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
Rebecca finally felt well enough to leave her dressing room, but she still couldn’t come up with an acceptable reason for her horribly unprofessional behaviour. But the show must go on. The saying consumed her life and became her sole motivation. The walk down the corridor to the reading room filled her with dread. She felt like she was about to learn her sentence for an imaginary crime. The urge to walk away tugged at her. Not back to her dressing room. No, she’d walked out of the production studio lot and keep going. Where would she go? Rebecca didn’t know anywhere but here. Seeing Everett again hurt too much. He looked so good. It wasn’t fair. In the reading room, everyone was returning slowly from lunch. The director, David Keyes, waved Rebecca over to a corner. She made her way to him. Everett wasn’t in the room yet. For that, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks. “Look, before you dress me down for unacceptable behaviour. I’d like to say, I
Everett stood in the doorway, exuding the aura of a leading man. Even his eyes exuded playful dominance. It wasn’t fair that he looked so good. Every cell in Rebecca’s body regretted letting him go and not fighting for their marriage, as she should have done. She didn’t want him to blame her when his expectations for the future did not manifest. Rebecca now knew it was unlikely that she’d ever have children unless she went through various procedures to correct the damage she’d suffered before she finally received a diagnosis. Then she’d have to be vigilant to the extreme about her care. The uncertain flickering of her hope for success resembled a failing ghost light. “It’s fine. I didn’t scrape it off the floor or anything.” Rebecca tried to be flippant as she swallowed the last bite of the chewy bar. She gave him a cavalier smile and cocked her head at a jaunty angle. Anything to annoy him and change the subject. “Rebecca.” Everett’s voice held a w
Everett entered the restaurant unusually early. He’d left everything he usually did unfinished because he’d struggled with the entire encounter with Rebecca. The feelings Everett felt as he saw her again and the utter shock at seeing what had become of her in his absence. It became too much for him to handle. Confident in his actions, he left her years ago, doing what he believed was best for himself. Everett never questioned how Rebecca would be once he’d left. She had many people to rely on. Now, as he thought about that, he couldn't see Rebecca doing that. As a private person, Rebecca didn’t fall back on anyone. She didn’t tell her secrets or vulnerabilities to anyone. Everett only knew a few things because Rebecca, his wife, told him. Now he saw what became of Rebecca, and it killed him to see it. The pain and how she acted like a cornered feral cat. Everett couldn’t talk to his agent about this. He didn’t like the idea of Everett sharing his ti
Everett sat there. His eyes went to Paulo’s hand, where it held Gena’s. He watched Paulo’s thumb stroke the back of Gena’s hand. Gena didn’t take her hand away. Instead, Paulo took his hand away first when he noticed Everett’s attention focused on his hand. “Everett, I don’t know how you expect to keep up such a crazy schedule with your other responsibilities. You’ll burn yourself out in no time. I don’t believe your fanbase is all that caring about Empire Nights. If you have a role in it.” Paulo said to Everett. His words betrayed how he complained, masquerading it as advice. He favoured Grandview Manor and Gena over Everett and his career. Paulo worked as an agent to both actors. Everett didn’t see the impartial treatment and investment into his career. Though he saw the favouritism flowing toward Gena currently. “Paul, what are you getting at? Are you recommending that I not take work and forgo the salary? Or are you telling me not to expand my r
-Four Weeks Later- They’d finally found a routine for filming the production of Empire Nights. Rebecca loved the show with its era of rich clothes and the hint of risky behaviour for the time. A gin joint with a resident gum shoe and the female plucky owner of the gin joint who had a per chant for stumbling into crimes. Rebecca’s health eased up a little, even though she still struggled with symptoms periodically. But today she’d tied herself up in knots over the major scene they’d film. The fans sat on the edge of their seats waiting as Rebecca and Everett danced around with a rekindling romance. She could feel the emotions of her character and Rebecca fears those weren’t Bella’s feelings for Dane. No, she felt her feelings rekindling for Everett, and it was a sweet, sad thing.Rebecca realized she could never act on her feelings, fearing the harm she would cause him. If she pursued him to try again and as she told him before. She’d become sick aga
Everett didn’t have a warning when he’d found himself pulled into a meeting with Mr. Johnson Sebastian and his murder of crows. That’s how Everett saw the Studio Executives. John Sebastian spoke for the entire murder. Resembling a crow, he became the inspiration for many board members trying to imitate him to different extents.John sat across the conference table from Everett. Its glossy wooden surface gleamed too much in the morning sunshine. John's wrinkles hinted at the discreet cosmetic procedures he had undergone to maintain a youthful appearance. His highly manicured black hair, though, once was natural. Now, it wasn’t naturally black. Everett would not be the one to tell him it did nothing to hide his age. His all-black suits leant to the crow description that his skinny birdlike features gave off. The tailoring may point to skill and money spent, but the clear padding used to fill out his form screamed unnatural. It gave him a creepy air all around. Everett imagines the man d
Rebecca walked in from where her driver Randell delivered her. Ben would take part in the meeting remotely since he couldn’t make it in person because of being at his office across town. As soon as she entered the building and passed through security, she found herself accosted by Everett. He pulled her aside into a small, quiet alcove behind some decorative greenery. “Everett, what are you doing? Stop pulling on my arm. Explain yourself right now.” Rebecca didn’t know what was happening. Everett held onto both of her arms, ensuring she stayed facing him. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want anyone seeing us talking to each other or overhearing this. You know, no matter what we’ve gone through before, I never stopped caring about you.” Everett looked awkwardly around the large potted palms to ensure no one lingered to overhear them speak with each other. Rebecca couldn’t understand what happened here. Everett appeared to act more oddly with ever