LOGIN|• DELORESFor a second, the room felt a little smaller. My eyes slowly drifted to Lila, who was standing across the room with her script in hand. The moment Halden mentioned the slap scene, her lips curved into the smallest smile.Oh, she was enjoying this.Of course she was.I inhaled slowly through my nose and reminded myself that this was work. Nothing more. Nothing less.“You good?” Devan murmured beside me.I glanced at him. His expression carried a hint of concern.“I’m fine,” I whispered back.He didn’t look convinced.Halden clapped his hands once. “Alright everyone, let’s focus.”The chatter in the room faded quickly as people settled into their seats or stood around the edges to watch.My heart beat a little faster as I walked to the center of the room. Lila followed a second later, flipping a page in her script like nothing had happened earlier.Professional. Very professional.If someone had seen us right now, they would never guess we had nearly started a fight in the ha
|• DELORES“The nerve of you to show your face here after what you did with Devan,”I stopped in my tracks, my eyes darting to Lila. She stared me down, her expression filled with obvious hatred. I sighed and shook my head. I wanted to tell her there was nothing going on between me and Aaron, but I recalled I didn’t owe her any explanation.Without saying a word, I headed straight for the rehearsal room but I didn’t make it to the stairs before Lila blocked my path.I clenched my fists, trying to stop the irritation creeping up my spine. I wasn’t going to entertain her shenanigans today, but it was becoming hard to avoid it.“You don’t get to walk out on me when I’m still speaking to you, Delores,” Lila snapped, pointing her index finger at me. “I am not done talking.”“Well, I am done listening,” I answered calmly. “Now out of my way.”Lila lifted her chin in defiance. “I am not done, and you will listen to me,” she said and folded her arms. “You already have a husband. Why the heck
|• DELORESRule number one of being an actress: the internet will always find something to talk about. Even when there is absolutely nothing to talk about.I rubbed my forehead slowly.“Are you serious right now?” I asked Sylvie.“Dead serious,” she said. I could hear the clicking of her keyboard on the other side. She was probably already scrolling through the mess. “Dee, the picture is everywhere.”I sighed heavily. “All he did was hold the car door open.”“I know that,” Sylvie said. “You know that. But the internet? They’re writing whole novels about it.”I groaned and dropped back against the headboard. “Fantastic.”Sylvie let out a small laugh. “You should see the captions.”“I don’t want to see the captions.”“Well… too bad because I’m about to read one.”“No, Sylvie—”“‘Delores Monroe finally moves on from husband Aaron Blake after being spotted getting cozy with her co-star Devan Fritz.’”I covered my face with my hand. “Oh my God.”Sylvie kept going like she was enjoying hers
|• DELORESI stared at the food like something was going to come out of it and eat me. Did Aaron actually go to my favorite restaurant to get me this? I sighed, took the tray of food and went to sit on the bed.It wouldn’t be okay to let a good food go to waste. Not like he could win me over with food or anything.I reached for the fork and saw another note by the side. I took it, my brows arching as I opened it.“And please, Delores, eat the pasta. I know it’s your favorite. Don’t throw it like you threw the sandwich I made for you the other day. I saw it, you aren’t that subtle. Love you. Aaron.”I scoffed but couldn’t help the smile that found its way to my lips. Oh well, he put in some effort. Wouldn’t want that to go to waste, and I was starving too.I rolled the pasta into the fork and took a bite.My eyes closed almost immediately.Damn.It was good.I chewed slowly, the warm creamy sauce spreading across my tongue. Aaron knew exactly how this restaurant made their pasta. He ha
|• DELORES“But I’m thinking Yvette could be more hurt in this scene,” I said to Devan as we went over the lines during rehearsals. “If she said that then people would think she knew what he wanted to say. So maybe we could change the tone a little,” I continued, flipping through the script in my hands. “Maybe she laughs when she says it, but it’s not a happy laugh. It’s the kind that says she’s already preparing for heartbreak.”Devan leaned back in his chair, reading the line again. For a while, he didn’t say anything. Then he nodded slowly.“That actually makes sense,” he said. “Because Mike is trying to confess in that scene. If she laughs like that, it would make him hesitate even more.”“Exactly,” I said, feeling a small spark of excitement. “It would show that she’s scared of hearing it.”Devan smiled at me. “You really understand Yvette.”I shrugged slightly, trying not to look too proud of the compliment. “I think she’s someone who pretends she’s fine when she’s actually not.
•| DELORES“Are you okay? Should we go see the doctor?” Sylvie asked as she helped me sit on one of the couches in the living room.I shook my head, the movement adding more pain. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. “There’s no need. I just need to get some rest and I will be fine.”Sylvie sighed. I felt the side of the couch dip and knew she had sat down beside me. “Delores, whatever it is that is wrong with you, you can tell me,” she said, and my chest tightened.I’m sorry. I can’t make you worry about me.“I’m your best friend. Even if you’re keeping it from others, you shouldn’t keep it from me.”I waited for the thrumming in my head to dull before sitting up. I held her hand and forced a smile. “I’m fine, Sylvie, just tired,” I said sincerely. “I have a terrible migraine. Nothing a little ol’ pain relief won’t fix,” I chuckled when she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about me, okay?”Sylvie let out a defeated sigh. “Care to explain what happened between you and your mother?” she







