Chapter 16: Out of your reach now

Chapter 16: Out of your reach now Lola once aspired to be an actress, where she could express and hide herself in plain sight. In her first life, she pursued this career with burning passion. However, with Melissa in the way and both the Youngs and Derek supporting her, all Lola got were minor roles. To make matters worse, Lola’s manager—Melissa’s same manager—wanted Lola to agree to dirty deals for bigger opportunities. It took her an entire lifetime to realize that sometimes, pursuing something was futile when someone was making sure she would fail. So, in this second life, Lola pursued something else—business and a few other things like writing and drawing comics. Although the latter was purely an accident, since she only did art commissions during her pregnancy to make ends meet. When she lost the pregnancy, she turned to art as a means to cope. But by some twist of fate, the comic she first did—a short story—became a hit. Hence, the birth of Taz, the creator. Now, one of her works would be adapted into a drama and directed by the only person in the entertainment industry whom she truly looked up to. "Mommy, what is that?" Second moved close to her side, looking at the laptop in front of Lola. Lola smiled at him, tilting the laptop to show him the first wave of auditions for the role. "I’m checking the audition for one of my works. What do you think of him?" "Wow..." Chacha moved beside Second, watching a male actor read the script. "He’s terrible. A robot has more emotion than he." Silo, who was enjoying his tea, almost choked. "Mommy, you should hire our uncle if you want a good actor," Second suggested innocently, eyes up at Lola. "He’s really a good actor." Chacha nodded. "Our uncle is the best... or so he said." "Haha... is your uncle that good?" she hummed, raising her brows briefly. The twins nodded profusely, and then Second spread his little arm while saying, "Although our uncle is big like this!" "He’s the biggest star there is!" Chacha mused, spreading her arms wide. "Like this big! Super big guy!" Silo and Lola stared at the twins, watching how the twins were making round shapes with their arms while describing their uncle. "You mean he’s that fat?" Silo murmured. Lola, on the other hand, smiled. "Is your uncle really that good?" she humored them, and they nodded. "Then, I’ll tell him to audition, okay?" "There’s no need for that, mommy!" Second cheered. "I’ll tell uncle for you!" "Our uncle is very busy, but he’s never busy for us!" Chacha added energetically. "I’ll tell him that our mommy will hire him! He will help you!" "And he’ll make mommy rich! So mommy will stay with us forever!" "Mommy will not have to worry about Uncle Silo being silly!" Lola chuckled at the twins’ energy, which was sending her a tickling sensation, that she could ignore the fact that they were low-key throwing jabs at Silo. The man, however, deadpanned. "Oy, oy," he grumbled. "Didn’t you say you believed in me? How come I’m getting all the bad comments?" "Okay~" Lola hummed and ruffled their hair. "Let me know when your uncle answers. I’ll look for a role for him. It’s a good thing I’m good friends with the director." Although Director Sarian would probably think twice about it, he was a good man. So, Lola knew she could find a role for the twins’ uncle—a good role—that could give him a chance for a break. The entertainment industry, after all, was brutal, especially for starting actors. Maybe, I should manage him if he’s that good too. Meanwhile, Silo shook his head as he just stared at Lola. "I can already see what she’s like as a mother," he murmured, a bit disappointed at how Lola just spoils the twins. "Their uncle is very lucky." Because this project was big enough that many actors—even veteran ones—were auditioning for it. Not just for its storyline, but because the original story was a hit with a massive following. So, it was a perfect project for starting actors to get exposure or veteran actors to make a comeback. "Huh?" Suddenly, Chacha blinked, staring at the laptop screen where Melissa’s video clip was playing. Even Second moved his face closer, scrunching up his nose. "Mommy, don’t hire her." Second tugged Lola’s arm, pointing at the screen. "She’s ugly." "She hurts my eyes, mommy," Chacha muttered as she placed her little finger in her ear. "And her voice is too much for my ears." "Terrible acting!" Second also covered his ears now. "If someone sees her on the big screen, our little cousins will start crying. Mommy, not her, please?" Lola: "..." Silo: "Pffft—" Silo stifled his laughter, covering his mouth as Lola cast him a side-eye. "Sorry—ahem!" he cleared his throat. "It’s just refreshing to hear some other people say the things in my head out loud." Oh, how nice to be a kid—they could just be brutally blunt. But Silo knew he couldn’t be a child anymore, so he was waiting to become an old man so he could just cuss people out without fear. "Baby, I don’t think that’s nice," Lola hummed, biting her tongue from verbally agreeing with them. She glanced at Melissa reading the script, saying a few lines for one of the lead’s dialogues, her face twisting. "Sometimes, what’s important is trying," she said with a forced smile at the twins. "And... she’s trying." But the twins just frowned and looked at the video like they were becoming allergic to Melissa’s face with every passing second. "Poor her," Chacha sighed, and Second nodded while saying, "If that’s her trying, I also pity her." "A career change is a better fit... I hope she doesn’t meet our uncle." Lola gulped and just skipped the audition clip. These were just the recordings of the audition, and there would be another one tomorrow for a live audition. But considering Lola had lived for two lifetimes, she was well aware that this was Melissa doing her best—not just trying. ***** Meanwhile, at the same time in a mall, a small group of ladies sat around a table with Melissa among them. "Lisa, should we throw a party tomorrow night?" One of the ladies mused. "After all, you’d be getting the role for The Angel’s Revenge. It’s worth celebrating!" "She’s right! I also heard that because of you, the Summit Partners finally answered the Lancasters," another one quipped. Another one pouted. "Gosh, I’m so jealous. Did you save the world in your previous life? How could you take every good thing in this world? A fiancé with a good family background—and he’s not just a member of the Lancaster, but someone from the main branch of the family. Then, a rising star in the entertainment industry." "No wonder Derek Lancaster is swooning," the first one added. Melissa blushed as she tucked a portion of her hair behind her ear. "You guys are making me shy. I am not marrying Derek because he’s from Lancaster. Besides, I haven’t gotten the role yet. So, it’s too early to celebrate." "Duh?" one of the ladies rolled her eyes. "We heard the Lancasters, the Youngs, and even the Summit Partners are going to sponsor this movie because of you. Even Director Sarian will not be able to turn a blind eye to these sponsorships." Melissa frowned a bit. "Even so, I want to get the role not because of my background. I already told everyone that I want to do this on my own." "Lisa, what’s the point of being backed by everyone when you don’t want to use this privilege?" one of the ladies sighed. "Surely, you are different from that sister of yours." "Don’t worry, Lisa, even without all these supports, we know you can do it!" the ladies cheered. "So, should we throw a party?" Melissa pursed her lips as she studied the excitement on the ladies’ faces. After a second, a defeated smile turned up on her face. "Fine." It wasn’t like Melissa didn’t know about the sponsorships. In fact, she was the first to hear it because somehow, the Summit Partners were giving her so much attention. And in this world, word spread quickly, especially if it was the Summit Partners. As the ladies moved on to another topic, Melissa stirred her cup of tea. The corners of her lips curled up as a thought crossed her mind. Not only am I marrying into the Lancasters, but the Summit Partners are favoring me. Lola, I’m getting out of your reach... who’s pitiful between us now?