A Wife At Stake

The story so far...

Episode 1

Laura and Mario are a couple of street vendors selling fruit and vegetables. They've been together for eight years, travelling the markets around Bria, a small town in Puglia. Laura would now like to set up her own shop in the town. After a bit of research, they found the right building, available as a life annuity. But the building is beautiful and well placed, so it's expensive, and they don't have the necessary start-up funds.
Mario hears about a game show that could earn them enough money to get a loan from the banks. The game is a competition organised by Canale 6, in which one contestant stands to win €50,000 and a role in a TV series. The series will feature a star who has just taken a two-year break from acting and is making a comeback. The winning candidate will play the role of his wife, but her identity will be kept secret until the competition is launched.
Laura was initially less than enthusiastic, but a meeting with the owner and a helping hand from the town mayor persuaded her to accept. After a casting session in Naples, her application was accepted. She spent a week with 19 other candidates in an undisclosed location, filming two programmes.

Episode 2

Episode 1 ended with an unpleasant surprise for Mario: the star is Vincenzo Ecosibelo, a handsome heartthrob whom he hates. Because of his past and accusations of domestic violence, Laura isn't too keen on Vincenzo either. She had been a fan of his in the early days.
During the week, however, and after filming a scene for the competition, she gets to know him a little better and gradually revises her judgement. Vincenzo seems to have been the target of a tabloid press hungry for scandal, and was completely exonerated at his trial, but no one ever knew: that was during his retirement from public life. What's more, he's friendly and personable, and although he's always a target for female candidates, he's neither flirtatious nor arrogant.
In the second show, four candidates were selected for the final. Laura finished first!

Episode 3

Laura caused a stir during the show by preparing and using hilarious fruit figurines. She created a buzz, and every child in Italy wants to make one! Vincenzo, who is no dummy, had a nose for it from the start and secretly asked Laura if she would be willing to take part in an advertising campaign. At 5,000 a day, it was hard to refuse. But what will Mario say? Seeing Laura spend more and more time with this Vincenzo, bothers him a little. But he's also thinking about the building and the money...
He agrees to let her go to Rome for a photo shoot with Vincenzo. It's a chance for her to start discovering a different world from that of the markets: a luxury hotel, the world of advertising... And all this with Vincenzo, who is as charming as ever.

Episode 4

We are not, we become! Life is a path that we travel, no one stands still.
Whether she likes it or not, the trip to Rome has left its mark on Laura. And as you're always on your own, it's up to her to deal with it. The four winners have to prepare for the final, which will decide the winner. To do this, they have to shoot a few scenes in their home town, which will be assessed by the professional jury and the public during the final show.
The film crew arrives in Bria, greeted by the mayor and a surprising assistant: Gloria, the owner of the building! It's the first meeting between Vincenzo and Mario... Given what's at stake, Mario is clever enough to hide his enmity. And so much the better! After lunch and the filming of a tourist clip, the main reason for the mayor's involvement in the project, Laura and Vincenzo shoot the first of three real scenes. It ends with a kiss. How will Laura negotiate this?

Episode 5

By the end of episode 4, Laura had already had to decide whether to fake the kisses, so as not to shock Mario, or accept that they were real, in order to shoot credible scenes and compete on equal terms with the other contestants.
On the second day of filming, one romantic scene follows another, and Vincenzo's charm doesn't make Laura's task any easier, as she rediscovers her emotions as an ex-fan. Two events complicate the situation: a revelation about the behaviour of Sofia, her most serious competitor, and some childishness on the part of Mario, who finds it hard to bear the promiscuity and connivance between Laura and Vincenzo. Laura has to make choices. And her choices are crucial to the rest of the story.
There are four possible routes to take. They correspond to the combinations of Laura's successive choices. Did she accept the real kisses? Did she rebel against Mario, who objected to too much closeness between her and the handsome Vincenzo?
From episode 6 onwards, there will be four stories and four different outcomes.

→ Downloads

→ Gallery