Until Forever Ink Fades

             Lily got home feeling very tired,She trudged into her living room, dropping her bags onto the floor. As she thought about her day, she remembered what her manager, Kelsey, had told her earlier. Someone had taken a picture of her in a man's car, and the photo was now being used to threaten her. The person who sent the photo claimed that Lily was being kept as a mistress, and they were going to post the picture online unless she complied with their demands.

Lily felt a wave of anxiety wash over her remembering how much she had spent to have this blackmailer delete the photo,he didn't accept to delete it but he did accept to not post it. 

    Lily sighed, feeling frustrated and trapped. She had already paid the blackmailer a large sum of money, but it seemed like he was still going to try and extort more from her. She didn't know what to do, or how to make the situation go away.

     As she sat down on her couch, Lily's mind began to wander back to the events of the previous night. She had been so drunk, and she barely remembered anything. But one thing she did remember was the feeling of being safe, and being taken care of,but when she woke up she wasn't very sure if it was just drunkenness,that got her thinking light that, she had written a cheque and given it to the receptionist incase her good Samaritan came back for a pay.

     She picked up her phone and logged into her insta account, she scrolled through the recent posts and find one peculiar trending topic. 

     #Top actress Sophia has been defamed.#

     #top actress Sophia has retired,at an early age. #

      Lily frowned, Sophia was at the peek of her career, why sould she retire? ,she thought it was just a rumor, but when she punched into the search bar for 'Sophia grant's she saw nothing, Sophia's Insta account was gone!..... Deleted. 

       Lily immediately rushed to the entertainment industry Sophia signed with and was stunned to see a public defamation post. 

   The post was scathing, listing all the bad things Sophia had allegedly done, from being unprofessional on set to being rude to her fans,as climbing to the top only by connection. The post ended with a statement declaring that any industry that hired Sophia would be worthless and doomed to fail.

Lily's eyes widened as she read the post, shocked by the vitriol and hatred directed towards Sophia. She couldn't believe that the entertainment industry would stoop so low as to publicly defame one of their own.

As she scrolled through the comments, Lily saw that many people were celebrating Sophia's downfall, calling her a "diva" and a "has-been." But there were also some people who were defending Sophia, saying that she didn't deserve to be treated this way.

Lily felt a pang of sympathy for Sophia, despite their past differences. She couldn't imagine how Sophia must be feeling, to have her reputation torn apart like this, at the end she sighed because she couldn't possibly do anything, she threw her phone to the couch and went to bathe after which she slept off, and failed to see the message that popped into her phone from insta. 

  "I can't believe I'm worth only, $200,000."

But another message popped in from her manager pushing the first text down. 

      ***. ****

       Ana slowly opened her eyes, only to shut them again as a thin ray of light danced across her face, peeking through the narrow gap in the window curtain. She sat up, feeling the familiar creak of her tired bones. The exhausting shopping spree with Lily the day before had left her drained, and she had dozed off the moment she lay down.

As she looked around, Ana felt a fleeting sense of disorientation. Something didn't feel quite right... But then, it hit her - she wasn't in her own room. The memories of the previous night's move to Ethan's house came flooding back. Ana let out a soft sigh, scanning the bedside area for her phone. When she spotted it, she frowned at the time displayed on the screen - 7:26. Monday morning. She had to get to work.

Without wasting any time, Ana quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, where she took a swift shower. Luckily, Mrs. Burrow had arranged her work clothes in the wardrobe, making it easy for her to pick out a crisp, white shirt and a simple black trouser. She slipped on her heels, grabbed her coat and was ready to leave. 

        As Ana came out of the room, she was welcomed by the delicious smell of freshly cooked food. Her eyes fell on Ethan, who was putting a plate of tasty food on the small dining table. For a moment, she was surprised by what he was wearing. The three times she had seen him before, Ethan was always dressed in nice suits, looking very professional and powerful. But now, he was wearing a simple cream-colored sweater and dark jeans, with his sleeves rolled up to show his strong arms. He also had a clean white apron around his waist, which made him look like a normal person, not just a powerful businessman. When their eyes met, Ethan smiled warmly, and Ana's heart seem to skip a beat. 

    "Good morning," he said, his voice deep and gentle. Ana said good morning back. 

       "Breakfast is ready." Ethan added nodding to the table. 

    Ana had never been one to eat at home. She usually had her assistant order food for her at work, and on weekends, she'd snack or have food delivered. She didn't know how to cook, and it had been a while since she'd had a homemade meal. In fact, it had been about half a year since she'd last visited her mother's house and tasted her cooking,being invited to breakfast right now ,she didn't know what to do,she went to the table Ethan pulled out a sit for her,Ana sat down.

      (As soon as she sat she texted her address to the company's driver to come take her to work.)

        Looking at the different cuisine on the table she couldn't he

lp but ask."did you really make these."?