Ch. 181..185: Fatal Kiss Of The Vampire Chapter 181-185
Chapter 181: You Made The Show Earned Big
When Khloe told Aiden about her Oscar nomination, he looked incredulous. He knew that Khloe doesn’t have good acting skills. In fact, he couldn’t believe his ears. “How did you get nominated?” he wondered.
“Aiden,” Khloe whined, “why does it sound like you don’t believe in me? This is good news. If I win, we could announce our engagement at the awards show! Why don’t you want to believe me? Don’t you want to continue our marriage? What is the reason behind that you suddenly changed recently?” She threw a tantrum to Aiden.
“I am fine with that,” Aiden replied perfunctorily. At the moment, he was very confused and, more than anything, what he wanted to do was to call Kylie. He knew that, when Kylie heard the news, she would be disappointed because, if anyone deserved the Oscar, it was Kylie – not Khloe. Obviously, Kylie was better than Khloe. Aiden knows that Kylie poured in a lot of effort and acting skills in all the shows she’s been part of.
“I can’t wait to announce our wedding to everyone,” Khloe continued smugly as if she had already won the award; she was that confident. All she could think about how glorious it would be to rub the statue in Kylie’s face as if she were some beaten dog. She wanted to defeat Kylie in all aspects, no matter which or what way she’ll be going to do just to have victory over her.
Khloe can’t even give up Aiden because she wants to be his wife. Having Aiden’s name as her husband, it makes a big difference.
Aiden couldn’t find words to say. His mind flew to Kylie. He regretted dumping Kylie for Khloe. He realized he made a big mistake.
“Forget about it. You’re overthinking!” Aiden said quickly.
“Then, why you sound not happy when I shared the news about my nomination?” She snapped at him.
“I said, let go of your negative thoughts because I am too tired today. I should go home now!” He quickly stood, aiming to leave a fast as he could. Khloe drained all his energy.
“Okay, take care!” Khloe walked him until his car.
After an hour, Laurence arrived home, and he took two Advil and Two Tylenol. The headache that he’d had earlier had only gotten worse, and as the pain persisted, he slipped into depression. He was glad that he’d been able to raise his daughter’s spirits, but he’d seen how she’d assumed that she’d win, which was far from a foregone conclusion. In fact, it was more likely that she would lose. Laurence had spoiled Khloe so much, and he even does a lot of bribing to let her baby daughter, please. Khloe often gets vulnerable when she’s being rejected and judged by others.
***
After a week of recording, Kylie was very happy with how things were going. She had been working hard, and she felt like, as the underdog, she’d earned the respect of the rest of the cast and crew, excluding Khloe and Laurence, of course. As much as they disliked Kylie, though, they could find no fault in her performance, and the audience loved her.
The Tea Maiden was launched to good ratings, which only got better as the series progressed. By the time it came to its finale, the audience was on the edge of its seat; they loved the show but, even more so, they loved Kylie. Because of this, the studio began airing Trailblazers the week after The Tea Maiden concluded. In this way, Kylie’s fans were able to follow her with no time-lapse.
The first episode of Trailblazers had higher ratings than any single episode of The Tea Maiden had. Unfortunately for Khloe, she had not been able to curb her ego, vanity, or general bitchy attitude, so almost all of her scenes had been left on The Tea Maiden’s cutting floor.
The few fans that had remained loyal to her began to ask questions like, “Didn’t you say that Khloe was a co-star in this program? I haven’t even seen much of her at all…”
More common comments included such assertions as, “Her scenes must have been cut because of her bad performances.”
After the second episode of Trailblazers was aired to equally good ratings, Nina invited Kylie into her office and asked her to sit down. She poured them each a glass of her finest wine, sat down, and proposed a toast in Kylie’s honor. They touched their glasses, sipped, and then Nina smiled and said, “Kylie, I really want to say ‘thank you.’ Without you, no one would have known about Trailblazers. Just having your name attached to it brought it from obscurity and directly into prime time! You made the show earned big than I expected,”
Kylie blushed uncomfortably. She wasn’t used to such high praise. Because the company she worked for was so Khloe-centric, she was much more used to being shit on, harassed, and bullied. “The desire of my heart,” Nina continued, “is that there are way more opportunities for us to work together in the future. Not only are you a great performer, but your attributes are honorable, and I like you as a person.
“You are too kind,” Kylie replied meekly. “I would like that very much.”
A lot of people had invested everything under the assumption that Khloe would be the next Drew Barrymore. Now, as they watched her star burn out in proportion to Kylie’s rise in popularity, they were very worried – and no one was more worried than Taylor was. As David reported the situation to him, his face turned red, and he snarled as he spoke: “This is your entire fault. Khloe should never have been allowed to participate in The Tea Maiden. The girl is good for nothing.”
“When it comes to Khloe and Kylie,” Taylor continued, “even my husband has taken Kylie’s side. He has never even been a fan of the series show, but he watched The Tea Maiden religiously, and now he is watching Trailblazers…”
Chapter 182: Taylor’s Doubt
Taylor scowled at David and started telling him a story, “It was a big surprise to me when I first saw Mathew watching The Tea Maiden. He usually only watches the Financial Channel so, when I called him on it, he got defensive. He scowled and asked me if I was suggesting that he was too old for a drama series. Of course, I said that I wasn’t. After all, I am three years older than he is, so it would have been a bit like the kettle calling the pot black.
“While we were talking, I peeled an orange and fed it to him slice by slice, as he often asks me to do, and I sat beside him to watch The Tea Maiden. The show was about halfway over when Aiden arrived home and, when he saw what we were watching, he was very surprised. He said that the show was geared towards young people, and they are not for fogies like Matthew and I. He was equally surprised that we’d be watching a program that featured Khloe’s archenemy, Kylie Finch.
“Mathew pretended that he didn’t know that Kylie was on the show, but Aiden didn’t believe him at all. He pointed Kylie out to Matthew and explained what a bitch she was. I could see why he might not have recognized her, though. In the past, she’d been known to wear a lot of make-up and dress outlandishly. Now though, she did not wear make-up, and she dressed very casually. With her good looks, she looked more like the girl next door that a debutante. Once I pointed that out to them, Mathew acknowledged that he recognized her, but he said that he didn’t care. He liked the show, so he would watch it.
“With that settled, Matthew turned to Aiden and asked him why he wasn’t at work. Normally Aiden did not come home so early in the day. He was a sales manager, which meant that there was always a ton of work to be done and not nearly enough time to do it in. Aiden explained that, while there was a lot of work to do, he’d clocked out early because he had something important to talk about with us.
“As I suspected, Aiden wanted to talk about his marriage to Khloe. Of course, Matthew didn’t want to. He was trying to watch The Tea Maiden, and he was getting frustrated with us for interrupting his time. Also, he doesn’t like Khloe, so he saw no reason to talk about it. Aiden knew how Matthew felt about Khloe and that he wasn’t going to budge on his opinion, so the conversation seemed pretty pointless. I feel he really doesn’t want to talk about Khloe.
“I was mad, though, because I thought Matthew should, at least, hear what his son had to say, so I walked over to the television and pulled the plug. This made Matthew very angry. He called me crazy. He acknowledged that it was Aiden’s prerogative to marry whomever he wanted, but that didn’t mean that he had to go along with it. He told me to plug the television back in. When I refused, he went upstairs and, very soon after, I heard the television in our bedroom turn on. I don’t know why my husband seems to be interested in watching the drama series.
“I wanted to go after him. In fact, I was gearing up for a fight, but Aiden urged me to let it go. He said that Matthew would not change his mind, so there was no good reason to start a fight with him. He was right, of course. We chatted for a bit and then Aiden said that he was going for a walk and he asked me if I’d like to join him. I didn’t, and I told him so. I just wasn’t in the mood, and he understood.
“After he left, I went upstairs to check on Matthew. His door was slightly ajar. I had planned to just go in, but then I heard him talking on the phone, and I decided to eavesdrop for a bit first. Right off, I knew that he was talking to someone about The Tea Maiden. He said that he’d watch the program, that he liked it very much, and then he asked the person on the end of the other line what they’d like as a reward – this, of course, made me very curious to know who he was talking to. I want to figure out what is really going on. A lot of negative thoughts are running in my head and doubting him to have an affair with Kylie.
“After hearing these few words, though, I found that I no longer wanted to see or talk to Matthew, so I turned and walked away.”
David went silent for a while then suddenly he said, “Why didn’t you talk to him and clear things out? I’m afraid to say this, but I think you’re accusing him without any evidence,”
“I don’t know, and I felt mad this time!” Taylor said.
“Loosen up! Your overthinking! What if you’re wrong?”
“Is that so? Then, how can you explain his sudden change? He is not a big fan of drama series and thinks about this, and he is a busy person?” She hissed.
“Do you think Kylie would choose your husband?” He asked back.
“Who knows that that woman is a whore, she even successfully seduced Ethan!”
“You are too biased. In my opinion, Kylie has a busy schedule recently; how can she able to meet your husband?”
“Did I sound stupid to you?”
David shrugged his shoulder, “You should ask it yourself. Or should I say you’re only doing this for Khloe? Your son hadn’t announced his engagement yet, and obviously, there’s the reason behind it. Remember, Khloe never had a good reputation too, yet, you still wanted her to be a part of your family?”
“Then what should I do? Aiden seems eager to marry that woman,”
“Find the solution to it. Perhaps, talk to your son!”
She was lost until David left.
Chapter 183: You Charisma Has Been Fading
A week later, the producer of The Tea Maiden held a banquet. Due to the difficulties of cutting Khloe out of The Tea Maiden, there had been no time afterward to hold a formal celebration banquet. After the final episode was launched, Director Johnson had been able to invite all cast and crew members to the best hotel in Seattle for an informal banquet.
A lot of fans and media were already there long before any of the cast and crew arrived. They took pictures as the people arrived, but they’d been told in advance that they would not be given a chance to ask questions, nor would they be given access to the hotel. Johnson had rented every banquet hall in the hotel and room, so he had complete control of who came and went. He had different events happening in each ballroom, and he encouraged everyone to mingle between them.
Johnson also arranged to pay for all the booze. “Drink all you want,” he said. “Tonight, everything is on me. Get as drunk as you’d like, and feel free to sleep in any one of the rooms.”
As Kylie ordered the first drink of the night, she happened to hear Lily talking to someone behind her. Though the mirror behind the bar, she could see that Lily was wearing a blue dress that highlighted her ample bosoms and cleavage with its low collar. She was with Khloe, and it turned out, and when they saw Kylie watching them through the mirror, they approached her.
Khloe scowled at Kylie as if she were a bug that she wanted to crush. Khloe was wearing a black silk dress. She had no bra on, which meant that her nipples could be clearly seen, and they stuck out like sore thumbs. “Careful with those,” Kylie laughed as she pointed to Khloe’s breasts. “You might put someone’s eyes out. It almost pops out,” she added.
Khloe frowned and quickly crossed her arms over her breasts to cover her nipples. Most of the actresses there were dressed in a similar manner, with visible nipples and deep cleavage, and yet, with only a few words, Kylie had embarrassed her and made her feel like a slut. She felt angry immediately.
Lily was stiff. She looked down at her own dress and wondered if Kylie would find fault in it too. Even though she had been talking to Khloe, they were not friends. In fact, she hated her secretly, but she pretended to like her for something and had that in common with Kylie. She also hated Kylie’s presence. Thus, she viewed Kylie as a potential ally because of her strong personality. That being said, it was not something that they’d ever discussed. She needs to find ways to use Kylie, as well.
“Fuck you,” Khloe said as she looked Kylie up and down. “Make fun of me, but look at what you’re wearing. You have the figure to stand out in a crowd, but in your conservative old fashion dress, you waste what God has given you; for shame!”
“Look around you,” Khloe continued. “Most of the actresses in attendance are wearing sexy dresses that show off their cleavage, hips, and long legs – and yes, even their nipples! Everyone here, except for you, is letting loose, so don’t try to make me look like a freak when you are the one who is out of place.” She proudly said all those words.
Khloe dropped her arms to her side and posed in such a way that her breasts stood out even more than they had just a moment ago. “If you are so interested in my boobs,” she said, “why don’t you take a closer left. Even better; touch them if you’d like.”
Kylie took a step backward, reeling as if she’d been struck. She felt disgusted that Khloe really acted like a slut.
Lily knew Khloe was bullying Kylie, but she dared not lose her temper and interrupted them mostly in front of all of these people at the banquet. She tried to keep her smile, but she knew that it would not stand up to close scrutiny. It was obviously fake. At the moment, her heart wept for Kylie. She liked Kylie’s attire. It was a breath of fresh air. Everyone here, including herself, had given up their comfort so that their façade matched that of the image that they figured was expected of them. Kylie, on the other hand, had come as herself. She looks prettier on her dress.
Kylie looked comfortable in what she wore. In its own way, it was elegant, and she thought that, if given a choice between Kylie and Khloe, every man would choose Kylie. It didn’t matter the Khloe put her sexuality on display, Kylie’s Girl Next Door ambiguity hinted at things much greater than anything Khloe could offer.
Lucas joined them and pointed to the windows. “I assume you both should act mature, mostly in front of the public!”
Outside, a crowd had gathered. They watched through the windows like children ogling candy. They looked ecstatic as they shouted Kylie’s name over and over again.
Lily knew she needed to find the best ally, and surely it wasn’t Khloe. Lilly looked to Khloe and said, “You may both have very different opinions about the proper attire, but it is clear to me who has stolen the hearts of the people. In all of my years in show business, I have never seen such unconditional love for a single actress. You should be aware of it darling, and your charisma has been fading in the eyes of your fans,”
“Did you arrange for these people to be here?” Kylie asked Lucas.
“I admit that, in a way, I did,” Lucas replied, “but I had not expected the crowd to be so large or to be in support of you in the way that they are. What I did was leak the whereabouts of Khloe to her fans on Social Media. It is a curious thing; perhaps Khloe has no fans anymore…”
Chapter 184: Insulted
As Khloe and Lily walked through the crowd, Lily suddenly stopped and pointed at someone and shouted, “Khloe, look! Is that Director Miller? I think that it is!”
“Bullshit!” Khloe replied. “He wasn’t involved in The Tea Maiden. Why would he be here? What is he doing here? Does someone invite him?”
“Take another look,” Lily encouraged her, pointing to another person.
Khloe squinted and looked in the direction that Lily had pointed. From the back, she could see that the man certainly had the same body type as Miller. His hair was the same grey color as Millar’s was, but, without seeing his face, there was no way of knowing for sure – it was then that the man turned around, and Lily’s observation was proven to be true.
Khloe was ecstatic. Ever since his last divorce, she’d dreamt of randomly running into him and courting him. Perhaps, she thought to herself, and I will finally get my chance at becoming the next Mrs. Miller.
Not wanting to waste a single moment, she led Lily over to Miller and made his acquaintance. Even if he doesn’t want to court me, she thought to herself, and perhaps I might be able to charm myself into one of his next movies. If I play my cards right, I might actually get the opportunity to crush Kylie under my foot! I can’t let this opportunity slip away!
Once Kylie was able to get away from Khloe and Lily, she made her way over to Johnson to thank him for the opportunities he’d given her.
“No need to thank me,” he replied. “In this industry, you make your own opportunities. I am nothing but a facilitator. The Audience loved you in The Tea Maiden because you won them over. Now, with Trailblazers coming out, there is no doubt that you will find great things in this field. You were the one who made The Tea Maiden a success, so I should be thanking you. You showed your great talent and acting skills, Kylie, no doubt about it! Your pretty face is only an added factor. Remember, opportunity knocks once, so make sure to exert your effort and invest your talent on it,” He showed a pleasant smile after saying all these praises.
Johnson raised his glass of wine and offered a toast to Kylie; to the things that she’d already accomplished and the things she had yet to do. Kylie raised her glass, and then they drank together.
“If any good scripts come my way,” Johnson concluded, “you are the first person that I will think of – and that is the truth! I saw your acting skills, and you deserve to be recognized,”
“That would mean a lot to me,” Kylie replied. “I don’t have any projects lined up, so my schedule is free for the time being. If in case you have a good movie or another drama series, I am willing to be a part of it,”
Johnson thought about it for a minute, and then he said, “You know? I might actually have something for you already. I received a script on my desk this morning. I would be honored if you would consider coming in and reading for the leading lady. Just try it, I will be waiting for you,”
“Oh, thank you so much! I will check on it soon!”
On the side, Khloe and Lily are heading towards Director Miller.
Khloe offered Miller her hand and said, “Director Miller, I saw you standing over here, and I could not help but come over and introduce myself. My name is Khloe, and I am a huge fan of yours.”
Miller looked at her hand and scowled at her as if she’d offered him a piece of shit. “Who the fuck are you?” he snapped. “Can’t you see that I’m talking to someone right now?” A sound of sarcasm added to his voice.
“I… I’m sorry,” Khloe stammered as her hand dropped to her side. “My name is Khloe Finch; from Garcia Entertainment.” She was embarrassed, but she still tries to remain calm not to lose her face in front of Lily.
“Director Miller,” Lily interjected, “you met Khloe once on Hot Topic. Don’t you remember? You even praised her acting publically…”
Khloe looked at Miller and smiled meekly as she deliberately straightened her body in order to accentuate her breasts. “Director Miller,” she said, “don’t you remember me? What Lily told you was true,”
Director Miller looked her up and down and said, “Honestly, I don’t remember you. Never mind, though, there doesn’t seem to be anything about you that is worth remembering. Are you really an actress, or are you here to serve the particular needs that men have? Your way of dressing up seems to invite men to be your bed partner,” Director Miller brutally said his opinion against Khloe.
Khloe looked confused. She did not understand the implications of what he’d asked her, but Lily caught on right away. “He thinks that you’re a prostitute,” she said out loud. Lily silently mocked Khloe this time, yet she held back her words not to make Khloe embarrassed.
Khloe’s face turned bright red, and her jaw almost hit the floor. She was very angry, but she didn’t dare to start a fight in front of all of these people. “Director Miller,” she gasped, “you’ve misunderstood me completely. I am an actress, not what you think. I just approach you because, as I said, I am one of your avid fans,”
“Oh, but your manner portrays that you wanted some special event tonight. Huh, what a shameless woman. I suggest you find another target because I feel disgusted seeing you like this,” He added another insult to Khloe.
Khloe quickly responded, “My father is a big investor in different movies and shows!”
“Whatever,” Miller laughed. “Go away. I grow tired of your face. I’m not interested in spending my precious time chatting with nobody like you,”
Khloe totally felt degraded. She felt aggrieved because her aim is only to get Director Miller’s attention not to be humiliated.
Chapter 185: Worst Nightmare
Once they were alone, Khloe turned to Lily and said, “It is your entire fault. Because of you, not only did Miller not recognize me, but he thought I was a whore!”
Lily frowned at Khloe and snapped at her. “How the fuck was that my fault,” she hissed. “When are you ever going to grow up and take responsibility for your actions? Face it – between your make-up and your dress, and you actually do look like a whore. Kylie recognized it. She called you out on it, but you ignored her, so this is what you get! How pathetic! You even blame me for your own fault, get a life, and act like a lady, not a whore,”
“What did you say?” Khloe snapped at Lily. “You should be the one to praise me, not to insult, after all, you’re my assistant!”
“Do I need to repeat my words? I think you heard it; clearly, there is no need for me to insult you again because believe me, you will lose your face!”
Khloe felt mad when Lily acted indifferent towards her, but she held back her words to not draw other people’s attention.
Khloe and Lily watched as Director Miller joined the table where Johnson and Kylie were sitting. Seeing this, Khloe could not contain her anger. “That man is an asshole,” she said. “I can’t believe that, after the way he treated me, he is so nice to Kylie. This is like my worst nightmare!”
Not wanting to be left out, they joined the group and sat down to the left of Kylie, just in time to overhear Johnson say to Director Millar. “She was the lead in The Tea Maiden.”
“I know,” Miller replied. “I watched The Tea Maiden from beginning to end.” Miller leaned forward to shake Kylie’s hand and said that it was an honor to meet her. Meanwhile, Khloe just sat there getting angrier and angrier by the second. First, she’d been scorned, and now she was being ignored! She can’t accept that Kylie got the praises and attention from Director Miller.
William arrived and sat down with them. He said hello to Miller, Johnson, Lily, and Kylie, but acted as though he hadn’t seen Khloe. His eyes finally settled on Kylie, and he said, “You sure are a sight for sore eyes. It has been too long since last I’ve seen you. Darling, have you missed me? I am dying to show my affection towards you,”
Kylie smiled in a friendly manner, but she didn’t answer the question directly. She knew William is trying to flirt with her, but she can’t accept him. She still thought about Ethan.
William took a deep breath, and then he looked from Director Miller to Director Johnson. “I heard that there’s another variety show in the making; it looks like there’s going to be a bit of friendly competition. Win or lose, and it makes me happy that we can be a gentleman and not take anything personally. In the end, the ratings will determine the winner. Regardless of whom that is, I have the utmost regard for both of you.”
“I agree. There is no reason that we can’t all be friends. I think you have the upper hand, though,” Johnson explained, “because you have Kylie. There has always been a friendly rivalry between Hamorna and Seattle. In the past, our ratings have come in pretty close. This season though, we will have to pull out all of the stops if we hope to compete against you.”
Khloe listened to all of this as she silently brooded. More and more, she was beginning to feel like the child at the adult’s table. She wished that she’d never joined them, but she didn’t know how to walk away without looking like a fool.
Miller leaned forward and said, “I have an idea that I think would be mutually beneficial. I would like to offer Kylie a lead role in a drama that I have in the works. It seems to me that between us, we tailor to very different audiences. If my audience saw Kylie on one of my programs and liked her, it would lead her to the body of work she has done with your team. Inversely, if your audience likes her, they will also find her through my work. In that way, we would build each other up and place Kylie on the pedestal that she so deserves to stand on. What do you think? She works hard recently, but she’s not recognized,”
Khloe scowled as she tried to figure out what they saw in Kylie that they didn’t see in her. She leaned over to Lily and pinched her leg, which was a signal they’d arranged in advance. Lily turned to Miller and said, “I heard that your next project would be a situational comedy. I don’t have any experience, but I have been training with an acting coach, and I wonder if I could read for a small part? How about that?”
Khloe turned to Lily, startled, and angry. This was not what they’d discussed. She looked at Miller and said, “I apologize for my assistant’s insolence. She is a huge fan of your work and meeting you seems to have addled her brain… I will surely train her next time,”
Miller scowled at Khloe and said, “Do you think I need your input to make a decision? Do you think I am an idiot? Whether I allow the girl to read or not read is none of your business, I do admire her courage. Perhaps she was thought to be vulgar like her boss. Many people would be too nervous about approaching me so directly. She is a breath of fresh air, don’t you think?”
Khloe’s face turned red as she realized that the only way to save face would be to humble herself before him. “I… I suppose that she is a breath of fresh air,” she stammered. “Furthermore, I didn’t mean to imply that you were anything other than the genius that you are… I am sorry if I misspoke.”