Chapter 29: Fallen Star

“I heard her contract has been terminated.” A light whisper drifted with the wind landing in Celine’s hearing but she didn’t stop walking.

She felt like a specimen under the scrutiny of a thousand eyes. Immediately she came out of Peter’s office it felt like every artiste in the company had come to take a look. It felt like they wanted to get a glimpse of what a fallen star looked like.

A fallen star… Celine thought bitterly, her heart constricting in her chest.

A fallen star still walked with grace in her steps, with dignity, a fallen star kept her head up and her shoulders back even if she no longer had anything to be proud of, a fallen star kept her tears in and kept her eyes straight, a light elegant smile, a quietly demure gaze…at least that was how Celine appeared.

If this was her final image in the eyes of the public, she wouldn’t be seen broken and defeated, she would be seen just as graceful as she had been when she had the crown on her head.

“She disgusts me, women like her ruin the image of other women in the eyes of men. Ian Rode is such a perfect man, no woman in this country can deny that they haven’t dreamt of being his wife. She had the chance and actually blew it. Serves her right that no one wants to work with her now.”

“Have you seen Ian? He’s completely broken because of her. He has lost a lot of weight and doesn’t bother to take care of himself. He must be so heartbroken, my heart goes out to him everytime and I wish I could heal his broken heart, if only he could give someone like me a chance.”

“What is so special about her? She’s just a vixen with a pretty face, why should she be the only one to get the chance to rule the heart of a remarkable man like Ian?”

“I’ve always hated her, whenever she shows up she steals every spotlight. Let’s see her dare to show her face in public again after this.”

Celine heard every whisper, every degrading word sent her way, it all gathered ringing and echoing in her brain but she didn’t show on her face that it affected her.

’You’re done, Celine.’

’You will never amount to anything in life.’

’You thought you could make a difference, you thought you could be someone, someone more than a sad girl desperate to be loved, you thought the whole world would love you. You failed!’

Despite these thoughts she kept her head up, but a slight pressure tightening around her chest like an overly tight band that wouldn’t loosen made her breathing turn heavy, she felt like she was shattering from the inside out but she was surrounded by too many people so she didn’t stop walking, didn’t stop moving forward until she finally exited the building of Lightstar.

She stood outside like a tiny speck in front of the gigantic building of Lightstar Entertainment where she thought her dreams had all come true.

’That little girl in your heart, wishing to be on the big screen when she grows older…you have failed her Celine.’

The voice in her head echoed all the negative words and views of the people that had surrounded her. She couldn’t turn off this voice of criticism because it seemed like her current reality, so it became louder and louder blaming her for ruining it all.

The band that seemed to tighten around her chest grew tighter and suddenly, the whole world began to warp at the edges, the familiar contours of the Lightstar Entertainment building softening and tilting as if she were viewing it through flawed glass.

Her heartbeat was no longer a steady rhythm, it had become a frantic beating like a trapped bird beating against her ribs.

Each gasp of air she took in seemed useless, scraping down her throat only to leave her lungs burning for more. Her fingers tingled with cold numbness and a cold sweat bloomed on her skin.

Celine recognized the uncontrollable signs of a panic attack rushing into her like a roaring furnace. Fear became a cold entity lurking beneath he skin capturing her whole being until she couldn’t breathe at all.

Celine began to take backward steps, she needed to be in safety and not break down openly where the whole world could see and laugh at her plight even more.

All the female stars making fun of her were still inside the Lightstar Entertainment building, a place she couldn’t be welcomed at again. If Celine fell now, it would definitely attract a ruckus that would cause all eyes to return to her again. She had learned to blur out people’s criticism in the past, being an actress there were definitely a few people who didn’t like her or her acting, but right now the voices of the people talking about her merged with the relentless voice in her head that seemed determined to tear her down.

Every movement and every step she took felt like her legs had been heavily weighed down by lead, she grabbed a hold of her chest when the tightness became too overwhelming and the next second her whole body began to cave, the feeling of lightness as if her body could no longer carry it’s weight anymore and her mind couldn’t regulate itself anymore…and then she was falling, falling breathlessly and light.

She had thought she would hit the floor, thought she would fall into an embarrassing heap outside the company where her dreams had started and ended, but the anticipation of a fall was dissipated when something halted the fall…no, perhaps someone, but by the time that person caught her, she had slowly began to drift off into unconsciousness.

Perhaps it was the haze of a panic attack that made her faint, but just before she fell unconscious she could have sworn she perceived a strong familiar scent of wood, and Islay whisky, of danger and heat.

The smell of him…that man, Tristan Grayson.

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