Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
"Strategies for Cannon Fodder" had met with exceptional reception as it aired. It was a web series, but it had started a wave of discussion online, and seemed set to break through genre circles.
As the lead actors, Natalia and Mac were busy running around doing advertisements and activities. Their feet didn't even have time to touch the ground.
Seeing she was so busy, Archie was afraid she'd get too tired, so he passed all the PR work for Annie International to another assistant manager under her.
Natalia didn't have an opinion on that. She wasn't superhuman, after all. She only had one brain and one pair of hands, so it was impossible for her to take care of so many things at once.
Besides, she hadn't liked performing or stagecraft before, only feeling uncomfortable at being stared at like a rare animal in a cage.
But after getting settled in after a while, she'd grown used to it. Not just that, there were times where she was starting to enjoy it.
Not just Annie International, but she was also leaving almost all the work for Star Entertainment to Elsa.
Archie didn't stop her full advance into the entertainment industry.
But sometimes, deep in the night when they were lying in bed, he'd give her some jealous orders.
No kiss scenes, no bed scenes, no intimacy, no emotional scenes with male actors at all!
Natalia didn't know whether to get mad and laugh at his actions.
She couldn't argue with him, though. If she wanted to talk about respecting her occupation, he could show her some respect right there that night.
An unspoken rule began to appear in the business soon afterwards.
A certain up-and-coming actress' husband had set rules for her to take nothing romantic, no kisses, no intimacy. If she took the role, the whole show would get cancelled.
Naturally, everyone knew who that person was, but then again, Archie had long since gone public with his relationship to Natalia.
So aside from teasing them a little bit, people didn't take it seriously.
Natalia's head hurt at how possessive the man was, but she didn't really need shows with those elements in them anyway. After all, it depended on the script. If it was needed, it would be there; if it wasn't needed or required, that was fine.
Besides, with the internet cleanup movement that was affecting the whole country right now, even dramas were shot in a purer manner. Except for certain artistic pieces, normal kiss scenes could be accomplished just by staging.
The days passed in a busied peace.
In the middle of the year, Archie took Natalia with him back to Eqitin, planning to formally introduce her.
Annie International was based in Eqitin. As a sister company, Star Entertainment had moved here too after some discussion.
Natalia didn't pine for Julio. She could live well no matter which city she was in.
Not to mention that the head of McCarthy Properties was also in Eqitin. No matter how things went, Archie was a shot-caller of the company and it was easier to work from this end. So Natalia had stayed in Eqitin with him.
No one was happier with that decision than Anne herself.
Archie had a house in Eqitin called Pinewood Manor. He'd bought it specifically for Natalia.
Anne was yelling every day that she wanted to move over from the McCarthy family home, but Archie had stopped her every time.
She didn't understand, and every time the driver took her back, she'd been inconsolable.
Until one time, Archie gave it to her straight.
"Do you want a little brother? If you want one, be a good girl and go back. After a while, Daddy and Mommy will give you a little brother to play with."
Hearing that, Anne was overjoyed.
"Really? I can have a little brother to play with?"
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