"Don’t think too much about it," Reine said with a quiet sigh, her hand patting Relanie’s back slowly. "You’re letting it affect you too much."
But Relanie only shook her head against her shoulder, her breathing uneven as she spoke again between soft sobs. "She should just go away... she wants to take everything from ... she should leave."
Reine did not reply and after a mont, Relanie pulled away from her arms, her face flushed and her eyes wet. She wiped at her tears impatiently, but her expression was still twisted with emotion.
"I still don’t understand what Adrian sees in her," she continued. "They’ll have been doing all these for a long while now... I’m sure that wasn’t the first ti."
Reine made a small sound in response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Relanie leaned back against the counter and reached for the bottle again, pouring more wine into the glass with shaky hands. "Can you believe it?" she went on sharply. "That night... when Adrian and I almost... did it... almost."
She paused and swallowed hard before continuing. "He was drunk, and I thought... even then, it didn’t matter. I thought it ant I still had a place in his heart." Her grip on the glass tightened.
"But when we were almost there... he suddenly stopped and looked at like..." She shook her head slowly, her brows pulling together. "At that ti, I didn’t understand that look. But now... now I do."
Her voice dropped into sothing colder. "He wasn’t even seeing until he looked at my face clearly. All he saw was that bitch."
She lifted the glass again, but before she could drink, Reine reached out and caught her wrist. "Don’t," she said quietly. "Don’t do this to yourself, especially not because of her." Her tone was firm and it made Relanie pause.
For a long ti, Relanie stayed still, her eyes fixed on the glass in her hand. Then she slowly lifted her gaze to et Reine’s. And just like that, the tears in her eyes faded only to be replaced by it’s earlier coldness.
"You know what," she said slowly, her lips curving into a faint smile that did not reach her eyes. "She should enjoy herself while she can."
Reine watched her for a mont, then nodded in understanding.
"Yes," she replied, a small smile forming on her own lips too. "She’s acting strong now, but when everything is done, she’ll regret it."
She paused briefly before adding, "It would be even better if she gets picked for that movie. That way, you’ll have the perfect chance to deal with her properly."
Relanie considered her words for a long second, her expression slowly easing back into it’s usual composure. Then the corner of her lips lifted a little. "Yes," she said softly. "That would be perfect."
–
Two weeks passed after the day Elara went for the audition, and nothing ca from it. So she pushed it to the back of her mind and returned to her usual routine, not until Ziva ca with the information that the production team had sent a callback notice for her.
Although Ziva looked quite pleased, Elara did not feel the sa. Instead, she felt a bit uneasy as she thought about it.
Since she had only aid for a minor role, she did not expect to be called back again.
She couldn’t help but wonder if they were still deciding or if sothing about her first audition had not been clear enough.
Well she don’t know much about how these things worked so she chose not to overthink it.
She could only hope that things would go well while also reminding herself that even if it did not work out, there would always be other opportunities.
Afterall, no one could take every chance that ca their way...
When she went back to the studio for the callback, it did not go the way she had expected. Instead of repeating the sa process, they gave her different script versions to read.
They also set up a cara to record her while she perford, which made the whole process feel more serious than it should have been for the role she had chosen. And although Elara did everything they asked without complaint, she could not ignore the quiet feeling that sothing about it was not quite normal.
*****
After it was over, Ziva walked beside Elara with a small frown on her face. She glanced at her and shook her head. "This is strange, it’s really not necessary for a minor role."
Elara didn’t reply and just kept walking.
Ziva went on anyway in a thoughtful tone. "Maybe they’re choosing between you and soone else. Or maybe they’re not fully sure yet and want to be careful."
She shrugged and added casually, "But still... a callback is a callback. Not everyone got one."
Elara finally turned her attention to her.
Ziva noticed and continued. "There were a lot of singers who ca the last ti, Elara. They didn’t call most of them back. So this ans sothing."
"Mm." Elara murmured, giving a simple nod.
–
After taking a cold bath, Adrian remained standing in front of the mirror, his gaze fixed on the toothbrush resting neatly in its holder.
He stayed like that for a long ti without moving, until he finally straightened his posture, the soft black silk robe settling smoothly over his shoulders.
He exhaled deeply and walked out of the restroom. He passed quickly through the bedroom and entered the study. His steps slowed slightly as he moved closer to the painting hanging on the wall opposite the door.
He then finally stopped , staring at it for a long ti without speaking.
His thoughts moved back to the mont Elara had stood in this sa room, and he found himself wondering why she had walked up to Lia’s painting of all things.
Did she know sothing?
His lips pressed together slightly as he pulled himself away from the painting without another glance.
He walked to the window and reached into his pocket to take out a cigarette. He lighted it calmly before holding it between his fingers. As the smoke rose into the air, he took a slow breath.
His gaze moved across the room again without focus, passing over the shelves and the desk before coming to a stop at a canvas resting against the wall in the corner.
He stood there, watching the face on it in silence.
Did she see that too.
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