Behind The Spotlight

[Pujimaki]

Behind The Spotlight Chapter 240


"I'm happy for you. You made the right choice." Her voice was filled with sincerity.

"Me too, I finally feel at ease."

Collin was now free from the past. There was no point in dwelling on his past relationship, because he didn't make a mistake. He had given his all, and that was enough.

"... So when are you going to stop patting me? You do know that I'm taller than you, so your arm will get tired." He looked at Lila, who was comforting him, with an amused expression.

He didn't truly know her. Their interactions had always been about business. Most of the time, Lila wore a serious expression, so Collin was not used to her affection... He was actually nervous and unsure how to react.

"Well," Lila stopped patting him. "Since you told me one of your stories, I guess I should share mine too to make it fair. I don't want you to feel like you're the only one opening up." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You don't have to."

"But I insist."

"..." What could Collin say? It seemed that he had to listen.

"My mom raised me throughout my entire childhood. She was everything to me. She's a wonderful mother, and I love her very much. However, she worked too hard and got sick when I was in middle school... She died because of me. Then, out of nowhere, my father showed up after my mom died, a person who was a stranger to me. He said that he would provide me with the best education and resources to live a good life." Her voice trembled despite her attempt to sound casual.

"..." Collin didn't know what to say, so he chose to remain silent and listen.

"Honestly, I hate my father because he only showed up when it was too late, after my mom died. It didn't help that my father never really loved me or any of my siblings. He's probably a psychopath." She laughed.

Today, she learned that Elijah Edward actually knew about Lila and her mother's situation all along. He had known since Lila was young. He also knew that Lila was his child, yet he remained indifferent.

He was already rich at that time, but he never showed up to help her mother. If he had just appeared earlier and fulfilled his role as a father, her mother might not have had to push herself to death.

Lila was shocked when Elijah casually said that during their conversation earlier today. He said, "I can save you and your mother, but I didn't do it. Simply because I don't feel like it."

Elijah spoke without emotion, as if it were a simple fact. He didn't say it to anger Lila, he was just that heartless.

Lila didn't even remember how she left the mansion after that meeting... Even when she returned home, her mind was in turmoil from their conversation.

She needed something to distract herself, to escape the suffocating thoughts. She recalled her promise with Collin. She knew his address and decided to visit him, hoping he could bring her some peace.

And now... it seemed that Collin truly could.

"I'm sorry to hear that. That must have been hard for you."

"Hm, I'm hungry. How about we cook? You have ingredients in your fridge, right?" Lila stood up. She didn't know if she could control herself today. She was vulnerable, and so was Collin. They were both emotionally exposed. She wanted something genuine, not a fleeting one-night stand that they might regret later.

"You know how to cook?" Collin asked.

"Don't underestimate me."

Collin wasn't sure if Lila could cook, so he helped her prepare the meal just in case. The two cooked a simple dinner, two steaks each and servings of macaroni.

After that, they returned to assembling the gunpla. They talked about many topics, growing more comfortable with each other. Time passed quickly, and they were both surprised when they realized it was already 7 p.m. They couldn't believe they had lost track of time.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Collin asked.

"I'm going to be fine." She waved her hand as she stood up to leave.

"Are you really sure? I don't mind helping."

"Maybe next time you can drive me back." She giggled.

"That would be great. I'd like that."

Lila smiled when she realized that Collin wasn't against the idea of seeing each other again.

"Next time, I'll contact you before showing up so you can prepare and surprise me." She teased.

"I'll make sure you'll be satisfied. I'll prepare something better." Collin teased back.

"That's the spirit."

"Let me at least walk you to your car."

"Alright, I won't stop you."

The two went to the elevator, and Collin pressed the button for the underground parking lot.

There was a brief silence before Collin spoke.

"Thank you, Lila. Today, I had so much fun."

What happened with Belle earlier had long been forgotten. In fact, he felt relieved now that he finally knew the reason for their failed relationship.

The bitch wanted excitement and found it in a drug dealer. She got pregnant and had to suffer the consequences of her actions. Belle was now a single mother of two with no one to rely on. Her future seemed bleak.

Lila smiled. "Me too, I had fun."

She realized that she had been becoming a workaholic like her mother, mirroring her in that aspect.

But today was different. Even though they had just assembled a gunpla and talked about random things, Lila genuinely enjoyed it.

And yes, they completed the assembly of Gundam 00.

"If you ever need someone to help you assemble a gunpla, you can call me."

"I'll remember it." Collin nodded.

"Also, your gunpla collection is amazing. I can see that you really love gunpla."

"I'm happy to hear that. That means a lot." That compliment made him happy. Someone who appreciated his hobby was a good person in his eyes.

The two reached the parking lot. Lila got into her car, and Collin watched as she drove away, the car gradually disappearing from view.

[Author's Note: Thank you guys for reading this novel. First, I just want to address something. I'd like to apologize if my grammar or even my way of writing is off. I'm a Filipino so I usually write with Tagalog in my mind before I write it in English. On top of that, I'm not really good at tenses so I just decided to use the past tense in my writing even though some of it sounded awkward. Another thing, there were times when I forgot stuff, sorry about that. Last but not least, fuck math, complicated math was my worst enemy.]

[If you want to read more, please do consider subscribing to my Patreon. It really means a lot. It also motivates me to keep writing.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Behind The Spotlight Chapter 241


The next day, huge news broke in the media. Jackson Mike became white!!! It was so shocking that headlines used (!) three times, trying to emphasize the absurdity of the situation.

Jackson Mike was the King of Pop, famous all over the world. That might even be an understatement. He was so famous that his songs and face were recognized globally.

A few years ago, he got involved in a scandal about child sexual abuse, a controversy that shook his career. He was accused, and he denied all the allegations.

Many people didn't believe that Jackson Mike diddled kids, and Collin was one of them.

He had been a fan of Jackson Mike since the 80s, and he believed that the man was innocent. Perhaps he had just been caught in a power struggle between record labels and the music industry.

But today's issue was different, something more bizarre and visible. Headlines about Jackson Mike's new appearance spread all over the world. The black man became a white man! Articles reported that Jackson Mike had been suffering from vitiligo, a condition that caused white patches all over his body. The only way to make his appearance look uniform was by bleaching his skin.

Now people were asking, what the heck is vitiligo? Before Jackson Mike's transformation, this disease was unfamiliar to many.

Some rumors claimed that the real Jackson Mike was dead and that this white version had stolen his identity.

Others said that Jackson Mike simply didn't like his original skin color and chose to bleach it.

There were so many rumors that no one could tell what was real anymore.

It became a huge event in the entertainment industry, and many news stations covered the topic. Jackson Mike was just that influential, any news about him would dominate headlines and news programs.

While this issue was unfolding, Collin received a call from Vivian.

"The album almost got what?"

"Pulse Static's album almost got erased," Vivian answered.

"... Is it really that bad? How could that happen?"

"Let me clarify, it wasn't an accident. Someone intentionally tried to destroy the album."

"..."

'I mean, even if the album got destroyed, as long as the band knows how to play the songs, they could just re-record it. It would only take time and effort.' Collin thought, but he didn't say it.

"It means someone is trying to sabotage our company."

'Now that's fucked up.'

"Do you know who did it? Who would do something like this?"

"We caught the culprit. He admitted that his job was to delay the album's release so we would face penalties from the distributor. As for the reason, he doesn't know, he was just hired. I want you to talk to Arnold. He might know why."

Vivian had met the members of Pulse Static and saw how dedicated they were. She didn't want another failure.

Collin was confused, but he decided to check on Arnold. Instead of calling, he went directly to his office since they were on the same floor, the 9th floor, just a short walk away.

"Hey, Tony, is Arnold inside?" Collin asked Arnold's secretary.

"Yes, he is. You can just knock, he's not busy right now."

"Thanks."

Collin knocked twice.

"Come in," Arnold said.

Collin entered and saw Arnold reading documents.

"Hey, have you heard what happened today?"

"Yeah, dude. I can't believe it either! Jackson Mike got kidnapped by aliens! And the white Jackson Mike is fake! He's clearly a robot the aliens left behind to confuse us."

"..." Collin was speechless. He didn't know how to respond. Was Jackson Mike's change of skin color really that big of a deal?

"No, I'm not talking about Jackson Mike."

"Oh, are you here because of what happened to Moonrise Music? Don't worry, even if the original album got erased, my band can re-record it." Arnold shrugged, not taking it seriously. He had already heard from Mikael and the others that someone had corrupted the file meant to be sent to the factory producing the music tapes.

"That's what I thought too. But Vivian thinks it's more serious. They found the culprit, and he was paid to delay the album's release as much as possible."

"Now that's something I didn't know..." Arnold frowned and set his documents aside.

"Wait a minute." His eyes widened slightly, as if recalling something.

"What? Did you remember something?"

"I think so. Someone from Velvet Harmony approached me before about transferring Pulse Static to their label. He said they would cover any damages and even offered $3 million upfront, plus all the conditions that Moonrise Music is giving us."

"What did you say?"

"Of course I declined."

It was an obvious decision. Just like Collin, Arnold wanted a label that would truly support his band, not just throw money at them. So far, Moonrise Music was the best option since they only had one major artist to manage, meaning they could dedicate more resources to Pulse Static.

"Although I remember he gave me an envelope. It's probably a contract with more details. I didn't even bother opening it."

"Where is it?"

"It's here."

Arnold pulled out the unopened envelope from his drawer.

He opened it with Collin watching. Instead of documents, the envelope contained photographs, pictures of Arnold and Jolyne together.

The two stared at them for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha, now I get it! So this is their plan!" Arnold laughed loudly, unable to believe someone tried to blackmail him.

The blackmail material was outdated and useless. There was nothing scandalous about the photos, Arnold and Jolyne had no reason to hide their relationship anymore.

After being blackmailed before by Chairman Noah Nash, Arnold had already come to terms with it. He realized he had nothing to be afraid of. He and Jolyne weren't doing anything wrong, they loved each other.

So Velvet Harmony's attempt at blackmail was completely ineffective.

However, both Collin and Arnold now held a grudge against the record label.

[Thank you guys for reading this novel.]