Song of Torment

Chapter Nineteen

Photoshoot

This is the first time I wore a two piece for a shooting. Although I’m wearing a cover up on top of it, you can still see my body through it. Matthew was also present and watching me intently as I pose in front of the staffs and the photographer. I could even see his disapproval look as he looks at me.

I thank God when we change the location and I changed my outfit to a summer dress. It’s a yellow, floral long dress that has a high slit on both sides. It also show my bare back and a little bit of my cleavage.

My hair is wet from the salt-water. I also have a flower on my left ear. I didn’t also wear any make-up to make it more natural.

“She’s so beautiful,” said one of the tourist who watched our shoot.

“Okay! That would be for the solo shoot. Now that the sun is down, we should start the shoot with Mr. Guevarra for the promotional poster of your duet song.”

I look at Matthew, confused. They never told me that I will have a photoshoot with him. I saw some of our staffs giving him some clothes to wear. I wanted to ask him if he knew about this but one of my assistants already lead me to change my clothes.

“Do you know about this?” I asked Faye as our make up artist put on some make up on my face.

“I only found out when. We arrive here,” she said.

I just sigh and look my self in the mirror. Before the shoot started earlier, they already dye my hair to blonde and I’m actually loving it. It’s kinda refreshing because it’s also something I’ve never done before. I’m still wearing a summer dress but this time it’s an off shoulder, floral, white long dress.

“You’re really beautiful,” the make up artist commented and I just smiled at her. She only put a light make up and I actually love it.

“This album will surely become the talk of town!”

“Thank you,” I said.

I stand up only to see Matthew walking towards me. He is wearing a board shorts and a floral shirt leaving all it’s buttons open to show his abs. I gulp feeling my throat went dry as I look at him.

“Damn hot!” one of his assistant said

I saw him smirk when he heard that comment.

The shoot started. We were sitting in the table. I was sipping on my buko juice as I look in the camera while Matthew is just looking at me. The next shot is we were standing back to back in a tree while holding each other’s hands.

“Why does it look like their pre-nuptial photos?” I heard someone commented that made Matthew smirk.

“That’s right. I remembered we never had a prenuptial photoshoot,” he said to my ears.

His arms are now wrap around my waist while his lips is on my ears as if he’s whispering something to me.

“Okay! Next is stand face to face. Mr. Guevarra hold Ms. Reigan’s waist using your left hand and then touch her face with the other. Ms. Reigan, hold on to his shoulder and look into his eyes. Move your face close to each other. Almost but not touching each other’s lips. Mr. Guevarra look in the camera.”

I stop breathing when he did as he told. I could also feel his heart beating so fast or is it mine? I don’t know already. I was so lost as I stare at his face, convincing myself that he is really my husband. He is mine and I am his so I don’t have to feel like a highschool girl staring at her crush.

“And that’s a wrap!”

Even if the photographer said that, I remained looking at him and he remained holding me but this time, he is already looking at me too.

“I love you,” I told him and he just smiled and suddenly kiss me that made my eyes widen.

“I love you, too,” he whispered over my lips. I was still in shock and worried that someone might have seen what he did but as I look around, I saw everyone doing their own business.

“You shouldn’t do that in a public place,” I told him but he just ignored me.

I sigh. I know that Matthew really wants everyone to know about our relationship but I can’t just do that now. I have a contract and he is practically my boss.

-

The next day I woke up with Matthew’s arms wrap around me tightly. He is almost on top of me so I needed to push him away a little to get up causing him to wake up.

“It’s still early,” he said and curried his face at the crook of my neck.

I look at the clock and it’s almost 9am. My phone is also ringing, probably it’s Faye.

“We still have a shoot at 10am.”

He groaned but loosen his arms around me.

“Do you know what kind of scenes are we going to make for the MV?” he asked.

I stop blow drying my hair and look at him on the mirror as he wear his white shirt.

Of course I knew. We already talk about the scenes during our meeting but I’m kinda surprise that Matthew doesn’t have any idea about this. Does it mean that he accepted this project without going through the scenes?

“My song is about longing someone whom I ever love but he is already inlove with someone else,” I told him that made him stop from fixing his hair.

“I have no idea that Stephanie will be the one acting for the other female lead. I only found out yesterday when she went here with me.”

He walks towards me.

“You’re saying I’ll be acting as Stephanie’s lover and you on the other hand, will just be on the look out, watching us being happy together?” he said and I just nod at him.

“I’m still in LA when I wrote this song. I was thinking about you. What life do you have at present. If you already have someone else beside you. Someone who will not hurt you nor leave you.”

I was still looking at him through the mirror when he walks closer to me and hug me from behind. He kissed my cheek and whispered to my ears.

“There was no one else but you,” he said then made me turn to him. “It’s always been you.”

I smiled and gave him a peck before finishing blowing my hair.

I told Matthew to go out first so no one would see us leaving the same hotel room together. After the kiss he made yesterday, I don’t want to take any risk again of being caught that we’re together.

“Reigan!”

I turned to Faye who called me when I went out.

“Director Wayne is already looking for you. The shoot is about to start,” she told me so we walked faster.

Everyone is there including the extras except for Stephanie. Matthew is already dress-up. Two stylist and a make up artist came to me to start dressing me up.

Matthew is talking to the director while they were still doing my hair.

“We’re really gonna cut it short?” one of the stylist who is fixing my hair asked.

“Later,” I told them.

I want to keep my long hair on the scenes where Matthew and I are still lovers. But I want to keep it short for the scenes where I was broken.

As we wait for Stephanie, we started shooting the scenes for Matthew and I first.

“I don’t like the idea that I need to act in love with Stephanie,” he told me while we’re acting as if we’re having a lover’s quarrel.

“It’s part of the MV. Whether you do it or we will replace you as the male lead.”

He put some strands of my hair behind my ears as he stares at me.

“And let another male actor to be so close to you? Hell no.”

“Took a step backward from him,” the director told me so I did. I also turned my face away from him but he hold me and made me look at him.

“This song, is it for me? For us?” he asked but instead of answering I push him away and run away from his direction.

“Cut!” the director yelled. “That’s a good take.”

Matthew came near me again and asked the same question.

“What do you think?” I asked him in return.

He looked intently in my eyes.

“This damn love, because of you I can’t move on even if I’m hurt. Even if I die, it’s only you,” he said and I caught my breath when I realized he just told some lyrics of our duet song. “Without you, tears fill up my heart. It’s just back hell, to me, that’s who you are.”

“Matthew,” I took a step back when he took a step towards me. I look around us to make sure no one is watching or looking at us.

“Together we laugh, together we cry. These simple feelings were maybe all I had.”

His forehead touch mine and his hand caress my face, telling some of the lyrics of the album’s title track.

“When will it be when I see you face to face, I’ll look you in the eye and say I missed you,” he sighs and let me go. “These two songs are for me?”

I look down and nod my head as an answer.

“You could have just come back to me if you were hurting that much,” he said. He was about to move closer to me when someone called him.

“Matthew!”

We both turned our heads to see Stephanie running towards him. He didn’t took a step back when she threw herself to him for a big hug. He even let her kiss him in the cheek and smiled at him. All the while I was just looking at them while Matthew is just looking at me.

Just why the hell does he let her do this things?

The director called them to start the shooting. Stephanie is wearing a plain white dress and a hairpin that made her look innocent while Matthew is just wearing his jeans, a white shirt and a flannel shirt on top of it, leaving all its buttons open.

They started shooting the scenes with just the two of them.

“You really sure about this?” my stylist asked as she hold my hair and I just nod in agreement.

I frown when she let go of my hair and gave it to me.

“You do it,” she said smiling.

And so I did. I hold on to my hair which naturally falls around my waist and cut it short, around my shoulder level. Then I gave the scissors to her and she started fixing it.

Everyone gasped when they saw me after. I was wearing a black dress that falls above my knees with my bare back showing. My hair is still blonde but with a strawberry blonde at the end.

I saw Matthew looking at me but I can’t read his eyes.

“Alright! Let’s finish this with the three of you now.”

-

“Why did you cut it short?” Matthew asked when we were back in our hotel room.

Faye is just behind us while my manager is talking to someone over the phone. I wasn’t comfortable with the two of them around. They knew we’re together but they don’t know we’re married and I was nervous that they might notice something because of Matthew’s behavior.

“You can have your break tomorrow because it will be a full schedule on the next day. You can also stay here if you want but Faye already book you a flight for tomorrow in case you already wanted to come back.”

That’s all she said before leaving with Faye.

Matthew wrapped his arms around my waist but I removed them and entered the hotel room. Matthew followed behind kissing me on my shoulder.

“I’m loving your short hair,” he said and tug the end of it. “Give’s me an easy access to your neck,” he said and kiss it.

“Are we going to stay here for a while?” I asked and turned to him. He kiss me on the lips and smiled.

“Yeah,” he said and suddenly turned serious. “Violin called me a while ago.”

That made me frown. Calling Ethan by his codename only means we’re going to talk about the gang.

“They found out that one of the member of The Ministry of Sin gang is here,” he said and put his hand on my shoulder. “They had been following us since we came here.”

“Who?” I asked him.

“Someone who goes by the name Gin, a sniper but also an expert to a hand to hand combat.”

“Do we know why he is following us?”

We haven’t had a lead to them ever since the underground battle happen and now one of its members is following us.

“No. Tap just happen to notice that we were being followed and so he and Ethan look into it.”

I sat on the couch and think about the possibility on what they want from us.

Rum did the things he did to me back then because of Matthew but after doing the part of the agreement, they disappeared. And then they appeared again when I came back to Matthew’s life.

If they want to harm Matthew, they should have sent all their members here because even an expert to a hand to hand combat won’t defeat Matthew alone. But why a sniper?

I look at Matthew who is now talking to Ethan over the phone and asking for back up in case we needed them. And then I saw myself in the mirror.

Unless they want me.

I gulp and stared at myself in the mirror.

Did they found out already?

—