and had already matched faces to names, but she hadn't seen any unfamiliar ones.

Rosemary found a spot and sat down, "Here I am, right? Tracy, maybe you should focus more on your own peeps. Trying to play the big shot when you ain't got the chops, and overstretching - careful not to pull a muscle."

Victoria frowned, "I thought the guest was Rose. So what, is her assistant showing up instead?"

She asked without a hint of emotion, sparking curiosity, and suddenly all eyes in the room were on her.

"Rose? The antique restorer?"

Everyone had seen the job titles on the list, and they were all curious about what Rose looked like.

"Yeah, I saw that documentary. Just the hands. We all guessed she was a knockout - I mean, her hands were gorgeous."

"Now that the show requires a face reveal, if it's the assistant stepping in, maybe Rose is hideous and doesn't have the guts to show up, hoping her assistant can pull a fast one."

"Don't even - her assistant is a looker. I want to do some surgery to get a pair of eyes like hers. But why does she seem familiar?"

"Ah," someone whispered with a sudden shriek, "she kinda looks like Mr. Templeton's wife."

Rosemary didn't give Victoria the time of day, just closed her eyes and let the makeup artist work, tuning into the whispered gossip.

Tracy stormed off to the director's office, "I'm gonna tell the crew there's an imposter trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes!"

At that, Rosemary didn't even flinch.

Victoria couldn't tell if Rosemary was actually chill or just faking it. But since the director was the same guy from the Heritage Revive Studio documentary, and he'd surely recognize Rose, Rosemary's cool meant she probably had everything squared away with the crew already.

Director Madden was on the scene in a flash, even before Tracy could get her bearings. No joke, Rose was his ace in the hole for this season, the grand finale. Without her, why would anyone bother watching his show?

Now, someone was suggesting Rose sent her assistant instead? That nearly scared the life out of him!

Sure, Rose kept a low profile, but not to the point of anonymity. If the truth came out, it'd be the scandal that could crush the show! Even after the last documentary, he couldn't persuade Rose to show her face, and her sudden agreement to come on had him on edge, half-expecting a trick.

At the sound of footsteps, Rosemary opened her eyes, "Director Madden."

Seeing the same face that matched the one in his memory, Madden breathed a sigh of relief and instructed the makeup artist, "Make it good."

Apart from the last documentary's little splash, she was also Mr. Templeton's wife, who'd recently hit the news. The story might have cooled, but the buzz was still there.

Big traffic - she needed VIP treatment! After some quick small talk, he was off to the races. He shot Tracy a look that could kill, "If you've got nothing better to do, go prep your artists. Quit the scheming. With your attitude, you won't last long in this biz."

Director Madden's stance was clear, and Tracy wasn't about to push it. The makeup room went silent, everyone sneaking glances at Rosemary.

Except for Victoria. She stood up, and approached Rosemary who was letting someone put on makeup, "You're Rose? You restored that painting?"

"Yes."

"You're pulling my leg? Rosemary, you did that on purpose, didn't you? You knew full well I was looking for Rose and you played dumb. Why didn't you come clean? You charged me an arm and a leg for that painting restoration just to get back at me!"

Rosemary couldn't help but find the barrage of accusations amusing and eventually cracked up laughing, "Victoria, if I'm not mistaken, Oswald introduced me to you the moment I walked into the office. You were the one who said you were looking for a different Rose, not me. As for the fee, it's all clearly marked. You thought it was steep, you could've said no. Nobody twisted your arm to come to me."

"But you knew damn well I was talking about you."

"So what? I'm supposed to bend over backwards explaining myself to you? Are you for real?"

Everyone in the makeup room was sneakily or openly watching the drama unfold. Victoria's pride wouldn't let her make a scene like some fishwife, so she glanced at Rosemary who had closed her eyes again, and walked out to the hallway.

Pulling out her phone and trying to contain the frustration of being humiliated, she called Maxwell's number.

The moment he picked up, she blurted out, "Do you have any clue about Rosemary's another identity?"