"But...why would we be breaking up?! The movie hasn't even come out yet! It's supposed to happen a month or two after the premiere." Jamie exclaimed with confusion etched on his face. Anna sighed deeply before responding, "You know Donald. He wants to do things differently. He thinks a breakup in the middle of filming will be gorgeous for headlines."
Jamie's brows furrowed in disbelief, his eyes widening. "Well, what the hell?! Why didn't he tell me?!" She shrugged in response, "You'll have to take that up with him." Frustration enveloped Jamie as he muttered, "Ughhhhhh. This makes no sense!"
Anna tried to ease the tension, offering a small smile. "Don't be like that. It'll be fun." Jamie couldn't hide his incredulity. "Fun?! How will breaking up in public be fun?!" Anna chuckled, enjoying his reaction. "You're the actor. You tell me." Jamie let out a laugh, her voice tinged with a hint of bitterness. "Actor? I feel more like a puppet."
"Oh, come on." She groaned. "Don't be so dramatic. Not to mention you should be used to this type of thing. This isn't you're first trip around the block." Jamie hesitated, sighing as his gaze drifted away momentarily. "I know, but...this is different."
Intrigued, Anna leaned in, curious to understand his perspective. "Different? How's this different?" Jamie's voice grew more tense as he confessed, "Because now I'm not going to be able to be seen with Lilly in public."
"So what. Why does that matter?"
She scoffed, squinting her eyes as a small laugh escaped from her mouth.
Jamie's eyes met hers, filled with a mixture of sadness and aggression,
"It matters because I love her."
...MEANWHILE...
"Lils you can't wear that." Maria whispered, her voice laced with concern as she surveyed my outfit. "Maria can't you see I'm having a breakdown?" I replied, my eyes filled with desperation. "Ugh. You're giving me a headache." She groaned, rubbing her temples.
"I'm just nervous! Why would Anna come back here? Do you think she wants to take her place in the movie?" I said as my voice trembled with uncertainty. "I doubt it. Didn't you say she hates this lifestyle? That she wants nothing to do with being Anna anymore?" She reassured. "Yes, but you never know. Maybe she changed her mind." My voice wavered with a mix of fear and hope.
"If she did...would that bother you?" Maria asked, her tone gentle yet searching. "Yes, it would. Well, right now anyway. I've been working really hard on this movie. And I want to see it through." I confessed. "I doubt she'd take over the movie." Maria reassured me with a comforting smile.
"I hope not. This situation is complicated that's for sure. I just wish I knew what the hell is going on." I exclaimed, frustration evident in my voice. "You'll find out soon enough. Jamie wouldn't keep you hanging...." Maria reassured me, once again. "Who are you texting?" I inquired, my eyes narrowing curiously towards her phone.
"Henry, just letting him know what happened." Maria replied, momentarily distracted.
"Ugh, I totally forgot about Henry. We totally ditched him!" I exclaimed, guilt creeping into my voice. "He's fine. He knows what happened. And for Vaughn, I'm seeing him later." Maria assured, trying to alleviate my concerns.
"Hopefully he didn't notice the real Anna." I muttered, my apprehension increasing.
"Even if he did..I plan on distracting him enough to make him forget." Maria declared, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Just then, Jamie stormed into the room, interrupting the conversation.
"Jamie! There you are. I was getting worried." I exclaimed, placing my hands on his shoulders with relief flooding me.
"I'm fine..but can we um talk in private?" Jamie's voice was strained, his eyes pleading for understanding.
Our gaze returned to Maria as she responded with, "Of course. Vaughn is sending a car to pick me up anyway. Later, lils." giving me a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before departing. "Call me later." She mouthed, silently behind Jamie's back before heading off.
"Jamie, what's going on? Did you talk to Anna?" My voice quivered with concern as I tried to make sense of the situation.
"Yup. He paused, knowing that his next revelation would only add to the confusion. "And Donald."
Lily's eyes widened in disbelief. "Donald? What does he have to do with anything?"
Jamie let out a frustrated sigh. "Anna is in town because she wants to do the honours."
"The honours of?..." I said, hurrying Jamie to spill the news.
He spoke with a mix of exasperation and worry. "Anna Sophia and Jamie flatters are breaking up. Not just a breakup but having a public blowout on a red carpet tomorrow. Donald thinks it'll be good for ratings."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in as I gasped, shocked by the news. "But..but..the movie isn't even out yet!"
Jamie's voice dripped with bitterness "I know but Donald said he thinks this will bring even bigger press to the movie premiere. Build up the drama."
"And Anna's here because she wants to be the one to break things off?" I questioned, trying to hold back my emotions.
"Yeah." He nodded his head in disappointment. "She's nothing if not dramatic. And we hate each other so...I'm not surprised."
My heart sank as the weight of the situation dawned on me. "Wow. This is terrible news. We won't be able to go anywhere together anymore."
"I know. No dinners or outings...not the best situation to be in." Jamie nodded, a mix of sadness and frustration etched on his face.
Fighting back tears, Lily reached out, wanting to offer comfort. "We can make it work. Everything will be fine...you'll see."
Jamie managed a weak smile, appreciative of my unwavering support. "I hope so. I just don't want to lose you, lils. I.." He trailed off, unable to find the right words.
"You?.." I asked as my eyes searched his face.
"Nothing. Let's just go lie down. It's been a long night." Jamie suggested, taking my hand in his as we made our way to our room.
...THE NEXT DAY...
"A heads up would have been nice." I said, storming into Donald's office to find him looking at his schedule that hung on the cream coloured wall.
"I meant to tell you yesterday, but things got so busy- you know how that goes." He replied without bothering to turn around and instead he checked off some of the boxes.
"Uh-huh." I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"Don't worry, you're still going to finish out the movie and all the press that comes with it. And as always, Anna has no interest in being Anna. She just wants to be the one to do the breaking up." Donald explained, walking back to his desk.
"Fine by me. I have no interest in doing that." I added, following him towards his desk as he sat.
"Good. So are we all settled here? I have to interview some new wardrobe designers." He questioned as he tapped his fingers against the mug, creating a ding kind of noise.
"Yeah...all settled." I sighed as I reached the door.
As I strolled along the chilly hallways of the studio, a gentle vibration signaled the arrival of a text on my phone. Curiosity tugged at me, but given that today had already tested my patience to its limits, I disregarded it and made my way towards one of the available practice rooms. I had to study my lines Ill respond later.
...
"Last night was amazing, y'all! Vaughn rocked my world!" Maria exclaimed as we stood in line to collect our coffee's from the counter.
"Okay, I don't think I want to hear the details." Henry chuckled, fiddling with the coins in his pockets. "I sort of do." I giggled, earning a mischievous grin from my best friend. "We placed music for each other all night...I think my dream is finally coming true!" she exclaimed. "Well, I'm really happy for you. This is amazing!" I smiled. "It sure is. Congratulations, Maria." Henry said sincerely.
"Thank you, thank you. Now, enough about me. I want to hear more about this scandalous breakup." Maria teased. I sighed before answering, "There's not really much to tell. Anna Sophia and Jamie flatters are no more as of tomorrow night."
"Wow. You guys are like the IT couple. Especially that amazing proposal a few months ago. People are going to freak!" Maria added, moving further up the line.
"Tell me about it. I'm just happy I'm not the one who has to do the breakup." I explained, taking my cup of coffee from the counter and heading towards a small table. "Really? I think it'd be fun. I'm really good at turning on the waterworks." She giggled. "You sure are." Henry added, resulting in us all laughing.
"I feel bad for Jamie. He's really not looking forward to doing this." I said, unable to take my mind off the terrible situation. "Well, because he doesn't want to break up with you...doesn't matter if it's real or fake!" Maria assured me with a soft smile. "Anyway, I'm going to call Vaughn...see you guys."
"It sure is fun having her around." Henry said, watching her skip down the street with joy.
"I know. But we've stalled long enough. We have to study these damn lines for tonight." My eyes hurting from just looking at the array of lines we have to learn.
"Yeah, yeah. Im really not looking forward to these scenes. I have a lot of long-winded speeches. What has been you're favourite scene so far?" He questioned.
"The stunt scenes. What a rush! You know!" I answered with a smile.
"It's not everyday you're hanging off the side of a building." Henry continued.
"Exactly. I was scared but..it felt good to face my fears and get through it." I said, remembering the adrenaline rush running through me when doing that scene.
"You were so brave that day. And beautiful." Henry said, his gaze lingering on me strangely. Was he daydreaming?
"Right, umm... so, should we get to practicing?" I said, snapping him out of his trance.
"Yes, but...damn it, lils. There's something I want to say to you."