Chapter 6: The Past
What she did was worse than what happened to me. Mine was an accident, unintentional, and something that has been happening on runways since then. Hers was intentional, hurtful, and disgusting.
I used the stan account that I created to stalk my fans secretly to upload the scandalous video. My account has a few followers, so I think it will take time for the video to go viral.
"Nathalia?" I heard Lady Merryl.
I stood up from my seat and walked to the dresser to keep my phone in the purse. I drew a deep breate before walking to the door. Binuksan ko 'yon. Nakatayo sina Lady Merryl at Hando, pero si Lady Merryl lang ang pinapasok ko.
"What about me?" Hando asked just before I shut the door on his face. "Fine!" I heard him. "You will still close the show, Nathalia!"
Of course he would push me to continue the show whatever happened. Malaking pera ang binayad sa akin at malaking kawalan 'yon sa aming dalawa. Not like it matters to me. I do this for fun.
"What happened?" Lady Merryl asked.
Unlike my manager, Lady Merryl seemed to be more genuine concerned about me. Medyo nailang ako dahil hindi na ako sanay na may pinagsasabihan ng problema.
"I slipped..." I smiled, embarrassed.
"But you stood up to finish your walk fiercely." She held my hands and squeezed them in between her warm palms. "Everyone stood up when you left the stage. You did so well!"
My lips parted. What? Did that really happen? I was too humiliated to look back. Para ngang naglaho lahat ng nasa paligid ko dahil ang gusto ko lang kanina ay mawala sa paningin nila.
"R-really? Hindi ba nila ako pinagtatawanan?" paninigurado ko pa. "I mean... that was hilarious for them."
She sighed. Marahan na hinila niya ako sa sofa saka hinarap sa kanya. Hinawi niya ang ilang hibla ng buhok ko habang nakangiti sa akin.
Lady Merryl is obviously a vampire just like me. She wasn't really naturally born a woman, but she identifies herself as one now. Her taste in fashion is immaculate. I'm even proud to say she's one of my inspirations.
"Have you seen the feedback from viewers? They are all applauding you!"
I didn't want to believe it at first until she showed me the trending topics and all the opinions of viewers. That totally shocked me. I thought they were all waiting for that moment. A moment when they could finally mock and laugh at my face.
"See? They are rooting for you!"
Out of all the feedback on social media, only one post caught my attention. It was from Kathlysse Merlington. It gathered hundreds of thousand of reactions and comments.
"Nath killed it as usual. What an icon," she said.
I bit my bottom lip in confusion. Is it still part of her show? Is it still her pretending to be supporting me just to be good in the eyes of the people?
"She's really a lovely woman," bulong ni Lady Merryl.
Somene knocked on the door. It was my manager telling me to dress again for the final walk. Habang binibihisan ako ni Lady Merryl ay hindi maalis sa isipan ko ang sinabi ni Kath.
She's been nothing but supportive of me since then. Kahit na madalas siyang maikumpara sa akin at laging natatakpan ng anino ko ay wala akong narinig na reklamo sa kanya. No one treated me like that. No one has been consistently genuinely kind to me. No one.
Si Kathlysse ang sumalubong sa akin pagkalabas ko ng dressing room. Nakabihis na ito dahil tapos na ang pagrampa niya.
I stared at her. She was smiling while approaching me. I tried to find a mistake in her approach, but all I could see was myself on that part.
