"Why did you call me here?" Carla asked as soon as she walked around the table in the cafe a block away from their company. She tossed her sunglasses on the table, her eyes flickering at their surroundings in annoyance.
"Sit down." Beatrice, who was sipping her coffee, didn’t look up from her cup.
Carla found her attitude a bit weird but didn’t comment and ordered a latte for herself.
"You have been so worried about the rumors. I asked my uncle to clear them out, and they are gone, but you’ll need to clean your reputation," Beatrice said.
Carla’s eyes sparkled at the words, all her annoyance gone in a shock, replaced by shock.
"Are you serious?" She held Beatrice’s hand in excitement, her eyes asking if she was telling the truth.
"Why don’t you check?" Beatrice said, taking another sip of her coffee calmly, and Carla nodded before she pulled out her mobile phone and checked the news.
There were really no such rumors. The hateful posts, trending hashtags, anti-fans, and burner accounts were all gone.
"Oh my god! You are really a lifesaver, Beatrice! I didn’t know you were capable of doing this." Carla hugged Beatrice.
The woman smiled politely, her eyes flashing with a hidden agenda. Oh, you have no idea what I am capable of, Carla.
"You don’t need to thank me. Andrew’s family is like my family. I am glad I could help. But—" Beatrice stopped with feigned concern.
"But?" Carla asked.
"The fight isn’t over. It has just started. Did you know Elara is playing the lead singer in the drama now?" Beatrice asked.
She took a sip of her coffee, letting the girl process the news and explode.
Just like she had expected, Carla’s expression turned dark and solemn in a second, rage building in her eyes.
"That bitch! I knew she was sneaking into that studio for a reason. If I knew, I wouldn’t have just pushed her down the stairs but kicked her wounded shoulder when she was bleeding," Carla muttered under her breath.
Beatrice’s brow twitched at her words, but she didn’t react. Her gaze moved to her phone, which blinked, recording every word.
Perfect. Beatrice scoffed inwardly.
"There’s no way I will let Elara sing in that drama. It was supposed to be mine! I wanted it and prepared for it. I don’t care if I have to rip the vocal cords of that pathetic bitch. I’ll do it." Carla hissed and slammed her hand on the table, almost startling the couple at the adjacent table.
Beatrice smiled.
"You don’t need to get your hands dirty for such simple work," she said.
She had the perfect idea for it. She just needed to bait Carla for it so she could delay the signing process since she needed time to execute things.
"The director has taken quite a liking to me because of my acting. If I suggest a public contest—something dramatic to increase the hype, something the audience can vote for—he might agree. It’s like a free promotion before even starting. You tell me. Will you be able to sing against her?" Beatrice asked.
"Anytime. I can sing against her anytime. And if it comes to voting, I have fans who will support me. I would do anything to stop her from singing," Carla said.
Beatrice nodded.
"You said she was wounded?" She asked for a bit more of an update on her nemesis, since she wanted to send the perfect gift and prepare for a warm welcome party.
Beatrice smiled at the thoughts.
"She said it was just a gunshot wound," Carla said casually.
Beatrice raised her brows. Well, it wasn’t just a gunshot wound but a future scandal that wasn’t cooked yet. She thought.
In the evening~~~
Elara sat on the couch with her lyrics in hand as she tried to pace her voice and tone at different transitions. She was about to go to the piano to try it with the chords when her phone rang, catching her attention.
She set the lyrics aside and grabbed her phone when she saw it was Nate calling.
"Hey, what’s up? I was just trying on the lyrics and thinking if I could rhyme it a little when it comes to that little soft rapping part," Elara said excitedly, but stopped when she didn’t hear Nate speaking for a couple of seconds.
The hesitation from his side meant something wasn’t good.
"Something happened, right?" She asked.
Just like she had expected, she heard a long, drawn-out sigh from the other side.
"Elara, there’s a change," Nate said.
"The director wants to turn the lead singer role into a contest," Nate said, pausing to let the information sink in.
Elara’s brows shot up in surprise.
"A contest?" She asked.
"Yeah. I don’t know where it came from, but suddenly, he clearly approved of your voice. He thinks it’ll build the hype. The audience votes, teaser clips, and fan engagement will make people anticipate the drama even more," Nate said with a sigh.
Elara knew there was more to the story with the way Nate was being so dramatic. If it were just a competition, it would sound fair and square. She had confidence in her singing because she never missed practice, as she used to prepare lyrics for Carla.
"The lead singer will also have to act. Even if it’s a small part,"
Elara sat up straight at his words.
"Acting? How could they bring it out of nowhere? It wasn’t the original script, not even in the comic or the drama script. Why add it?" She asked.
Nate groaned. "I know it’s absurd. But the director says he wants a ’multi-talented face’ for the promotions. I tried to talk him out of it, but he is not budging. Even Producer Li has no say in the matter," he said.
Elara swallowed hard, speechless. She had never acted before. She wasn’t trained, nor did she think she could do it. Pretending to be someone else and memorizing lines didn’t seem to be her cup of tea.
But this opportunity was like an elixir that could restore her ruined dignity in a single shot, allowing her to face her parents not as a failure who destroyed her life over a man, but as someone blooming with her talent. This was one way she could face herself, too.
But acting...
Elara took a deep breath.
"I know this is sudden. If you are uncomfortable, you can say no. We can launch you as a solo artist at the beginning of the next year. But if you want to continue, I’ll back you up. Just tell me now so that I can tell the director," Nate said.
Beginning of the following year? Elara thought, her expression solemn. While this was promising, it would be too late.
Her heart pounded just at the thought of leaving such an opportunity. She was finally trying to have something of hers, her own identity, out of being a Frost daughter or Lloyd’s daughter-in-law, something they couldn’t take away from her, but acting? Her resolution started to crack a little.
"Give me some time to think," Elara said, closing her eyes to calm her messy thoughts after ending the call.