Chapter 1: Veronica's POV

I sighed inwardly, more from exhaustion than frustration. But the truth was, it was both. I was tired of serving when I should’ve been the one standing beneath the spotlight.

“Veronica! Where is the coffee I asked for?”

The sharp voice rang across the stage, slicing through the murmurs of the crew. 

Heads turned. 

A few snickers followed.

Of course, it just had to be her.

“Does being a D-list actress also make you this slow? Like a snail?” She added, her tone dripping with mockery.

My jaw tightened as I finally lifted my gaze. 

Hattie. 

My stepsister. 

Perfect hair, perfect skin and the perfect smile which made her the golden actress of the industry. She sat with her legs crossed as the makeup artists touched her up, preparing her for the role that was meant to be mine.

“What are you waiting for?” She snapped again. “Get your stupid ass over here!”

I forced my legs to move, each step heavier than the last. I handed her the coffee, careful not to spill it. I couldn’t afford to anger her. She was the star here, the main actress and all it would take was one complaint from her for the director to kick me off set.

Even if my role was just as one of her servants in the film, I needed it. Mason, my boyfriend, had to see me as part of this cast. He had promised to help boost my career after this project.

“Watch it, mutt!” a man growled when I accidentally stepped on his foot while retreating. He had intentionally moved into my path, but I bowed quickly, mumbling an apology I didn’t mean.

I couldn’t afford to lose this role.

Not after already losing the main one because I refused to sleep with the director. The same director who now acted like I didn’t exist. The same man who’d smiled cruelly as he handed my dream over to Hattie.

“Watch where you’re going!” the man barked again, loud enough for others to hear. “Being this clumsy is exactly why you’ll always stay at the bottom of the industry. And you’ll probably die there!”

A few more laughs followed. 

My cheeks burned, but I swallowed my pride.

I reminded myself of Mason’s promise; his father’s company, Armani Entertainment, was one of the film’s sponsors. If I could just endure this humiliation, maybe there was still hope.

Hattie’s voice cut through my thoughts again. “What’s she standing there for? This coffee is too cold. Get me another one and make it hotter this time.”

I nodded, even though every muscle in my body screamed to do otherwise. The humiliation stung, but I kept my composure as I turned toward the relief room to make another cup.

No one here knew we were related. We had different surnames, different lives and very different fates. While Hattie and her mother lived lavishly in my late father’s mansion, I survived alone in a cramped apartment, juggling part-time jobs to pay my rent. 

Though I lost them last week while I'd buried my time to audition for the lead role of this movie.

Even at work, she never missed a chance to remind me of where I stood. The bullying that began after our father’s death hadn’t stopped, it had simply changed settings.

“You foolish girl!”

The voice came again, sharp and venomous. I barely had time to react before Hattie appeared in front of me. In one swift motion, she snatched the mug from my hand and flung the steaming coffee straight at me. The liquid splashed across my face and neck, hot enough to sting, but not enough to scar. 

She didn’t care either way.

Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she watched me flinch.

And for a moment, the entire world went silent, except for the hiss of my breath and the bitter smell of burnt coffee dripping down my skin.

“Didn’t the director make it clear to you that you’re not needed on this set?” Hattie sneered, her tone dripping with superiority. “What are you still doing here clinging around like some desperate stray? Do you think hanging around will magically get your role back?”

She laughed, a low, chilling sound I’d known all my life. It was the laugh she used when she was plotting something or had already done it.

“I told you, Veronica,” She continued, stepping closer, her perfume sharp in the air. “As long as I’m alive, I’ll make sure you never find happiness. I’ll make sure you never smile, never breathe freely without remembering what you are, the illegitimate bastard who destroyed my parents’ marriage! The daughter of a whore! You poverty-stained mistake on my father’s legacy!”

My fingers curled into fists at my sides. I could’ve ignored her insults to me but not to my mother. 

“You speak as if you don’t know what really happened, Hattie,” I snapped, meeting her gaze for the first time.

Her smirk faltered, only for a second. “What are you talking about?”

“You speak as if you don’t remember that Father married my mother first.”

Her laugh came out sharp, cruel. “My father left your mother, your pathetic, broke, good-for-nothing mother to marry mine. Do you really think a man like him would choose someone like her?”

“He married her first because he loved her!” I shouted, anger burning through my chest. “Your mother was the one who drugged him and trapped him into marriage! She raped him, Hattie! You are the illegitimate one! You are the reason he died early!”

“How dare you?!” Hattie’s shriek echoed through the hallway, drawing attention. Within seconds, several cast members had gathered, whispering, eyes darting between us.

“What’s going on here?” Mr. Daniel, the director, came storming toward us. His eyes moved from Hattie who now clutched her face dramatically and then to me, still standing there, coffee stains drying on my clothes.

Before I could speak, Hattie’s voice turned soft, trembling with fake remorse. “I told you I was sorry, Veronica. I apologized when the coffee accidentally spilled on you. Why did you have to slap me even after I said I was sorry?”

“What?” I froze, disbelief catching in my throat. “That’s not—”

Before I could finish, a sharp sting exploded across my cheek.

Mr. Daniel had slapped me.

“How dare you, you ugly thing!” he barked, his face twisted with anger. “You lay a hand on my lead actress and expect to stay here?”

“What? No! That’s not what happened!” I pleaded, my voice shaking. “She threw the coffee at me—”

“Enough!” he snapped, cutting me off. “You’re fired, Veronica! I don’t want to see you anywhere near this set again!”

“Sir, please—”

“Out! Or I’ll have security drag you out myself!”

For a long, painful moment, I just stood there silently. The words didn’t sink in immediately. My ears rang from the sting of the slap. My heart ached.

Hattie’s smile greeted me when I turned, triumphant and venomous. She didn’t need to say a word. I already knew this was what she was doing. It always was.

This wasn’t the first time she’d sabotaged me. She’d done it countless times, calling producers, giving directors ultimatums, her or me. And every time, I was the one who lost. Because no one would dare upset Hattie Ha, the nation’s sweetheart, the face of Armani Entertainment’s biggest projects.

I walked out of the set slowly and numb. The smell of coffee clung to me like shame.

My phone buzzed as I reached the hallway. I pulled it out and read the message that flashed on the screen.

“Mark my words, Veronica. I’ll make your life miserable. I promise you.”

For a moment, I thought it was something I’d imagined saying, but it wasn’t. 

The message was from her.

From Hattie.

I looked back through the glass wall and caught her eyes filled with mockery.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. 

What more could she possibly ruin?

She’d already taken everything.

My parents were dead because of a misunderstanding she created. My home was gone too. My career was destroyed before it even began. 

What else did she want from me that she had not already taken?