“I lost our first baby. It’s my fault Everett didn’t know about it. I didn’t tell him because it would’ve killed him and I feared he’d think I was using it as an excuse to cling to him. If I told him he’d want to know why it happened and then blame me for it. I was too tired from losing the baby that I’ve agreed to almost anything. Mentioning pregnancy, I indeed recall feeling the same way before. Rebecca leaned against the door jamb and gave a heavy sigh. Hopefully, this time yields better results. Can’t do it again.” “Then I’ll go call them now and see if I can catch the receptionist before she leaves for lunch. I hope it’s a baby and nothing bad.” Jill left the dressing room and the other to speak between themselves. “A baby…” Rebecca sounded like she was stunned. “Oh, good grief. I hope the doctor was correct when he told you I could still have children.” “We’ll find out soon enough.”(SEVEN MONTHS LATER- MERCY GENERAL HOSPITAL, LABOR, AND DELIVE
Rebecca Jones sat quietly across from her agent, Ben Steins. “Rebecca, please. The producer and several studio board members have expressed their wishes. I can’t put this off. Our ratings are falling. We must reach out to Everett Stone; the show needs him. You’ve seen the trending comments. Our viewers want to see Dane return to Bella. They’ve waited five years for this love story to continue.” They’d eaten lunch during their meeting in the commissary of the Black Dawn Production Studios. The crowds in the commissary didn’t matter. They weren’t speaking about anything sensitive. Rebecca listened to Ben prattle on about Everett’s return and reprising his role as Dane Matthews, her character’s love interest. It’d been five years since she’d seen or spoken to him, not since the fateful night he’d left. Thinking about that night was unbearable. Those thoughts always triggered a cascade of heartbreaking memories. Rebecca struggled with the memories daily still.
Three days later, Rebecca made it to the press conference set. Really, it’s a televised commercial announcing a special to introduce the lineup of shows for the coming season on the studio’s many channels. Of course, with Empire Nights, a long-standing favourite even though the ratings were slowly dipping had a prime spot. Rebecca would be the voice announcing the channel’s new lineup. Viewers will fawn over her beautiful, familiar face between sneak peeks and show explanations. They’d filmed interviews with producers and actors alike to round everything out. Rebecca was already dragging herself along. As she passed the craft table and all the foods, she saw she wouldn’t be eating there soon. It was a world of hurt waiting for her. Rebecca knew she couldn’t afford to lose even a single pound, but eating that would not help her gain anything. “Rebecca, there you are. Good news, Everett is here already. He’s agreed to your requests. However, he passed on the message that he could do n
Everett bumped into his ex-wife, of all people, while he looked for her. She was never this late for work. He’d concede that she wasn’t late in the actual sense. But she was late for her habits. Initially, Everett intended not to speak to Rebecca. He’d been curious about the offer he’d received to reprise his role as Dane on Empire Nights. Everett felt tempted, but he planned to turn down the offer. But they did not prepare him to encounter her as she was now. Everett wasn’t sure what happened. This was not what he expected. Did no one look out for her? He thought she was the rose of the studio. Wouldn’t they protect their investment? He hadn’t expected to see how far downhill she’d gone. Everett had heard the rumours she’d become an addict. Gena ensured he saw the photos of Rebecca at several rehab facilities when the photos appeared in the media. Everett never discovered what her favourite vice was, even though the media speculated about it regularly.
Everett Stone walked onto the set of Empire Nights as if he owned the place. He fulfilled his promise and dropped off a woman at the studio gates, within the paparazzi’s view. She was his latest fling to make Gena jealous. It appeared to be a common occurrence, and he was growing weary of it. His thoughts didn’t last long on Gena. In fact, they barely focused on her or the fluff and nonsense he left at the gates. Rebecca stood out in his mind lately after seeing her again. He’d avoided thinking about her for years and how they broke up. Now he’d seen her. His nerves jangled with anxiety. Why hadn’t anyone stepped in and made her clean up her act? Everett dreamt last night that he’d hunted down Rebecca’s latest boyfriend and strangled him for screwing up with her so much. He hadn’t seen a face in his dream, but he suspected his mind played tricks on him and that boyfriend was him. So, he’d gone through the early morning hours moody and wanting to b
“I just feel you’re taking a lot of liberties coming back here and demanding things change because you’re back.” Rebecca expressed her feelings directly.Everett smiled at Rebecca. She was jealous and upset he was here. His mere presence got to her. But it bothered him she hadn’t touched the muffin.“If you don’t feel there’s anything wrong with the script, then we’re at an impasse. Let’s run through both scenes and decide which one to remove.“I don’t believe we need to. Mr. Stone had a keen eye for what’s wrong with the writing and I think his solution was flawless. After Dane kisses Bella, Blane follows her to see the end of the kiss. We could write an entire love triangle story arch from this. With the two men competing for Bella.”Everett saw Rebecca’s eyes close as she tried to keep her temper quiet. She was good with that in public. In private, it was a different situation. She let it blow spectacularly.“No, I won’t kiss him. That idea is off the table. I can’t stand the idea
Rebecca’s first conscious thought was she should be alone.Why was she so comfortable? She should be in her dressing room bathroom. She’d gone in there because her head hurt, and her stomach went with it. Her stomach hurt so much she needed to relieve it of what she’d eaten.Who was making so much noise? She recognized the voice but couldn’t recall the name. She loved the sound of it and knew she always had. Her mind slowly came online, and she realized Everett was there in her dressing room. Why was he there? He shouldn’t be there. Rebecca didn’t remember him entering her dressing room.Everett had left years ago. She lay there still and listened as her mind tried valiantly to piece together what happened and what currently happened around her. Her memories surfaced about the conference and the plans for his character Dane to return.However, why was he in her dressing room now? The meeting for the read through. Oh god, she’d embarrassed herself. She’d lost her temper at the way he b
Everett protested as he left Rebecca’s dressing room, feeling lost as he stared at the closed door. What had he walked into? Or found? It could have been anything. He sensed something was amiss, and everyone seemed to hide it. Whatever it was. Everett paced back and forth in the corridor outside of Rebecca’s dressing room, trying to make sense of it all. He hadn’t believed the rumours of her abusing drugs or alcohol. But she had prescription medication there and a lot. Had she taken his wish to separate from her that hard? Everett thought she regretted marrying him because she insisted on keeping their marriage secret. What in the world was going on? He was now aware of a baby. Regardless of a miscarriage, can there be a connection to Rebecca’s medical state and her losing a baby? Was she abusing something because she regretted the baby’s loss? Or regretted losing him? He dismissed the last idea as soon as he thought about it. She’d h