ASTRID YU, a washed-up, burnt-out former child actress, starts a YouTube vlog in an attempt to stay relevant in PH mainstream media. She collaborates with a local coffee shop, Brew Blends, so she could make her content for one of her vlog's many series (“Be a Barista with Me!"). However, she gains a following for all the wrong reasons—her viewers ship her with the coffee shop's owner, ENRIQUE LEE. Which would've been fine… if he hadn't been the infamous high school sweetheart she left behind for the sake of her acting career. Not to mention that after all this time, Astrid is still deeply in love with him. And Lee? Well, Lee hates her guts.
View MoreAstrid sat cross-legged on the floor with an array of paper and Post-It notes scattered around her. A marker in hand, she was determined to think of a new content idea that would top her last one. Or at least, officially launch her social media debut. Not like that mess of a make-up tutorial, she thought to herself. Still, Astrid didn’t understand why that worked so well. Was it because she looked pathetic, drunk on camera post-breakup? Or was it because the whole video was a scoop waiting to happen? Astrid recalled how her mother’s phone rang at least six to ten times a day for week from reporters requesting an interview–or at the very least, a statement. “My daughter is preparing something amazing for her fans. I hope everyone looks forward to it,” was all her mother would say every time. Still… Astrid stared at the view count of over two million on her phone. The bar is set a bit too high now, isn’t it? Astrid jumped when her phone suddenly started ringing loudly with the dev
“I’m going on a social media cleanse,” was the last text Astrid sent Dreia before she fell off the face of the Earth.That was two weeks ago.In those two weeks, Astrid had completely uprooted her life in Manila and moved back to Cebu. She didn’t contact anyone when she arrived—not her friends, family, or followers. It was like she disappeared altogether. Hell, she wanted to disappear altogether.But she didn’t.Couldn’t.In that time, Astrid simply gave herself time to breathe.She refused to step out of her childhood home, opting for food delivery apps to feed herself and just locking herself up in her room with her blackout curtains closed.Astrid did everything she could to cope. She did so by watching all of the dramas Netflix, Prime Video, and even Disney+ had to offer. It was cathartic living someone else’s life, crying someone else’s tears, and pretending that one day, she’ll also have her happily ever after.She was about to go on her third week of complete radio silence, whe
If Astrid was truly honest with herself, she was terrified of the idea of being alone. She is truly crippled by the very thought – hell, the entire concept of being rejected and left behind if she was not next to perfect. Astrid constantly felt as though she needed to go more than just above and beyond so she could exceed expectations. Just so people would continue to love her, to stay by her side. Can you blame her? She was the product of a failed relationship and the reason behind her mother’s career being flushed right down the drain. The 90s was anything but forgiving to single mothers who decided to keep their baby out of wedlock. And right now, Astrid felt as though she had been abandoned. She felt as though she was facing the scrutiny of the world completely and utterly alone. She had destroyed the family she created in Cebu in her pursuit for success. She has disappointed her mother when she failed. And now, what is there left for her? Astrid didn’t know. She didn’t know
“Mom?” Astrid gave Dreia an apologetic smile behind the glass door of her balcony as she picked up her mother’s call. A small part of her was relieved that Vivien called, unknowingly whisking her away from the reality Astrid left behind in Cebu–that inevitably went on without her. “Hey, honey. Are you outside?” “Yeah, I’m on the balcony.” Astrid said with a shaky breath as she leaned against the terrace. “Have you been crying?” “No–” “I take it the audition didn’t go well then.” Astrid paused, momentarily surprised with how off her mother was. Still, she appreciated the ignorance. Lola Elisa’s passing was not something she could process just yet. “No…” Astrid finally replied, her voice trailing off. How many years has it been since Lola Elisa passed? How was Lee coping with all of this? Why didn’t anyone tell her? The thought of the body of the lanky teenager she loved crying over an open casket broke her heart, but what was worse was that she wasn’t there to cry with him. St
“That bitch said what now?” Dreia Rodriguez asked as she gingerly poked the disinfectant on the small cut on Astrid’s cheekbone. Astrid hissed in protest as soon as the wet cotton touched the wound. They were sitting on the white leather couch in the living room of Astrid’s condo unit with a medical kit sprawled across the coffee table in front of them. Dreia, on the other hand, was trying to to treat the cuts on Astrid’s face. “It’s really one thing to hold my actions against me,” Astrid started as Dreia stuck an invisible patch on her cut, “but to compare me to my mom—" “Oh, yeah. I’d probably be charged with murder if anyone tried to compare me to my dad.” Dreia said as she used a pair of tweezers to pick up another cotton ball and dunk it in the bottle of disinfectant. “Right? Like, my mom did everything to provide for me. She sacrificed her entire career just to have me. It would be an insult to compare me to her.” Astrid continued. Dreia paused and gave her a blank look. “No
Everyone has those days when everything just feels wrong.To Astrid, those days had become weeks and eventually, months. Since her break up with Jerome became public, it was like she had become completely irrelevant in the industry. Despite her best attempts in landing roles, going from one audition venue to another day after day, it just seemed like there was always someone better.This time, Astrid was sitting in a hallway, auditioning for an unknown production’s indie film. Or was it a student film? Either way, she needed to make bank somehow.So, there she was, sitting in a hallway along with three other hopefuls who took their own corners as they practiced their lines relentlessly—except for one. One girl stared at her with a scrutinizing gaze, making Astrid squirm slightly in her seat. If there’s one thing that she hated from her short-lived fame, it was the staring.Astrid tried to focus her attention on her screenplay, but she couldn’t help but steal a glance at the girl—only
By the first hour of the meeting, Astrid Yu has killed Jerome Young twenty-three times. In her head, of course. Kind of hard to commit a real murder when your showbiz ex-boyfriend literally has a lawyer by his side. Hell, Jerome was the reason Astrid was in a difficult position in the first place. Seated across each other with only a long table separating them and their representatives, Astrid would argue that they were in one of those reality TV shows that feature a couple that’s about to divorce. Astrid was even dressed for the part. She wore an all-black dress under a dark gray blazer —with the shoulder pads! She opted not to wear pearl accessories like the wives in the movies because she wanted to at least look humble when she rips Jerome into shreds. Only there were no cameras, no film crew, no directors yelling “Action!” across the room to signal the start of the scene. Just Jerome and his lawyer, and Astrid and her mother, in the middle of a legal meeting discussing a Non-Di
The scene starts in a meeting room with a long table at the center.Astrid Yu sits on one side while her showbiz ex-boyfriend, Jerome Young, sits on the other. Astrid's mother, Vivien Yu, discusses with Jerome's lawyer the terms and conditions entailed in the Non-Disclosure Agreement. A result of the love team's break up.Jerome’s lawyer talks about how this scandal would hurt not only the boy's career, but the studio as well. The executives only want to tie up loose ends before they start marketing Jerome's movie. However, Astrid is despondent to the situation. She doesn't speak or even look at anyone. Instead, she plays the scene of Jerome's betrayal in her head over and over.Before they could successfully wrap up the meeting, Astrid finally speaks. She agrees to sign the agreement, but in return, Jerome never gets to speak about her. Not in interviews, not in Facebook posts, nothing. It will be like she never existed.Vivien is visibly startled but quickly composes herself. She a
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