Part Two

As the tour came to an end, Ashlyn left Kaleb and made her way across the studio, past P.A.s and interns until she finally reached the building where the costuming team for her movie was located and she pushed through where she met the head of the team, Miranda.

"Ashlyn," Miranda commented. "You're late."

"Sorry, this place is like a maze. Kaleb was showing me around," Ashlyn apologised.

"Stop apologising and get changed," Miranda said, handing her a white knee-length dress, which Ashlyn took and went behind the cover to get changed.

"I look like someone's idea of a serious person," Ashlyn commented as she stepped out to show Miranda.

"You're too stiff," Miranda told her. “Although, this particular dress might not be perfect for you,” Miranda said to her before looking through the racks and handing Ashlyn another dress. “Try this one.”

"Okay, this is great," Ashlyn admitted as she stepped out in a green cocktail dress that showed off her cleavage and tried a sultry pose in front of the mirror however she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That's the problem," Miranda sighed. "On you it looks good but from what I can tell you don't usually wear dresses like this, do you?"

"Not unless my name is Freya." Ashlyn shook her head.

"Freya?" Miranda wondered.

"My friend." Ashlyn clarified.

“Either way, we need something more you,” Miranda muttered as she scanned the racks. "Here." Miranda said, handing her a pair of dark-wash jeans at her. "Try these. And this." Miranda added, handing her a soft sweater in a deep green.

"Do I really give off this vibe?" Ashlyn wondered.

"Not really but these cast announcements usually aren't just about the actors but the characters they're playing." Miranda said as she encouraged Ashlyn to get changed. "Fans have got to believe that you can pull off this character."

Ashlyn slipped behind the screen and took off the dress to replace it with the jeans and the sweater. "Well?" Ashlyn asked as she stepped out in front of Miranda.

"Better," Miranda agreed as she took a glance at Ashlyn. "But it's still missing something." Miranda snapped her fingers and moved to a shoe rack. "The boots. The brown ones." Miranda scanned the racks before picking up knee-high leather boots.

"Those boots with that outfit, seriously?" A voice called out and the pair turned to see Kaleb leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed with a grin plastered on his face. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you look gorgeous but this is supposed to be the love of my life, right? That’s not how she dresses. Unless we're going for, hates my guts."

"Mr Mercury," Miranda coldly told him. "Unless you'd like to personally steam every costume in this department, I suggest you let me do my job."

"He's got a point, though. My character wouldn’t wear just this." Ashlyn admitted. "She’d wear something with more bite. Like…"

"...like that," Kaleb finished, nodding toward a rack near the back where a leather jacket hung.

"Fine," Miranda sighed, handing Ashlyn the jacket.

"Now we're talking," Kaleb said as he watched Ashlyn put on the jacket. "That’s the woman who’d steal my heart."

"It's nearly there," Miranda said before addressing her assistant. "Find her a belt. Thin, worn leather.” Miranda turned to address Kaleb. “Was there something I could help you with Kaleb or were you just here to wind your costar and me up?"

"Just offering some creative input," Kaleb said. "And maybe to see if you managed to get those sunglasses we talked about."

Miranda rolled her eyes as she headed towards a cluttered shelf in the corner without another word. Kaleb meanwhile made his way close to Ashlyn just as Miranda returned, handing him a pair of aviator sunglasses.

"Perfect," Kaleb said as put the sunglasses on and looked in the mirror.

"You look like a discount Tom Cruise," Ashlyn commented.

"Nah," Kaleb murmured as he took off the sunglasses and he placed them on her face. "Now you look like a perfect badass. So, what are you doing after this?"

"Not much, my housemate, Kat texted. She finished work early today so I might hang out with her." Ashlyn said as she took the sunglasses off and handed them back to Kaleb.

"Kat, no Freya?" Kaleb commented, causing Ashlyn to look at him curiously. "You mentioned a Freya at your audition."

"You remembered that?" Ashlyn said in surprise.

"I remember everything about that audition," Kaleb said. "Freya’s your housemate too?"

"Freya basically owns the place," Ashlyn admitted. "Kat’s the newest housemate. But her brother Malik and Dexter and his girlfriend, Chantelle have been living with us for a while. Do you really remember everything from my audition?"

"Yeah, I remember," Kaleb admitted. "You killed it and the kiss was memorable too."

"Yeah," Ashlyn blushed. "It's not something I normally do. Kiss strangers. Sorry about that…"

"Don't. It was a good kiss and it helped you get the biggest role in the world right now," Kaleb said, stepping closer.

"Save the flirting for later," Miranda snapped as her assistant returned with the belt. "We need to finish up calling for you two and get you to make-up. Cast announcements start in twenty."

“Best not keep them waiting then,” Kaleb smiled as he turned to leave.

---

Freya relaxed on a chaise lounger at Paradise Spa, a hotel and spa located just outside of London with her long legs stretched out as she enjoyed the feeling of not being burdened by her responsibilities as a social-media influencer, her family and friends drama and instead focused on ways she could pamper herself until Travis appeared and sat himself down on the lounger next to her.

“Back already?” Freya drawled, finally looking over at him. “Did my Dad finally realise you’re useless or did you just get bored?”

“Neither,” Travis laughed. "Although that was a bit harsh. I thought we were being friends,"

"Friends?" Freya responded. "That’s cute. Last I checked, you dumped me and then waltz back in working for my dad like you never left."

"Waltzed back in? Nah, princess. More like I stunned him with my interview skills." Travis smirked. "And for the record, you dumped me first. Twice."

"Interview skills?" Freya said in disbelief. "You mean your ability to bullshit with a straight face? Because let's be honest, you could sell sand in the Sahara."

"Damn right I could. And you’d buy it too, just to prove you could afford it." Travis grinned.

"Please," Freya rolled her eyes. "Like I’d waste my time." Freya looked at him dismissively. "You're insufferable, you know that?"

“Insufferable?” Travis commented. “Funny, that’s not what you used to call me at two a.m. when…”

“Finish that sentence,” Freya threatened. “And I’ll have my Dad reassign you to the Nova Akahim office.’”

“Still got that killer instinct,” Travis said in a mock surrender. “Guess some things never change. So, how’ve you been, really? After the other day…"

"Busy," Freya said. "Working on some endorsement deals. The usual."

"Busy," Travis repeated. "Sounds lonely."

"Lonely?" Freya scoffed. "Please. I have my friends,"

"Friends," Travis repeated, sceptically. "You mean those people you share a house with?" Travis chuckled. "Come on, princess. You’re not that delusional."

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Freya shot back.

"It means," Travis said slowly, "That you haven’t had a real friend since me. Those guys pay rent, Freya. They don’t know you. Not like…"

“Not like you?” Freya interrupted, tossing her hair over one shoulder with a practiced flick. “Spare me the nostalgia, Travis. You don’t know me either. Not anymore.”

“I know you pretend you don’t care about birthdays but you secretly hate when people forget yours. I know you sing songs when you think no one’s listening. And you still…” Travis paused. “...Bite your lower lip when you’re trying not to laugh.”

“Stop.” Freya coldly told him. “Just because you remember things doesn’t mean you know me. People change, Travis.”

“Yeah,” Travis agreed easily. “They do. So tell me what’s different. What’s new about Freya Levesque?”

“...I learned how to cook. Sort of. Malik taught me.” Freya admitted, deciding that talking to Travis would be better than sitting in silence or arguing with her ex-boyfriend.

“Malik? Your housemate?” Travis wondered before playfully shrugging it off by saying to her. “Damn. Who are you and what’ve you done with my ex?”

“Don’t get excited. It’s literally just pasta. And I still burn it somehow occasionally.” Freya told him. “But I… like it. Doing stuff for myself. Whatever. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Travis reassured her. “I missed talking to you like this. You’re one of the few people who actually gets me,”

“Yeah, well,” Freya softly said. “If I’m being honest, I’ve missed talking to you too. Like you said, it’s nice to speak to someone who gets you.”

---

Malik sat in his favourite booth at the The Latte Lounge, staring at his laptop screen as he typed away the words out of his mind and onto the screen. It was as he was trying to do so, the door to the cafe opened and almost like a storm entered, heels clicked across the floor, leading Malik to look up and see Alia approach him.

"A caramel latte. Two sugars," Alia said to the waitress before sliding into the chair across from Malik without waiting for an invitation. "And none of that oat milk nonsense."

"Didn't you get the message when you stopped by the house earlier." Malik said as he closed his laptop and stared at his step-mother.

"Earlier I wanted to talk to Katrina," Alia told him. "But she won't listen to me so I'm talking to you instead."

"You must be **** if you want to speak to me." Malik commented.

"Don't flatter yourself. This isn't about you." Alia rolled her eyes.

"No, it's about Kat," Malik told her as the waitress returned with Alia's coffee, setting it on the table before leaving.

"She's my daughter," Alia said as she took a sip of the coffee.

"Yeah," Malik nodded. "She’s your daughter. But you don’t get to pick which parts of her you love. You don’t get to cut out the bits that don’t fit your ideal vision of a child."

"I’m not trying to cut anything out," Alia told him. "I just want her to come home. To be safe."

"She is. With me and my friends. People who accept her despite who she is and who she chooses to love." Malik coldly responded.

"People who accept her?" Alia said in disbelief. "You mean people who encourage her to…" Alia stopped herself before she said something that she knew might anger Malik. "She's twenty-one. She doesn’t know what she wants. Not really."

"Kat's not some stray kitten you can lure home, you do know that?" Malik told her.

"She's throwing away her life," Alia muttered.

"Throwing away?" Malik snorted. "She got herself a job at Trident Group. She's got me, friends who'd protect her and yeah, one day she'll find someone who loves her, whether that's a girl or a guy. And you know what? That person won't give a damn about your approval." Malik bluntly told her. "But maybe you should. Just accept your daughter for who she is and maybe you can still have a relationship with her or don't and be stuck exactly where you are now. Trying to convince a step-son you despise to convince your daughter to talk to you,"

Upon those words, Alia stepped out of the booth, coldly looked at Malik like she wanted to say something but rather than do so, she grabbed her purse, paid for her drink and turned and walked out of the cafe just as quickly as she arrived, the door slamming shut behind her.

---

Stepping out of the tube station, Dexter made his way across to the botanical gardens, making sure not to drop the coffees as he quickly made his way across to the pavilion where the wedding was supposed to take place. Arriving there Dexter immediately spotted Chantelle who was surprised to see him and made her way over to her boyfriend, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"What are you doing here? ?" Chantelle asked Dexter.

"Figured since you're working, you'd need some energy," Dexter replied, holding up the coffees.

"Thanks." Chantelle smiled as she took a cup.

"And I got one for Jake, not sure what he likes so I hope he likes a latte." Dexter grinned.

"Jake, Dexter got you a coffee." Chantelle called out to her partner.

"This is the Dexter," Jake said, extending a hand. "The famous boyfriend. Thanks for the coffee."

"I don't know about famous," Dexter replied, shaking Jake's hand.

"Trust me," Jake laughed. "I've heard enough stories."

"Only the good ones, hopefully." Dexter responded softly, feeling even more guilty about the kiss between himself and Audrey which led to him deciding that he couldn't keep lying to her. "Chantelle, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure." Chantelle nodded.

"I'll go check the reception area." Jake told the pair.

"Thanks, Jake." Chantelle said as he stepped away. "Okay. What's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something." Dexter swallowed.

"Dexter..." Chantelle said worriedly.

"Remember when I took Audrey out to my Mom’s club?" Dexter responded.

"Right." Chantelle nodded.

"And afterwards..." Dexter paused. "Afterwards I kissed her."

"You what?" Chantelle said in surprise as she took a step back from her boyfriend.

"I kissed Audrey." Dexter repeated.

"Dexter..." Chantelle said in disbelief.

"It was stupid." Dexter tried to explain.

"You kissed Audrey?" Chantelle said, her voice cracking at the words before turning to anger. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't." Dexter admitted.

"Oh, that's a fantastic defence." Chantelle rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious." Dexter tried to tell her.

"We've been together for three years." Chantelle shook her head in disbelief.

"I know." Dexter responded.

"And you kissed another woman." Chantelle said, her tone getting louder.

"It wasn't like that." Dexter tried to explain.

"Really?" Chantelle laughed. "Because from where I'm standing it sounds exactly like that."

"It was a mistake." Dexter cut in.

"A mistake is forgetting milk," Chantelle said angrily. "A mistake is missing the tub. Dexter. Kissing another woman isn't a mistake!"

Chantelle said before realising Jake and a few other staff members at the gardens were now looking over at them and with a slow breath, Chantelle shook her head and said. "Dexter, just go."

"What?" Dexter said, trying to step closer but Chantelle took another step back.

"Go." Chantelle repeated.

"Chantelle, please let me explain." Dexter tried once more.

"No." Chantelle shook her head.

"I got caught up in the moment and Audrey pushed me away. She stopped it." Dexter continued. "And then she told me she's..."

"It doesn't change the fact that you still kissed her," Chantelle sighed. "Go, I have a job to do..."

"Please." Dexter begged.

"Go home, Dexter." Chantelle said, brokenheartedly. "Just go."

"Okay." Dexter reluctantly agreed and without another word, Dexter turned and walked away.

"Everything alright?" Jake asked as he approached her.

"No," Chantelle said, wiping the tears forming in her eyes.

"But the wedding isn't going to photograph itself. Let's go to work…"