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❪ CHAPTER 003 : 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ❫.
❛ ©ENKYOI , 2022. ❜
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▍LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
FEBRUARY 28, 1984 — PRESENT DAY !
the annual grammy awards was talking place later tonight. an award ceremony that most artists await to see if their work will be recognized by the recording academy.
reyna was nowhere near in the mindset to attend the award show but like usual, it wasn't about what she wanted to do; the choices were always made for her. ever since the new year began, reyna had been struggling more and more but no one seemed to notice.
being the person she is, it wasn't in her nature to show anyone her vulnerable side. she was taught to deal with it herself for the sake of keeping up a good image. it was no doubt that she hated it, she hated the lifestyle. a taste of normalcy is what she wanted.
that was all she yearned for.
eventually, reyna had to get over the "mood" she was in. she stood in the middle of the spacious hotel room, almost all the lights were on, as her personal stylist, carmine, put the finishing touches on the custom champagne-green gown she was wearing. carmine always makes gorgeous and distinctive dresses, which she can rely on him for. it had different types of gems all over the dress that complemented the color, as well as a high slit and a lengthy train attached.
carmine marino, an Italian man in his mid forties, is regarded as one of the industry's most notable stylists. he has been reyna's head personal stylist and designer since she was sixteen. when reyna got the call back in 78' that carmine wanted to style her for a gala, the singer was thrilled. he ended up enjoying working with reyna so much that he even offered to be her head stylist, to which she gladly accepted.
she's learnt everything she knows about fashion from him, they've even been discussing creating her own fashion house in the future.
"look up for me," her makeup artist, monáe, spoke up to get reyna's attention to touch up on her makeup. reyna then obliged, moving a curl that was out of her up-do hairstyle in the process. no long after that her hairstylist, jameel, came rushing over to spray some setting spray over her head with a comb in his hand as he did so.
when she heard the sound of heels clicking on the marble floors and clapping making its way across the hotel room, reyna let out a sigh since she knew who it was. living with a strict mom for a long has taught reyna to remember the sound of footsteps.
"all right, let's go! let's get going! we must go now!" elvira literally yelled throughout the room to make it apparent that they needed to go quickly if they didn't want to be late. the lady raised an eyebrow with a 'hurry up' expression on her face as she peered at her daughter and motioned towards the door.
reyna fought the urge to roll her eyes and huff as she held up the ends of the long fabric to keep herself from tripping over it. when her father died, reyna and her mother relationship went down hill. it was as if something had shifted within her mother; she was no longer the kind or caring mother she had been and that was proven when the incident back in 76' happened.
getting in the car with the help of one of her bodyguards, reyna dreadfully listened in on her mother's countless phone calls. they were mostly about reyna's schedules on what she will and will not be doing. she has become accustomed to not having certain opinions about certain aspects of her career. her mother always told her that she knew best and that she didn't need to worry about anything, typical elvria.
reyna stepped out of the car as they arrived at their location, the sound of cameras going off all around her not even a second later. she had an ambivalent relationship with them. she enjoyed taking pictures whenever she would be on a set or whatever, but having multiple cameras around you flashing away at every second with them screaming and shouting, does become tiresome.
on the red carpet, reyna began posing for the cameras, displaying her charming smile. there were many camera crews yelling 'over here! look this way!' reyna tried her best to pose for the cameras before growing tired of the lights and the screaming. she truly hated the red carpets.
she made her way off the red carpet with her mother escorting her away from all the reporters, knowing that most of them love to ask the most irreverent questions ever. all negative things aside, one thing reyna admired about her mother was how she managed to keep her out of the negative tabloids. unfortunately, reyna knew deep down that her mother wasn't doing it for her. she was doing it to keep reyna's name "clean and innocent" so that the checks would continue to come in.
many fans began yelling at the top of their lungs when they saw their favorite artist enter the auditorium. as she walked to her seat, it appeared that numerous artists stopped reyna in her tracks to speak with her. reyna would lying if she didn't dread conversing with some of them since most of them treated her horrible when she first started off in the industry but for the sake of her sweetheart image, she had to just go with it.
when she eventually got to her seat, it seemed like the show took forever to start. once it did, she couldn't tell you how many times she almost fell asleep during the ceremony. many of the categories passed before the announcement of best female r&b vocal performance, one of the categories in which reyna was nominated in.
as they revealed the nominees, the camera was pinned on reyna as 'superwoman' from her album played around the auditorium. for the convenience of the cameras, reyna kept her signature smile on her face, but on the inside, she truly didn't want to be there.
consistently receiving these types of awards was, of course, a blessing for the singer, but she felt empty on the inside. she was drained and exhausted.
"and the winner for best female r&b vocal performance is..." the announcer teased as he opened the white envelope he was holding. when the announcer looked around, reyna sighed to herself. she started fiddling with the hem of her dress as a nervous coping mechanism she had developed over the years.
even though she didn't want to be there, she knew her mother expected her to win majority of the awards she was nominated for, which added to her stress. it was no surprise that reyna was terrified of failure, and it was all due to her mother. elvira would usually go on a rant about how useless reyna was and how she expected "better" from her whenever she failed at something. that's why, even at the age of twenty-one, reyna worked hard to make her mother proud.
"reyna solace - alone again! congratulations!"
when her name was called, everyone around her stood up, giving her a round of applause while fans shouted at the top of their lungs. when she heard her name called, she exhaled a breath of relief, one award down.
she stood up from her seat, one of her sweet smiles spreading across her lips as she silently thanked everyone for their kindness. she was overjoyed that her efforts had paid off because the album was one of the projects she had dedicated so much time to.
it didn't take her long to get to the stage since she was in the front row. reyna caught a glimpse of a man who captured her attention as she walked towards the stage. he was dressed in a dazzling blue and gold military-style jacket, a matching sparkly glove, and black sunglasses. his hair was styled in short jheri curls, with some strands curled out in front.
of course, reyna knew who that was; who didn't know michael jackson? when she wasn't almost dozing off, she observed how he took the majority of the awards, which she felt were all well-deserved. she also observed how he was slightly biting his lower lip while clapping for her like the rest. as an expression of gratitude, the woman sent him a small smile, to which he returned with a smile five times brighter than hers.
forcing herself to divert her focus away from the man, reyna carefully, but with such grace and elegance that you couldn't help but look at her in admiration, made her way up the stairs while holding the train of her dress in her hand. the lights were extraordinarily bright, and every stride she took casted a large spotlight on her.
"wow... first and foremost, i'd like to thank god and the recording academy for this honor." she cleared her throat and raised her shoulders, prepping herself for the rest of her unprepared speech. she despised giving speeches, but it was part of the job as an entertainer. hearing the cheers of encouragement from the audience made her relax for a bit.
reyna decided that she would keep her speech brief. she simply didn't have the energy, and anyone paying close attention to the young lady would see. "i honestly don't know what to say except that i'm extremely grateful and thank you."
reyna flashed the audience another of her signature bright smiles before being led off the stage with the award in her hand. backstage, she spotted her entire crew, including her mother, expecting her. they were cheering for her and expressing their joy, while her mother had her arms crossed and a look of disappointment on her face.
"i expect better from you, and i know you can do better. get your act together." her mother basically shouted at her then proceeded to storm away. reyna wasn't surprised to hear her mother's dissatisfaction, but she just hoped that for once, she'd show that she's proud of her.
elvira moved further backstage while her team began to send sorrow glances to reyna. she couldn't help but be overtaken by the emotions she was experiencing at this rate.
monáe hurried over to her aid, scolding her playfully before quickly retouching her makeup since she needed to get back to her seat for the duration of the show. "rey baby, don't cry. your mother can be a bitch majority of the time, but just know that we're proud of you." reyna was relieved to have someone in her circle who validated her sentiments, but all she desired was some of the motherly love she lost.
making her way back to her seat, she still felt emotional but more so drained. she was tried but since the cameras was rolling, she had to keep up with her image.
the girl was still in shock as she returned to her seat. she was no longer dozing off because of the adrenaline rush coursing through her body. time seemed to fly by because before she knew it, her name was announced for yet another award as the winner of 'best female pop vocalist.' it did not stop there, either.
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after the show finally ended, everyone began to leave the auditorium, though some lingered to converse with others. reyna, on the other hand, was eager to get out of the dress and uncomfortable heels she'd been wearing all night. her team already informed her that they were planning a celebration party since 'this night was definitely worth celebrating,' according to jameel. reyna was ready to leave but was in no mood to celebrate.
just as reyna was about to make her way out of the auditorium, she was abruptly stopped by the sound of her name being called. with a faint groan, she turned around to see the man of the night who had grabbed her eye earlier approaching her. he was accompanied by a few men whom she assumed were his bodyguards.
reyna shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other as he approached her, unsure of what was about to happen or what the fellow singer wanted.
seeing the smile on his lips made reyna smile. the anxiety she had previously felt seemed to gradually fade away. she don't know what it was about him but he just made her feel safe. she told henry, the chief of her security team, to give her a moment but to standby in case anything happened.
he stood near her, giving michael the same disapproving glare he gave everyone, regardless of their status. since she first started in the industry, henry has been like a father figure to reyna. to say he is extremely protective of the young girl is an understatement. over the years, she has been nothing but grateful to have someone like him by her side at all times.
michael extended his hand for reyna to shake, which she did. "michael jackson," reyna said matter-of-factly, one of her brows arched. she was confused but intrigued as to why he would stay behind to speak to her.
he shook his head and chuckled lightly. "reyna solace," michael said in the same tone as she did, his voice smooth, almost honey-like.
they both lingered for a bit before pulling away from the handshake. michael adjusted his sunglasses while reyna clasped her hands together, discreetly observing his face. she didn't understand why he wore sunglasses in a room, but she shrugged it off, not really thinking about it further.
"i just wanted to come over and congratulate you on the success. i really loved the album." michael spoke, then placed his hands behind his back. one of the beaming smiles she had seen on his face earlier appeared. reyna couldn't help but return his smile; there was just something about his smile that was infectious.
reyna was ashamed of herself— she had barely heard what he were saying since she had been staring at his mouth all whilst he spoke. he has such a pretty smile.
her subconscious led her to simply nod and smile in response, until she heard a loud cough near her. looking over to her right, reyna found henry giving her a 'say something back' look, to which she snapped out of her trance, an embarrassed smile on her lips.
"i-thank you! i really appreciate that. congratulations on your success too." reyna almost face-palmed herself with how embarrassing she must look. in her defense, she rarely interacts with other celebrities due to her poor social skills or lack of trust, and it was plainly apparent at the time.
michael bit his lip in an attempt to keep the smirk from slipping onto his face, but he failed. he really thought she was cute. he was examining her in the same way as reyna was doing earlier, just more discreetly due to the sunglasses he was wearing.
he'd be lying if he said his eyes wasn't currently roaming all over her. he loved how the champagne-green dress complemented her skin tone and how it flowed and hugged all of her curves flawlessly. not to mention the way her eyes sparkled under the dim lights. if you were to ask him, she was pure perfection in his eyes. it was as if he was attempting to commit every detail of reyna to his memory.
a tall woman with similar features to reyna began heading towards them just as michael was ready to open his mouth to speak. her long, pressed hair swayed with each stride.
"hello, young lady? we've been waiting for you outside for about ten minutes now." her mother stated, looking down at her wristwatch before looking back up at her daughter. her body language and tone were both laced with annoyance.
reyna nodded to her mother before returning her attention to michael and apologized. "i'm sorry, i have to get going," reyna remarked, motioning to her mother who was at least five feet away from them.
michael shook his head emphatically, "it's alright, i understand- wait, how should i contact you?" the man inquired, one of his hands pulling up a sleeve of his jacket as he glanced at his loafers before returning his focus to reyna. he wasn't sure how forward his question came out so he was scolding himself in his head.
the woman considered it, but she wasn't sure whether she wanted to give him her phone number, so she just told him, "you'll find me if you really want to, use those connections of yours." reyna sent him a sly smirk and walked towards the exit. she also sent him a wave to which he sent one back.
michael couldn't help but laugh, he was amused by the entire interaction. he already made it up in his mind that he'd definitely take her up on the challenge.
during the brief ride back to the hotel, reyna couldn't fight the joy and happiness she was feeling at the time. becoming a grammy award-wining artist once again felt great and her encounter with michael just made her night even better.
but little did she know that this would be the night to change her life forever.
★☆.?! 𝖢𝖮𝖯𝖸𝖱𝖨𝖦𝖧𝖳 © 𝗘𝗡𝗞𝗬𝗢𝗜-, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟤.
━━ ❝ 𝑭𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑵 𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑳! MJJ FF ❞
ﾞ ☆★. ⠆𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 2894 .