Chapter 7
Tessa
Present Day
WhentheEscalade'spassengerdoor opened, I was blinded by thousands of flashing lights—a feeding frenzy of cameras, starving piranhas fighting for their chance to slaughter.
A gentle hand cut through the bright white haze, and I slipped my palm into it, letting whoever the individual was guide me out of the SUV and onto the red carpet of my fifth Academy Award ceremony.
Over the last five years, I’ve taken home all the awards for which I’d been nominated—three for Best Supporting Actress and the most recent two for Best Actress.
The routine was always the same for these events—wearing the mask just as one would wear an elaborate and expensive dress.
You step out from the safety of the dark and into the light, where your flaws are put on full display for the world to see, inside and out. Fake the smile, the glamour, the charisma. And wheneverything’s said and done, you crawl back into the sanctuary of your backseat.
As my eyes adjusted, I found Alex—Theodore’s replacement holding my hand with a kind smile. Seeing him in this moment brings me back to the previous year, the last time I saw Theodore before he retired, just as he’d said he would.
The man I’d once looked up to like a father came and left in what felt like the blink of an eye, and now with him gone, this past year had become the absolute bane of my god damn existence—not a dig at Alex by any means.
But when Theodore left, I lost a piece of myself that I never thought I had to lose. He kept me safe from the darker temptations of celebrity life, and now I found myself drifting toward them like a moth to a flame—alcohol and drugs, amongotherthings. Anything to send me into a mental escape, however temporary or short-lived it may have been.
I wore my iron mask of confidence and control as my handler dragged my ass through a sea of ‘look here, look here’s, nearly tripping several times over my deep green, Valentino mermaid gown. It had been selected explicitly for me to bring out my eyes and,apparently, my tits, with how high up the corset bodice held them in place. I was always one wrong move away from a colossal wardrobe malfunction. But then again, aren’t we all?
Annabelle, my stylist, tousled my hair with loose beach waves that caressed my upper body, settling into my collarbone and draping over my shoulders. She applied a dark and heavy smokyeyeshadow—sultry, she called it—tying it all together with a bold and dramatic red-painted lip.
The older I got, the harder it was to keep up with the demands of being a celebrity. The expectations I faced shifted drastically from my teens to my twenties, and now I find myself resenting every moment of my life, wishing I had been born into a different world.
Just like high demands, there would always be competition—it’s inevitable in this industry. And for me, this year the stakes were higher than ever, with a new actress stepping into the fray, attempting to take what’s mine—the fear of failure looming over me like a dark shadow.
Theodore had always insisted that I make friends with my colleagues instead of enemies. But it’s a little hard to do something like that when, to others, your sugar tastes more like salt.
As I glided my way toward the end of the photo and interview line—a moment to breathe within arms’ reach—I was roughly pulled back and shoved up against a body similar in size to my own, which could only mean one thing…Fuck.
“Tessa! So good to see you, babe!” I cringed at the light and airy voice that belonged to Marissa Stone—the woman whom I despised the most out of all those in attendance tonight. “Come take a few extra photos with me before the ceremony begins—friendly rivals and all.”
Friendly rivals my left tit…
Marissa may come off sweet and innocent, everyone does, but underneath all that tulle and over-applied blush, she was nothing morethan a backstabbing cunt—and I can’t stand the fucking sight of her.
“Rissa! Look at you, I see your stylist put in her extra hours this week.” I lilted with sweet sarcasm and a smile that dripped succulent venom.Go to hell, in other words.
“Only as many as your nutritionist—I’m so glad you were able to squeeze into that Valentino. How devastating would it have been to lose that gorgeous gown to me?” Marissa bit back with bubbly laughter.
“Ladies, ladies, please. No need to bring the claws out just yet; they haven’t even started pouring thegoodchampagne.” Tobias teased, stepping in between us while wrapping an arm around each of our waists and pulling us in closely as if we were none other than his entourage. “Besides, someone's gotta get up on that stage and accept the award for Best Actress, and neither of you can do that if you're in complete disarray.”Fuck disarray, I’ll massacre the bitch.
Tobias Stratford, ladies and gentlemen…My co-star in the latest Step Up movie, and Marissa’s current boyfriend—or playboy if I’m being honest. The man had no fucking control over his dick or where he stuck it, and either she knew or didn’t care.
I rolled my eyes, excusing myself from the love triangle Tobias was trying his hardest to insinuate to the cameras. I’ve had my fun with him on more than one occasion, but he wasn’t worth having to deal with the succubus to his right, who believed she could own him over me.
As I strutted across the lobby floor, I passed one of the waiters and helped myself to two glasses of champagne from their tray.I downed the first within seconds and returned the glass before entering the main theater with the other. Refocusing the rest of my energy on getting to my seat before my anxiety set in and I took off faster than a runaway bride on her wedding day.
Ofcourse,Iwouldbe seated next to the Queen Bitch herself.
Whoever planned out this seating chart was a fucking idiot, or took myoh-so-sunnydisposition toward her seriously. I didn’t speak or glance in her direction throughout the entire ceremony.
Tobias was seated comfortably on her left side—the two of them holding hands as if they were madly in love with one another.That performance alone deserved an Oscar, and I required something more substantial than champagne if I’m going to get through this evening with my sanity intact…
“—and now, for our final and most anticipated category of the evening, Best Actress.”
