I thought we were done with the romance confession scene drama. But no, girl. Not at all. Because the next scene… apparently, it's a fighting scene.
Yes. As in, there's a physical confrontation. A slap. Some hitting. Shouting.
And guess who's playing the role of the slapper?
Yup. Me. Yours truly. Yeli, who can't even kill a mosquito without guilt.
"Okay, Yeli," said the director, holding his clipboard like it's a weapon. "This scene, you're confronting River's character. You're angry. Betrayed. You slap him, then storm out dramatically."
I blinked. "Wait. Like… a real slap?"
"Preferably, yes. To keep it realistic," said River from behind, grinning like a cockroach. "Don't worry, Yeli. I can take it."
Sheesh. So tempting to punch him instead.
"Can't we just, like, pretend-slap?" I offered, trying to save both his cheek and my soul.
But nope. No choice. So I stood there, facing him, trying to summon all the fake rage I could.
"You betrayed me!" I shouted.
"I loved you!" River yelled back, with matching tear drops—literally, he had eye drops in his pocket.
"What is this, a soap opera?" I muttered, then raised my hand.
And I slapped him.
WHACK!
The whole room went silent.
River stared at me for a full two seconds, then...
"Shit. That was HOT," he said, rubbing his cheek.
"Cut!" shouted the director, shaking his head. "Okay, okay, that was too real."
I turned away, trying to hide my burning-red face. Not because I was shy—okay, maybe a little—but mostly because… what just happened?
River was still smiling like he got kissed instead of slapped. "Yeli, you got issues."
"Maybe I do," I said, walking off like a dramatic soap opera lead. "Maybe you're the issue."
"Oooooh, drama queen alert!" I heard Liora in the background, watching like it was Netflix Live with a tub of popcorn.
Backstage, I nearly collapsed onto a chair. Then Kairo arrived—quiet as ever—carrying the script.
"You did well," he said.
I looked at him. "You mean I assaulted someone well?"
He almost smiled. Almost. "You looked like you meant it."
And for some reason, that made my stomach flip.
Ugh. Not now, feelings. Not now.
'_'