Gilda!!" a familiar voice rang out, it was the girl who had played the palace maid beside me. She waved with such enthusiasm, probably thinking I had lost my way.
Heat flushed through me from embarrassment. Swallowing hard, I forced myself forward, each step heavier than the last. There was no sneaking out now, not with so many eyes shifting in my direction.
Silently, I prayed that this wouldn't be as bad as I feared. That I wouldn't end the night regretting my decision to come.
"Gildaaa!!" Vera's voice, sweet as poisoned honey, cut through the air the very moment I sat down at the far end of a long, crowded bench.
The main cast sat comfortably on cushioned chairs and polished wooden stools, their placement reflecting the weight of their roles. The extras were crammed together on a hard bench, stacked side by side.
No one here knew Vera was my sister. She had made sure of that. Despite sharing the same surname, she always pretended not to know me in public, and people believed her and her lies about it being a coincidence. I doubted she was calling me now out of kindness.
"I read in your information that you turn twenty-seven today," she announced suddenly. Her words paused, hanging in the air just long enough to draw the crowd's attention to me before she continued.
"I was surprised, for real. Don't get me wrong. But twenty-seven and still working as an extra on movie sets? Honestly, I don't see a future for such a person in this industry." Her voice rang with deliberate sweetness, a venom masked as concern. "If you'd ask me, I suggest you find a man to get you pregnant so you can tie him down with the child and make him marry you. You know what they say, women expire too easily. And with how broke you look, I doubt you could even afford surrogacy in the future if you don't take my advice."
I sat, waiting and hoping for someone atleast, to counter her words. After all, she was only a year younger than me, twenty-six herself. If her cruel analogy applied to me, then what made her think she was immune to the same fate? But instead of protest, I heard murmurs of agreement ripple through the bench. Heads nodded and lips curved in approval.
"I never knew you were this smart, Vera. I thought you were only good at acting," a lady said, raising her glass of wine before gulping it down. She sat perched on a stool; her role must have carried more weight in the movie. "What good advice you gave her. It's now left for her to decide whether to follow or not."
"With how she looks, I bet she's whored herself around to so many men," a man snickered. "I haven't seen any real talent whenever she acts. No doubt her sponsors always leave her stranded after, because sex doesn't equate to talent."
I didn't even flinch at his words. He was shameless, and the married man who had tried forcing himself on me yesterday, promising me a better role than the palace maid I'd been stuck with. His bitterness was only resentment because I had turned him down.
"She's twenty-seven already and hasn't made any real progress in her career? Gosh, I'd gladly quit. She has three more years until she clocks thirty. As I see it, no man will be willing to marry a liability. Gilda, take Vera's advice. She's such a good person, always looking out for everyone's future," another voice chimed in, dripping with mock pity.
"I'm barely twenty-one and I've already achieved a significant feat in my career. Vera is barely twenty-six and already an international act. Heavens, even if I were under a curse, geezzz, I pray it never gets to the level of Gilda's!" another lady whispered, though her words carried just loud enough for everyone to catch.
The table erupted with laughter at her jab, even the girl seated beside me joined in, as though cruelty was the evening's entertainment.
Heat rushed to my face, and my chest tightened. Too embarrassed to sit there any longer, I excused myself with the pretense of going to the restroom. I wasn't pressed, I just desperately needed the privacy it promised, a sliver of space to gather what remained of my dignity before facing them again.
I shouldn't have come. The thought churned in my head, filling me with regret.
I hadn't reached the restroom when a strong hand clamped around my wrist.
Instinctively, I braced to writhe free, even ready to sink my teeth into the hand if I had to. But when I turned and saw my manager, relief washed over me. I was grateful I hadn't unleashed my fight-or-flight instinct on him.
"We need to talk!" he said, dragging me along the hallway that stretched opposite the restroom.
I trusted him, so I didn't resist. Yesterday, when I found out my lead role had been stripped from me, he had fought to at least secure me a spot as an extra. It wasn't much, but it was something. The thought that he had stood up for me, even in that small way, warmed my heart.
We stopped at a door marked Storage Room. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked it.
For a second, I froze. "Wait… is this where we're supposed to talk? Why here? The hallway is already quiet enough. No one has passed since we walked down here. What could we possibly have to discuss that you need to be in this place?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair before turning to me.
"Look, Gilda… I'm sorry. You're talented, yes, I'll give you that. But you don't have sponsors…"
His words instantly set off alarms in my head. I tried to pull my wrist free from his grip, but he only tightened it. Something about his tone wasn't right.
"I'm doing this because I have to protect my own career," he continued, avoiding my eyes. "If you attend the audition tomorrow and land that lead role, my head will roll. I have a family to feed, Gilda. I can't risk it. So… you'll have to stay here until it's over. I promise, I'll come back for you once the audition ends."
Before I could even process what he was saying, he shoved me inside the room…