Two

Outside the ward, the nurses looked at her and some shook their heads. 

"She's so devoted to her father."

"I hope he recovers fast. I am moved with pity for her. She loves and cares for the old man so much."

"Yet she's so shameless."

"Shameless?" the others asked in unison. They were surprised at the counter opinion. 

"Yes, she is shameless. Have you guys not heard?"

The ignorant ones looked at each other. The informant took out her phone. 

She inserted her keys and turned on the ignition. Her phone beeped and she checked the notification. It was another news about her. 

"Haven't I suffered enough? What's all this?"

She turned off the ignition and closed her eyes. She let the tears flow freely. 

A week ago, she had gone to work to meet a shocker. She was an actress and was one step away from becoming a national shining star. She took her job seriously and always put in her best. 

She was summoned by the manager a few minutes after the day's practice and rehearsal. 

"Nelly, at this point, I think I have no other choice but to lay you off," he said, going straight to the point without any preamble. 

"Sir? What have I done wrong?"

"I have helped you all through your career and now, you have gotten this far but you haven't deemed it fit to return the favour. I can't keep helping you since you are ungrateful."

Nelly didn't need further explanation. The manager had always wanted her in his bed. It was a sort of custom in the industry but she wasn't cut out for that. She had so much confidence in herself and knew she could rise without having to spread her legs. 

"Mr. Williams, you can't do this. Please, I have taken my job seriously but what you are asking is out of place. I can't…"

"Out of place? But your regular promotions and getting lead roles aren't out of place, right?"

"Sir. I…"

"You can't? That's what you are about to repeat? Well," he said, opening his drawer. He took out an envelope and handed it to her. 

"I can't have you here. Your contract has been terminated. Get out of my office."

Nelly took the letter and walked out of the office with a heavy heart. 

Aria Dean, her colleague and close friend rushed to her as she entered the office they both shared. 

"Nelly, what's the problem? You don't look good."

Nelly didn't respond. She merely handed her the letter. 

"What's this?"

"I have been asked to leave."

"Fired? What for? What did you do?"

"Aria, you wouldn't understand. I still can't believe this. I…"

"It's okay. Take it easy. Here, drink some water," Aria said, handing her a glass of water.

Nelly sank into a chair and sipped the water calmly. Her father had recently fallen ill and she was hoping to use the money from her lead role to pay his bills. Now that she had lost her job, she didn't know what to do next. 

"Nelly, I am off. I have a meeting this evening," Aria said. Nelly nodded in response. 

Forty minutes later, she stood up from her seat. She looked around the office one last time. The office where she hoped to build her career to the last. She wiped the tear that dropped from her eyes and left. 

She drove straight to her fiance's place. She needed his comfort at this point. He knew how much she valued her career. She had given up employment in her father's company for the entertainment industry. And now, it was all in vain. 

When she got to his house,the household servants greeted her warmly and let her in. She needed no formalities as she was a regular visitor and it was like her own home. She went up the stairs and made her way to his room. The door was ajar and she could make out muffled voices coming from the room. 

Was his brother around or did he have a visitor? No! He doesn't let visitors into his bedroom, it must be his brother. 

She wiped her face and made sure there was no sign of pain on her face. 

She got closer and realized it wasn't muffled voices but moans. She opened the door further and saw her fiance, Aidan, on top of Aria, banging her hard. They were in doggy position. Aria was in front and Aidan was behind, giving her hard and deep thrusts that made her moan and shiver. They didn't notice her for a full minute. The guy cummed right into her, both moaning in pleasure as they reached climax together. Aidan withdrew himself from her and accidentally looked towards the door. Their eyes met and she turned around and left, struggling to prevent the tears that threatened to fall. As she left, she heard him hurry out after her but she didn't turn. She didn't want to hear what he had to say.  

As if that wasn't enough, news pages and blogs carried her story by evening. What hurt her most wasn't that they said her career was over, but the blogs said she had been sleeping with the top managers in the industry to get to where she was presently. To make matters worse, the blogs had pictures of her with some men. The pictures were clearly photoshopped but who would believe her? 

Everything happened at the same time. The only person who consoled her was Ash. It has always been him since her childhood days. He gave her the courage to keep going. 

She thought the press and bloggers would get tired but no! They were yet to begin. Her phone kept beeping and messages kept flooding in. Everyone called her shameless, she was no longer the shining star actress.

She still had one more challenge, her father. 

She wiped her tears and hit the road. 

Nelly was ushered into the CEO's office again without any restriction or questioning. She knocked and opened the door to Ivan's office. Ivan looked up from his laptop and a smirk appeared on his face when he saw her.  

"I have accepted your proposal, Ivan."