August Reveries (FreenBecky)

Chapter 5: The Day of My Downfall

- ABBY -

Present Day [Bangkok, Thailand]

"After our morning briefing, we're heading straight to the location for the Elle Mag shoot with Fon," P'Pear ran down my schedule for the day, but my sleepy head could only listen passively as my makeup artist worked his magic to conceal my tiredness and eye bags.

I didn't sleep a wink last night, again.

I've been sleep-deprived since Frans paid me a surprise visit. I'm already running low on sleep due to my work schedule, and thoughts of my ex rob me of the little time I have left, keeping me wide awake at night. Even after all these years of attempting to block her out, the older woman always manages to infiltrate my thoughts.

"...then, around twelve, we'll go to the agency to meet Director J. I requested that the assistants pack your lunch in case we become stuck in traffic. You can eat your lunch in the car on the way."

P'Pear's voice faintly echoes in the background as my thoughts consume me. "If everything goes smoothly in the meeting, you'll be free by 7 PM."

My manager closed her notebook as I stared blankly into the vanity mirror, nodding.

Aside from Frans, P'Fon is another woman who's giving me a headache today.

I'm dreading seeing my girlfriend because we had another fight and haven't spoken in over a week, which is the longest we've gone without talking. We usually sort things out before the end of the day, but here we were, communicating only through our managers.

I scoffed bitterly, recalling how the older actress got all worked up when I didn't respond to her right away the night of my birthday event—the event she promised but then abruptly canceled due to a spontaneous dinner with a director who offered her a cameo role.

It wasn't in her original schedule. Fon could've easily declined or, at least, rescheduled it some other time.

But what's strange about this fight is that the woman managed to shift the blame onto me, which is how we ended up not speaking. I'm not sure how we'll work later on the shoot, but I'm not going to apologize first. I'm sulking, and I tend to be stubborn when so.

Fon is actually a good partner. On and off camera, she is an exceptionally kind person, warm and charming. Except for, well, lately.

Her mood swings have been all over the place, giving me extremely hot and extremely cold treatment. No in-betweens.

We had yet to sit down and clear the air between us, which was odd because, again, we always resolve misunderstandings as soon as it happens.

That was our promise to each other shortly after that incident earlier in our careers.

We were in the middle of shooting our first series when the misunderstanding took place. P'Fon was giving me cold shoulders, and I, who was too prideful to apologize, was giving her the same. It definitely disrupted the vibe during tapings, making the entire production crew uncomfortable along the way.

Given the nature of our work, we promised to talk everything out and never show it in front of cameras, no matter how minor the disagreement was. Not to the production crew and our cast members, and most especially not to our fans.

It took me a while to adjust because, of the two of us, I am the most stubborn. But after being with Fon for five years, I learned to accept her personality (which was quite contrasting to mine) and adjust accordingly. Fortunately, it wasn't a one-sided effort; the older actress did the same for me.

That's how we made it work—until lately.

And I think I know when it all started.

I don't want to make any assumptions, but I believe it all began when I mentioned receiving a call from Netflix Originals producers last month.