C7 Chapter 7

The loud sound of her favorite song, "As It Was" by Harry Styles, reverberated around the room as someone was calling Vivianne on the phone. Suddenly, she forgot that she had a hobby of maximizing the volume of her ringtone, especially outside her house.

She did that so when someone called her, she could easily hear it. And that foolishness was what Vivianne didn't expect to get her into trouble now.

"Shit!" Vivianne muttered to herself before ending the call, but before she could put her phone on silent mode, it rang again.

It was an unregistered number, and as much as she wanted to know who it was, she couldn't answer the phone. She was at work, and the director at the photoshoot was already giving her a stern look.

"Sorry…” she apologized as she turned off her phone instead.

She was panicking, so she decided to turn off the phone before putting it in her pocket. She just hoped that she wouldn't receive an important call at this moment.

Unlike earlier, the room was now filled with deafening silence. Vivianne wondered why none of the staff members were moving. Even Beckett furrowed his brow while staring at her.

‘Do they find me attractive that they're looking at me like that?’ Vivianne joked to herself, trying to lighten the mood.

But that quickly disappeared when she looked at her co-worker Helen, Beckett's makeup stylist, who gestured to her by waving her hand in front of her own neck.

‘Am I in trouble?’ Vivianne raised an eyebrow, realizing that was the message Helen wanted to convey. ‘Why would I be in trouble?’

"Miss..." the director trailed off, and Vivianne realized that the man didn't know her name.

"Uh, I'm Vivianne," she answered before his smile widened. "I'm sorry again—"

"Do you think the word 'sorry' is enough for your stupidity? You. Ruined. Our. Shoot!" the director shouted, causing Vivianne's smile to fade. "Gosh! You're beautiful but so incredibly dumb!" he added, using his hand to wave her away.

Vivianne couldn't speak immediately because of that. She was frozen in her spot, and those harsh words pierced her chest, causing her pain.

In her entire career as a dress stylist, she had never encountered such a rude director. And that director's words triggered a memory inside her head.

"I should have a son, but your stupid mother gave you as my heir. I can't do anything about it, and I can't do anything if you're dumb," Vivianne remembered her father saying. "You need to practice until you become as good as me. Show me that you're worth being my child before you can take my position."

Vivianne's breathing became erratic. Along with the flood of memories came the intense pain she had endured at the hands of her own father.

"Is that all you're capable of?" Alfred, her father, asked before punching her in the stomach again. She was almost dizzy over in pain, but he didn't stop hurting her. "Stupid. Useless. Good for nothing. You really inherited your mother's traits."

A sudden wave of pain engulfed her chest, causing her to breathe heavily as she returned to reality.

When Vivianne looked around again, the gay director immediately caught her attention, not only because of the furrowed brow but also because of the redness of his cheeks, as if he was about to explode in anger at any moment.

"How disrespectful are you? I'm talking to you, but you're not listening? Who do you think you are to treat me like this—"

The director didn't finish his tirade as Vivianne suddenly ran away and left the studio. The sound of the forcefully closed door echoed through the walls, making the director scream in anger, feeling utterly humiliated.

"Continue the shoot!" Director Valeria shouted again, causing all the staff to resume their work. "This is crazy! My blood pressure is rising!”

Everyone became busy again, except for one person—Beckett.

Since Vivianne's phone rang, he just observed and didn't say anything. His attention was focused on Vivianne until she left the studio because he wanted to confirm something.

He wanted to know if she would fight back, but she didn't. She just ran away.

Contrary to what he expected to be his reaction to Vivianne's actions, he clenched his fists, feeling his fingers digging into his skin. As he saw how the pain registered in Vivianne's eyes at that time, he didn't like what he felt.

Beckett's eyes ignited with fire... and he wanted to burn everyone in the room for hurting his girl... his mere dress stylist.

AFTER A LONG time, but in reality a few minutes, Vivianne found an empty room inside Syneverse Entertainment. The room was filled with boxes, indicating that it was a storage room. She stayed there while trying to calm herself down.

She had already memorized Beckett's schedule, and she knew there was still a long time before the next photoshoot in a different theme.

Vivianne was relieved that she was able to leave the studio in time. She was afraid of what she might do if she stayed there while being shouted at by the director as if she had committed a huge sin.

All her colleagues were kind to her, as were some of their clients. Vivianne couldn't help but cringe at the thought of how terrible people could become as their egos and the money they held grew.

Vivianne opened her phone, and within seconds, it rang again. It was the unregistered number that called earlier, so she answered it.

"Who's this?" Annoyance was evident in her voice.

"Vianne."

Vivianne felt like a bucket of ice had been poured over her as soon as she heard the familiar, stern voice that called her nickname.

"Stop acting like we're close enough to call me by my nickname, Papa," Vivianne replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Vivianne winced as she tried to control her anger. Her father's voice was enough to make her blood boil, and now she wondered why he needed to call her so much.

Alfred Allamino is one of the most prominent businessmen in the country. His main industry is ventures and start-ups, and investing in different start-up companies is one of their main agendas.

They became wealthy through this and gained fame. The growth of the companies they invested in increased their net worth, too.

Silence filled their conversation afterward. When Vivianne looked at her phone, her forehead furrowed. The call was still ongoing, but her father hadn't spoken again.

"Why did you call?" Vivianne broke the silence in the room.

"Come to the house," Alfred replied in an authoritative tone. "I want to introduce you to some of my business partners."

"Business partners… Are you trying to force me to marry someone I don't like again?" Vivianne's voice carried a tone of resentment, accompanied by biting her lower lip. "I left that house a long time ago. Why are you still meddling in my life?"

"Watch your tone, Vivianne Allamino," her father warned. His voice sent shivers down her spine. "Your mother misses you so much. Don't you want to see her?"

‘Demon.’

Vivianne closed her eyes before her breathing became heavier. Alfred really knew how to shut her up, and that was by using her mother, who was being held hostage inside the Allamino Mansion. That was the reason why, despite wanting to stay away, Vivianne couldn't do it.

"Thursday, seven o'clock in the evening, sharp," Alfred gave his daughter the details. "I'm keeping an eye on you, and I know you're aware of that. Don't test my patience."

After that, Alfred ended the call. Vivianne held her phone tightly, afraid she might throw it in anger. Tears slowly streamed down her face, and she couldn't hold them back.

She could feel her heart racing and sweat forming on her forehead. She was furious, but she couldn't do anything about it.

Suddenly, she felt caged... as if she were in a large prison and still chained to her father's control.

"No, Viv. Don't think too much about this... You're at work," she calmed herself down.

When her breathing steadied, she returned to the studio. Perhaps the theme had changed, and she needed to help Beckett with the clothes she would be wearing.

But she didn't expect what awaited her when she entered.

"What's happening?" Vivianne furrowed her brow as she saw everyone packing up, and Beckett was looking at himself in the mirror while fixing his hair.

Vivianne approached him, and Beckett happened to look at her. At first glance, the man immediately noticed that Vivianne had just finished crying.

Beckett didn't notice the tension in his jaw because of that, assuming that Vivianne cried because of Director Valeria.

"Let's go," Beckett ordered, but Vivianne didn't move from where she stood.

"According to your schedule, there are two more themes you need to shoot." Vivianne pointed to the paper Beckett had given her earlier. "Are you already done?"

"Are you dumb?" Beckett snapped, his tone indicating that he was barely holding himself back from exploding.

"Huh?" Vivianne looked around. "So, you're already done? They're packing up."

Beckett massaged his forehead before he replied, "The shoot had been canceled."

"Huh? Why—"

"Vivianne!"

Vivianne didn't finish what she was going to say as Director Valeria suddenly approached her and did something she didn't expect.