C1 S01:Chartreuse

Why her? Why not me?

Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?

"Why did you choose to marry her instead of me? I'm your fiancé."

I stared at those hollow eyes, which showed no sign of emotions.

He stared forward, not giving me any glances.

"Because she is the one person I want to be with forever. She's my heart and soul, I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. I love her, milady."

My chest clenched as I heard that from his mouth.

I knew he never showed any interest in our relationship. Not even once. Yet this time, he was ignoring me completely. He didn't care about my feelings towards him.

'That's because I've already become a replacement for someone else.'

I followed his gaze, watching a lady among the crowds.

Lauren Kimberly. The second daughter of Marquess Arius. An elegant figure with her braided platinum blonde hair, deep amber eyes which can charm others.

She had an enchanting smile on her face as she conversed with other ladies who were looking at her.

The way those women looked at her was full of admiration and envy, including me. In people's eyes, she was a perfect match for Erjan.

Crown Prince Erjan Jade Phanes is someone who's always focused on politics and his kingdom. It's hard to believe that he fell for another woman. However, it must be true because he has his attention towards her.

I know that Erjan loves her deeply, but I just couldn't bring myself to accept it. After all, my position is way above her. I am the eldest daughter of Duke Vasilis. And I believe I'm the one who is more suitable to become the next Empress.

But there's something about Lauren. She was beautiful, but it isn't just about her beauty. It's about her gracefulness and elegance. Her presence, despite being just a noble, is enough to get people's attention. It's like the sun that shines on her, making her look like an angel. In fact, they might even think she's the best person in the world.

Whereas me, I'm too selfish to care if people think bad of me or if I even deserve to become the crown prince's fiancé. I don't care if I'm the second choice. At least I'll be with him rather than being without him. I've been so lonely that I'm willing to give up everything just to see him smile one more time. For he was my first love and the only one I've ever loved.

I bit my lower lips as my fingers tightened on the fabric of my lavender dress.

"I hope she will be your happy ending, Your Highness."

He walked through the crowds without even looking at me and it hurt my heart so much.

'How can someone be so heartless and cold?'

~ ~ ~ ~

"CUT!"

My body flinched when a firm voice suddenly shouted, shattering my imagination.

I averted my eyes to Director Braydon Abraham, who was looking at me from his seat.

"Is this your first time doing a scene?"

"Uhh..."

I looked down. I could feel everyone's eyes clustered around me.

"No sir."

He shook his head and sighed.

"Safiyya Hamarsya... you need to remember, there is one rule that no one can break. No matter how many times you have practiced, no matter how much you try to improve. If it doesn't work out, you will fail as an actress. You understand?"

I nodded.

He looked at the script.

"In this scene, you were to let out your tears, groveling on his feet, begging him. Did you forget?"

I blinked at what he just said.

'I forgot? Right when my mind is still blank from the fact that we have one week of rehearsals before our real play on stage.'

I tried to remember but there was no such scene.

'What could I have done wrong?'

My head snapped up when Director Braydon continued again.

"Don't forget, the real performance will be held at the end of April. You need to take your acting seriously."

He said while gesturing with his hands.

I nodded in understanding and went back to reading my script.

"Do we need to start from the beginning?"

One of the cast members who played as 'Erjan' asked.

He's slouching in his place. He was probably not used to the amount of work that we do every day, but he still tried his best to stay awake during practices.

Same goes for everyone. Nearly all of them, already laying down on the floor.

The director turned to his assistant.

"What time is it, Lyn?"

Ms. Lyn checked her phone screen.

"It's already 12 am, sir."

Director Braydon gave a long, weary sigh.

It was already past midnight and he wanted to finish this script before the day broke. Unfortunately, he had to make the cut first.

"How about we rehearse from the same scene? I think we only need to improvise that part."

All of us turned to Emilia Garrick, the one who played the role of 'Lauren'.

"Okay then. Let's do our last scene and call it a night. We can rehearse at five in the morning if need be."

I glanced at Emily.

She cracked a smile, trying to cheer me up.

We were in the theater, the soundproofed room, rehearsing with other actors. A few of them were having a bit too much fun despite feeling tired. But I just couldn't find any joy. I was worried about my performance.

'I can do this. Right?'

After a long day of rehearsal, we ended. The soundproofed room was silent for the longest time as everyone gathered their stuff. Then they left, leaving Emily and I alone.

She walked over and sat down next to me.

"So how did it go?"

Still burying my face on my knees, I sighed.

"Well..."

I trailed off trying to think if I should say what's really bothering me or not.

"I almost messed up. Again."

"It's alright. You still have time to work it out."

She tried to comfort me, placing an arm over my shoulder.

"I only have one week left. Do you think I can do this?"

It was a simple question but, in my eyes, it felt like a whole different story. Anxious, scared, worried. All negative emotions piled up inside.

'Why am I always making mistakes? Why can't I be perfect like Emily?'

I still remember their gazes even though they didn't show it. Their eyes filled with irritation and hatred.

'Because of me, they had to practice for extra hours. Because of me, all their hard work would go down the drain. Because of me, our stage might be ruined. It's all my fault.'

"Come on, Safiyya! You just emit a depressing vibe."

She pulled me up to face her. Both her hands squish my cheeks.

"Your bangs are too long. Don't you want to cut it?"

"I don't have time. Maybe tomorrow, I'll cut it. But there's one thing I'm curious about. Why did the director choose me to play as 'Iolite Sylvia'? Do I have a villain face or am I giving off a villain aura?"

I pulled my face from her hands and puffed my cheeks.

"Nah! You're too pure to become a villain."

"Then, why me?"

"Maybe, you have potential."

I frowned, pointing at myself.

"You mean, I have a potential to become a bad guy?"

Suddenly, her fingers pinched my right cheeks.

I just let her do what she wants.

"Dummy! I didn't mean it that way. What I meant is, you're still hiding."

"From whom though."

She let go of me and made a face-palm.

"You hide yourself because you aren't confident enough. Next time, don't be afraid and show everything you have. Believe in yourself, Safiyya. Let me tell you something."

She glanced around before whispering to me.

"I made 'Iolite Sylvia' character based on yourself."

"Really?"

Suddenly I remembered something.

"Emily, about your novel..."

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'll continue 'Chartreuse' tomorrow. You really can't wait to read the continuation when you already know what happened at the end."

"This and that are different. Your novel has all sorts of details, and the story's flow is better than your script. It lacks depth, only focusing on the main plots and the main characters. The director didn't even include my favorite 'Nathan'."

'Chartreuse' is a story of three main characters: The kind-hearted female lead, Lauren Kimberly. The cold-blooded male lead, Erjan Jade and the lonely villain, Iolite Sylvia.

The play was based around a love triangle that happened in the novel written by Emily. However, this novel doesn't have many twists involved with it. It took me almost two weeks to finish the script after I kept rereading it multiple times. When I finally did it, I realized that the plotline was simple.

The first few chapters are like typical stories where a Crown Prince gets engaged with Duke's daughter and Iolite is chosen to be the one. After meeting Lauren, Erjan falls in love at first sight with the protagonist. It's like fate is on the same side, his marriage with Iolite always got delayed because of her illness.

During the ballroom, Iolite suddenly coughed up blood in front of the guests. Her condition was so bad until she had to get bedridden. As Empress Tatiana, Erjan's mother worried her son might have a sick wife, she decided to let him marry Lauren. Before they get married, Iolite takes her last breath, alone in her chamber with no one by her side.

'That's from the scripts. If it was a novel version, the story is yet to end.'

"Right. You've told me before, the novel you're writing now is a second draft. What happened to the first one?"

"I already deleted it from my old laptop."

"And the reason?"

"The storyline turns out weird. It strays from my original plot. So, I've decided to make another one and posted it on Gempad just for fun. I'd never thought my story would get recognized and get blown this much. Even the director wants me to make a script and make my story come alive in a stage performance."

She gave a half shrug.

"Why don't you try to send it to the publisher company? You've been writing it for three years. It should've become a book right now."

I gave her a suggestion.

"Should I do that?"

"I mean, it's not wrong if you try. It must be nice to be an author. You can write everything you like into a story."

"Why don't you try to become one?"

"If I become an author, I'd never finish the story and it would be depressing for people to read. Never mind about me, we should focus more on yours. Don't worry, Miss Writer. Your childhood friend got your back."

"Thanks, Safiyya. You know you are my only inspiration, right?"

"It's what friends do."

I pulled out an emerald-colored hair tie on my right wrist before tying my hair.

Emily chuckled, seeing my sloppy hairstyle.

"Here. Let me do it."

I moved a bit so she could face my back. I sat patiently as Emily worked her magic and tied my long hair into a ponytail.

"You still had your sister tying it for you."

The memory came to mind of me having my middle sister, Ariel, always braiding my hair for me while Nash, the youngest brother, would try to steal our stuff, disturbing us from whatever we were doing.

"Yeah. I can never tie my hair properly. Not when I was a little and my mother used to give me a braid every day. After that, I stopped asking for help from her and let my sister do it for me instead."

Emily laughed in agreement, taking one strand of hair and putting it around my neck with a few pieces falling on the side.

"I'm done! Now don't forget to make sure it is tight when you go out."

I gave my thanks.

We were interrupted when Ms. Lyn opened the door.

"Safiyya, the director wants to see you."

Both Emily and I glanced at each other.

"Don't worry. It'll be just fine."

She patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me for the second time.

I nodded.