In the skin of a princess

- Let's take a break... Kaya... Kaya, I know the breakup is a lot harder than I think it is, but you can't let your personal problems affect your professional life. Our viewers don't need to see that you're hurting...

- I know, Emie. I know, I know, I know... And I am sorry for that...

- This is a romantic scene, Kaya. Your voice can't be that strained... And your expression, Kaya... ? That was really rotten.

- Do we have to do this again?

- Yes. And put a little more life into it... Go and freshen up a bit... 

Kaya nodded before heading to her dressing room... Her breakup with Max was not the cause of her condition. No... She was worried about her rent... It was Max who paid the rent for their apartment. With her meager salary, she was perhaps going to put the keys under the door in the days to come... It had been more than two years since she had loved his generous salary much more than him... She remembers breathing a sigh of relief when Max told her about the breakup. She had thought he was going to ask her to marry him and with the beautiful red dress he had bought for her for the occasion, she was going to tell him "no"... She had caught herself when she saw him looking at her with incomprehension and made a scene with tears and all...worthy of a movie.

It was a bit creepy but hey... Kaya had not been as lucky as everyone else. She was not raised in a normal family... There were rich families but with dark secrets and corrupt, there were poor families but with exemplary morals and there was her family, poor but obsessed with money... His mother was a prostitute and his father an alcoholic. And yes... Her father knew full well that her mother would fuck the first man who had her ticket in his hand, but as long as she paid for his beer, he didn't mind. Kaya had a very difficult childhood. She was bullied at school because of her situation... And at home it was even worse, especially when her father was drunk... He was drunk all the time... Kaya remembered one thing in particular, the first time she had given her mother her report card, she had said to her: "I sell my pussy to send you to school and out of all the grades there were you bring me an A+? Julian, look... She's a deadbeat like you..." Already annoyed by her situation, Kaya chose not to tell him that she had the best grade in the class... At the end of her schooling, her good grades allowed her to get a half-scholarship in a good university. Since her parents had trouble paying the rest, she had to drop out and study at a small university... In spite of all her merits, only her innate talent for cinema has been useful to her... until today... 

- Let's start again...? Kaya...Are you ready? Shouted her friend, Hannah, the director in the shooting room.

- I think so. Let's go... I'm okay. I am ready. 

***

It was 8 o'clock... The night was rather freezing however the young woman was late to return... The wind that whipped her hair, was doing her a lot of good. She had so many worries right now and her rent wasn't even on the list... She knew her mother would be calling soon to ask for money but she didn't have much... She let out a sigh and interrupted her thoughts when her phone vibrated in her pocket...

Speak of the devil... 

 - Mom...? 

- He's not breathing, Kaya...

- Who's that? the young woman asked with a frown...

- Your father...

Her voice was shaky and she sounded serious, but she knew exactly who her mother was... It was probably another way to get money out of her.

- You're overreacting, Mom... Make another scene.

- No, I'm not. I'm serious. He's not breathing.

The young woman waited for a moment and from the tone of her mother's voice, she finally believed her...

- I came home and found him motionless with bottles on the floor... and he wasn't breathing.

- I knew the alcohol would get him. I hope you called a doctor? 

- No, I haven't. I don't have any money.

- Mama! Mama! Call a doctor! I'm sending you money... 

The young woman hung up on the call and sped off to her house. She had never been comfortable with him, but he was her father... There had never been a father-daughter relationship between them. She couldn't even remember the last time they had exchanged a word...

Without taking the time to remove her coat, she went to her little hiding place where she kept money... She took all the contents and went to the nearest transfer office to make the transfer for her mother...

***

- So, Mom...?

- An overdose. He overdosed... 

- we have to bury him... 

- Yes and I need a little more money... 

- You're his wife... 

- He is your father, Kaya...

- I gave you everything I had. What do you do with your money Mom?

- I keep the house clean and I take care of your little brother...

Kaya had completely forgotten about Maxime, her half brother. He was the son of a client of her mother. He was 3 years old when Kaya left the family nest to come to Los Angeles... He was maybe 8 or 9 years old...

- I'll give you something at the end of the week.

- Will you come to the funeral? 

- I don't know... I'm very busy.

- You are always busy, Kaya... Your father may not have been the best at the time and he is far from it, I admit, but he deserves one last tribute. A last homage for having given me the life? Said the young woman ironically to herself... However she refrains from saying anything... Anyway, she missed her city. It's been more than 4 years since she went back there...

- Good night, Kaya... 

- Good night, Mom. Say good night to Maxime.