His Low Score Made Me Leave Him For Fame

Chapter 2

Our parents were old friends, and Gavin and I grew up together.

His family came from a long line of artists. His grandfather had been a stage actor, and I suppose performing was simply in his blood. He showed talent from a young age and was fast-tracked through the school system as a gifted arts student.

My family, on the other hand, was in business. I had no artistic talent to speak of.

But I pushed myself to the limit just to be close to him. I woke up before dawn every day to practice my voice, and when my throat went hoarse, I'd pop a lozenge and keep going with my lines.

My parents couldn't stand watching me struggle. They told me to give up and just take over the family business instead.

But I refused. I wanted to stand beside him. Because I loved him.

I thought I had finally closed the gap. I had earned my place in his troupe, and he had agreed to be with me.

Until today, when he tore into me in front of everyone. It felt like a bullet to the chest.

Last time Rachel messed up her blocking and crashed into another actor, nearly ruining a performance, he didn't even raise his voice.

I was only filling in for Rachel today. How was any of this my fault?

He stared at me coldly, waiting for me to apologize in front of everyone.

Humiliation washed over me from head to toe.

"Gavin, this is Rachel's role. Nina was only brought in to help us out temporarily."

One of the colleagues finally couldn't hold back any longer. She steeled herself and broke the silence.

She knew there could be consequences for challenging Gavin in public, but she didn't care anymore, because none of this was my fault to begin with.

She stood firmly beside me, determined not to let me be humiliated alone.

Gavin paused, his brow furrowing slightly. He turned to look at me, as if checking something, and the coldness in his eyes faded a little.

With someone taking the lead, the others found their courage.

"Gavin, even if you didn't ask, we still have to speak up. Rachel missed rehearsal without any explanation, so we had no choice but to ask Nina to step in for her blocking and lines."

"Exactly. Why should Nina take the blame for her?"

Everyone was already frustrated with Rachel's unexplained absence, and since things had already escalated, there was no point holding back anymore.

Gavin was silent for a long moment, a flicker of regret crossing his eyes.

"I didn't have the full picture. I'll talk to Rachel about this. Good work today. Everyone go home early."

Everyone let out a quiet sigh of relief, thinking Gavin would actually set things straight.

But then his gaze landed back on me.

"Nina, stay behind."

Everyone froze again, confused.

Then, in a cold, clipped voice, he said, "The stage is a sacred place. In this troupe, there's no such thing as 'just helping out.' Every move must be done by the book. Nina made a mistake in her blocking, and that's that. She'll put all the props back in place before she leaves tonight."

I stared at him in disbelief, but he turned his face away, not even sparing me a glance.

The others weren't about to let that slide, and they were just about to speak up for me.

But he dropped a cold threat. "Anyone who helps Nina today doesn't need to come in tomorrow."

No one had expected things to go this far. They stared at him in shock.

I knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted me to bow my head.