Chapter 111: L-Lucian.
"Then my gift became their plan."
Evelyn’s smile faded away.
"Auditions, lessons, practice, diets, posture, smiles, interviews, clothes, hair, walking, sitting, speaking, not speaking.
There were rules for every single one of those things."
Lucian paused at those words, Evelyn on the other hand, looked at the old photograph again and—
"At eight, I wanted to play with other children in the neighbourhood. There was a girl across the street who used to ride a bicycle in circles around her front yard. I remember standing at the window and watching her, I wanted to join her, I wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle from her.
But my mother said no. She talked about how I had rehearsal, then vocal rest, then a meeting with someone from an agency.
They controlled every single one of my movements, from the very beginning.
To them, I was like a doll they wanted to perfect and that... was slowly becoming unbearable."
"So that’s why you..."
Lucian realised it.
From what he knew, there was quite a lot of backlash regarding it, even he didn’t understand it at the time.
Evelyn, knowing what he was talking about, nodded.
"Yes, the two of them did not hit me, or starve me or lock me in the room. They raised me well, they gave me everything that was necessary but..."
"They didn’t raise you, they put you in a cage."
Lucian commented and Evelyn lowered her head.
"They did not love me, they loved what I could become, they loved the applause, the interviews, the fame. They loved saying they had sacrificed everything for me."
"Did they?"
Lucian looked at her and asked and Evelyn—
"They sacrificed my childhood and called it theirs."
She laughed dryly.
"They told me friends would distract me, normal school would waste my time, parties were dangerous, playing outside would ruin my skin before shoots, eating what I wanted would make me fat.
I wasn’t even allowed to cry loudly because that apparently, would make my voice rougher.
I was... helpless and lonely."
Evelyn lowered her head.
Lucian looked at her and he... couldn’t help but notice the irony of it.
To think a girl who was surrounded by thousands felt lonely...
Evelyn remained silent for a while, Lucian didn’t say anything either, he waited for her to let it all out.
And she did.
"And you know the strangest thing?
When I finally became famous enough to leave them.
I was the one who faced backlash.
They called me ungrateful because I abandoned my parents who supported me my entire life."
Evelyn laughed at those words.
"Seven years.
I was seven years old when I first earned money after winning a singing competition, since then, every single penny they spent on me and themselves was what I earned through advertisements, competitions and sponsorships."
Lucian only looked at her.
He could see her bitterness.
It wasn’t about the money, nor about who had earned it. It was about what that money represented. Every dollar Evelyn made was earned while living her life as a carefully crafted doll, shaped and displayed for others since childhood.
While most people worked eight or ten hours a day to earn a living, Evelyn was trapped in that life since she was seven years old. There were no days off, no escape, and no choice.
And somehow, she was expected to be grateful for it.
Of course she would be bitter.
"You did well to stand up for yourself. What people thought of it shouldn’t matter, at least not to you, they didn’t live your life.
They do not know what you have given up to become what you are."
Lucian spoke up and when he did, he couldn’t help but connect the same words to himself.
What he had given up to become what he was today...
The price he paid was too big.
As he said those words, Evelyn looked at him with a smile. There was relief on her face, as if she needed someone to listen to her story.
And clearly, this wasn’t something she shared very often.
Not when every single person around her was only near her for the ’idea’ of her.
If she told this story to just anyone, it would be on the TV the next day and be wrapped into something insensitive just so people would have something to talk about.
That was the last thing she wanted, so Evelyn made sure she never revealed the truth to anyone even if it did affect her reputation.
But...
As she looked at Lucian, as she looked into his violet eyes, her mouth just started... speaking on its own and she was unable to control herself.
Lucian looked at her and smiled back.
For a moment, the two didn’t say anything, Lucian didn’t know what to say, Evelyn just lowered her head, thinking about those days and how people turned towards her. How she couldn’t trust anyone. How everyone around her was only trying to use her.
And as her mind started plunging itself into this deep mess—
"Are those songs?"
Lucian spoke up, pulling her back from the swamp she was sinking in.
Evelyn blinked, she then looked at Lucian, who was standing beside the piano, pointing at her old notebooks that were kept on the shelf.
And in an instant—
"Stay away from them!"
Evelyn spoke as she quickly grabbed the books, making sure Lucian didn’t get them.
Of course, with Lucian’s reflexes, stopping her from taking the notebooks was child’s play, but he did not do it. It was her book and as curious as he was, it was something private.
And he let her have it.
Not that he let it go completely—
"Now I want to read it."
He smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
"No!"
And it happened, Evelyn stopped thinking about it and now her focus was on protecting her notebooks.
"Come on, why not?"
"They were written by a dramatic twelve-year-old."
Evelyn answered embarrassingly.
"You know that only makes me more curious, correct?"
"No! You cannot read these!"
Evelyn shook her head.
"You are very strict in your home."
"I have to defend myself somehow!"
"Against your own bodyguard?"
"Especially against him!"
"Oh?"
Lucian tilted his head, then, a playful look appeared on his face and—
He took a step towards Evelyn.
Evelyn blinked at that sudden movement and unconsciously took a step back, Lucian smiled at that and took another step forward.
"L-Lucian."
She tried to call his name, wanting him to stop.
Lucian didn’t, he just smiled and moved towards her, she tried to back away again, to protect her notebook from him, but the music room wasn’t large enough for her to keep retreating forever.
Soon, her back touched the edge of the table and she stopped.
Lucian stopped in front of her.
She placed the notebooks behind her back, Lucian placed his hands on either side of the table, taking away her escape routes and he leaned forward.
Evelyn froze.
Too close.
He was too close!
So close that she had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes, Lucian looked into her eyes, for a moment, Evelyn found herself lost in those violet eyes.
Her heartbeat became faster, her breathing became smaller, much shallower and her eyes—
Her eyes no longer stayed on Lucian’s eyes, they were on his lips.
As she saw those lips getting closer and closer, slowly, it stopped being about the notebooks, Evelyn closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, preparing herself—
However, just as her lips parted—
Just as Lucian got so close that their bodies were about to touch, that she could feel him breathing on her and most of all—
As his lips were about to touch hers—
"Miss Starling."
She wanted to kiss him.
The thought was clear enough to frighten her.
Lucian’s breath brushed hers.
Knock Knock Knock
A knock was heard.
"Miss Starling, the security tour is complete, your afternoon schedule has been moved back by thirty minutes. We need to leave."
It was Clara.
