Lora Anne's pov.
The shooting for Vicious officially started. The settings was going to be in different locations so we were going to be traveling alot to shoot scenes, but the main location was in Z city which is where the main characters originally live. The issue of me getting the role of Veronica was still being discussed and there were alot of controversies online. Most people accused me of clout chasing and I wouldn't say they were wrong. I have always considered it unfair when others not so talented got big roles due to connections and often asked myself if they were able to live with themselves for getting something they didn't deserve. Now I'm in the same position as them, enjoying the benefits of Anthony's connection, I can't help but justify my actions. Fine, I've worked hard all these years but if it wasn't for his involvement, would I have gotten the role in the first place? should I feel guilty about this? I can't stop asking myself these questions, but I'm not going to deny the fact that I don't enjoy all the benefits that sometimes I tell myself I deserve all of these. I do deserve it all. Anyone in my place would try to get as much benefits as possible right? I just don't want to be too greedy that's all.
Martin couldn't come to Z city with me as he had alot of work to do concerning all the new endorsement deals I've been having. He's been pretty busy lately. The company arranged a personal assistant for me and she accompanied me. Gwen was such a sweet girl but clumsy as well. She was new and inexperienced but very hard working that I might say she probably works too hard and does things that aren't really needed. She probably doesn't want to get on my bad side. I don't think I have the bad boss kinda look but she always seems scared or frightened. I try my best to create a friendly atmosphere cause I feel we can only work better if she's comfortable with me.
The first week of shooting was really frustrating. It turned out the Samantha girl who originally was promised the role of Veronica before Anthony snatched it for me was given another role in the movie. She obviously has alot of connections and she's even friends with Lilian the girl who plays Patricia who is infact the main character in Vicious. It's almost as if they are ganging up against me together with the crew members. They would ask me to get ready to shoot my scene but keep me waiting all day. Even the makeup artist would claim to be too busy and finally do my makeup last and it wouldn't be as good as the others. I'll have to touch it up myself because I don't want to come out on screen having cheap makeup on when I know I'll have alot of screentime. I was supposed to be playing the villian who antagonises everyone in the drama but why am I the oppressed one behind the scenes. Anthony calls once in a while to ask how I was holding up. I can't possibly start complaining to him so I just say everything is fine, but I do gossip to Emily about everything though.
Richmond had visited the set on the second week, he didn't particularly interact with me, but after he left, things actually got better, the crew were more considerate and paid attention to me. It was almost as if they were sucking up to me. Samantha was particularly not pleased with this. She had limited screen time, but she was almost always around the set, claiming she was here to support Lilian. Lilian was not really a bad person but she was more like a loyal friend who hates whoever her friend hates, so she joined hands with her bestie to make things difficult for me. Lilian was a good actress who had won major awards, so I'd say she was deserving of the role she was playing but her personality in real life was trash and she was really getting on my nerves recently but I can't just punch a famous actress in the face or my name will be all over the internet soon as a proud rising actress who doesn't have respect for her seniors in the profession.
It was the third week of shooting and we had to travel to C city for shooting. The company arranged everything including the hotel we'd stay in. It was a big production with alot of sponsors so they took care of us adequately. I have also been updating my fans on social media by posting stories everyday so I'll have more engagement. I still had some haters though. Why follow me on social media if all you do if hate on my post. If I hated something, I wouldn't want to know anything about that particular thing so I'll just avoid it, but this bunch of jobless antifans are always the first to engage in my post and talk trash about it. If I've learnt one thing, that is to ignore hate comments. I just ignore them and only reply to the positive ones. If I don't give importance to them, then they are not important. Besides, I gonna get more hate when my fake relationship is officially confirmed.
We were going to be in C city for six days. We were allowed to explore the city on the first day and start shooting the second day. I've never been to C city before but there were places I really wanted to visit here. I've heard alot about this city and always wanted to come. It wasn't as crowded and bustling like X city, but it was still a famous location with alot of attractions. One of the city's biggest attractions was it's city museum. It was in my must-go list and it holds alot of cultural and historical treasures, so I couldn't help but coming here first. I asked Gwen if she wanted to come with me but she said she didn't like cultural places much. Since I had just a day to explore, I headed out in the late morning because I didn't really know the location so in case I got lost I'd have enough time to find my way, explore and get back to my hotel on time. It was actually not difficult to locate. I arrived and got my ticket and went inside. Not many people were here and I kind of liked it that way. I took pictures and made videos and sent them to Emily. I wondered around the place and maybe probably got lost. Can you blame me, this place was huge. I actually had a map in my hand but I couldn't understand it, don't blame me, I suck at geography. I tried to find my way until I saw a guard who showed me the way out. After this, I decided to go to a nearby cafe to get something to eat as I was starving, I asked a lady along the way and she said I'd have to walk farther down the street before I would get to any cafe or restaurant. I thanked her and kept walking. This was a perfect way to burn some fat, just keep walking, I said to myself to motivate me and distract myself from the grumbling of my stomach. I noticed someone following me. I was probably mistaking but soon I was sure I was being followed. I looked back but found no one but when I turned forward and continued walking, I'll hear the footsteps behind me. This continued for a while before I started walking super fast and the footsteps increased as my pace increased. I was super scared so I started running before I bumped into someone hard. I fell down and shut my eyes, I was super scared. The culprit probably outran me and appeared in front of me.
"Please don't hurt me" I said in panic with my eyes closed.
"Are you ok miss" the voice of the person in front of me said.
"Please don't hurt me" I repeated frightened and unsure of what was going to happen next.
"Are you in danger miss, I can help you" the voice said calmly as he patted my head gently in a comforting manner. Maybe this wasn't the freak following me but a regular person who happened to pass by. My heartbeat normalized as I took a deep breath.
"If you need help I can help you" the voice said again. Speaking of which, am I the only who feels like this voice is familiar. I looked up immediately when I realized who had this voice.
"Scott?"