Lost Love

17: Round Two

Lia's POV:

"Round two, b*tches!" I shout as I walk into our dressing room. The entire makeup and stylist team burst into fits of laughter.

"Yeah, let's not mess it up this time," Mum said as she walked in after me. "Please," one of the stylists commented.

An hour into our preparation, James comes waltzing into the room with a smile on his face. "Hey, Uncle James," I said with a cheeky smile, knowing that the precious smile on his face was going to drop, and it sure did. "Watch yourself; I might make this interview another flop." He tried his best to sound serious but inevitably failed. "Love you too, Uncle James." I stood up, giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek. After all, he is like family.

"Seriously though, I promise you I will try my best to make you feel as comfortable as possible throughout this entire interview. I won't let this one flop, Li." He whispers into my ear as he rubs my back while I'm still in his embrace. This made me feel so safe and secure because I was nervous about the interview being another failure, but James just reassured me that he's got my back.

I pulled out of his embrace and made eye contact with him, "Thank you, I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Kiddo." He said with a smile.

"Plus, Mum is also going to be there, so I mean I think I am going to be quite comfortable. Just make sure I don't get too comfortable and embarrass myself." I giggled, already nervous about what I'm going to say throughout the interview.

"Don't worry, Bubs, you won't." Mum embraced me from behind, pecking the side of my face. Usually, we are very humorous people and we tend to joke a lot, but there was a lot of sentimentality in the room, and it was almost suffocating me.

"Okay, lighten up people." I said obnoxiously loud, trying to evaporate the emotional mood out of the room, and it worked. Everyone burst out into fits of laughter.

Showtime...

I completely blocked out James' intro, trying to wrap my head around this entire interview. As I waited backstage, looking over the questions that he was going to be asking, I suddenly heard his voice echo through the room. "Please give a warm welcome to... Lia!"

"Sh*t, that's my cue." I said, which caused one of the crew members to chuckle. I threw the cue cards aside and plastered a huge smile onto my face. I walked to James with confidence, trying to hold my sh*t together.

"Welcome back, Lia. You look absolutely stunning." James complimented me, and I must say, I did feel confident in the dress that Mum's stylist put me in. It was a red satin dress that complimented my curves and skin tone.

"Thank you James, and thank you for having me again." I smiled shyly, referring back to the first interview. The audience laughed as I said that, and at the moment, my eyes widened when I realised how completely packed the studio was. I don't think there was a single space open in the audience's seats, not even for standing.

James noticed my shock at the number of audiences, and he quietly whispered to me, "Guess who's the famous one now?" Which caused me to smile and relax.

Once we sat down, James started asking basic questions and stating how successful my album has become, completely avoiding the 'why I ran off stage' question from the last interview, which I was very grateful for. About 20 minutes into the interview, he announced that we will be playing a game with a surprise guest. The audience gasped when they heard about the guest that will be joining us, whispers echoing throughout the studio and audience. James and I exchanged glances at one another, both of us having a cheeky smile on our faces.

"We will be playing the game after a short break!" James announced just before the cameras cut.

"3...2...1... Cut!" The cameraman shouted as the stage crew started setting up the game and pushing horrific dishes past James and I as we walked backstage.