Rise of the Billionaire actress

Deloise woke up to a gloomy cloud. It was time to face everything. She had a press conference later today but before that, she had to meet her mother.

It wasn’t news that since that dreaded morning, they hadn’t spoken a word to each other. Matter of fact, she made it a point to avoid her, and any related conversation. Three days ago, that streak was broken by the visit of Ms. Karen who showed up unannounced.

That very day, she remembered getting into it with the woman who thought it right to defend the evils of her mother and expose her in one breath. She was prepared to pay her no heed until she went her way but at the mention of the sorry state of her mother, she reconsidered.

At the end of that meeting, she had an appointment with her mother, which happened to fall on the same day she was to formally address the world.

As a result, she got up early and prepared to leave the house, pondering the future of the meeting with her mother. She didn’t know if she was ready to look her in the eye, knowing she hid something so significant and deceived her for as long as she could remember.

Karen appealed to the other side of her. The side that remembered what great a mother she’s been to her. The side that argued if she did something that terrible, there should at least be an explanation – something other than the need to deceive and control her.

Deloise shook her head as she looked at her reflection. These past few months left a lasting impact on her. She wasn’t the same girl she used to be. In that moment, she realized that her greatest fear had materialized. She had faced her greatest fear and somehow, she survived.

Anna’s words returned to her, and for the first time ever, she spoke to herself.

“Congratulations, Deloise. You achieved your dreams.” If someone saw her, they’d think she was probably crazy. “You did it, and you did it all on your own. No matter what happens today, you rest easy knowing you gave it your best shot.”

******

Esther’s House.

Deloise and her mother were seated across from each other. This time around, Karen presided over them.

“I’m going to give you both time to hash things out.” She said, looking between both women, “Please, listen before you make conclusions and try to be civil, I’ll be inside.” She got up, headed towards Esther’s room. “Remember to use your words.” she warned, “No fighting!”

The door closed and the room dropped a few degrees. When did it become so hard to look her mother in the face?

“Deloise.” Her mother said and she cringed. She never called her by her name. “How have you been?”

It was hard to sit and pretend like everything was alright. Like the memory of them screaming their heads off each other hadn’t happened in this same room.

“I’m fine.” She swallowed, “How about you?”

The atmosphere was taut. This wasn’t how they interacted, when did things get so bad they couldn’t hold a proper conversation?

“I’m glad you are alright.”

Of course she didn’t say how she felt. Deloise took a deep breath, willing herself to speak.

“Karen said there is an explanation.” She started, “Something other than your need to police my life affairs,”

“If you have come to throw insults at me, I suggest you-”

“I’m sorry.” She immediately apologized. That was a cheap shot. “What happened?”

“I met Daniel when I was about your age.” Esther started before she could chicken out. It was about time she told her story anyway. “We were in love, so much that I gave up my family for him. How couldn’t I? He was perfect, tastefully talented and with a determination like none other.”

Esther held up a wry smile at the memory of her younger self. Deloise breath hitched as she continued,

“My parents believed it would end in tears, they warned me and threatened to throw me out if I continued seeing him.” A ghost of a smile made its way to her face. “I didn’t care. My stubbornness was over the roof, so I decided it was about time we lived together. Daniel was happy to have me, and we were so sure we’ll get married, prove them all wrong and achieve our dreams.”

She met her daughter’s eye, “We had dreams. I wanted to be a lawyer- and him, an actor. We fueled each other, went through everything our young lives brought to us and came up victorious as a team.”

Deloise sat up, she could sense something coming and eagerly waited for the shoe to drop. Her next statement came out with a hiss,

“Until his dream tore us apart. He got a deal to leave the country the same day I found out I was pregnant.” She held her daughter’s gaze in mock laughter. “Can you imagine that? He got the opportunity to finally make a headway in his career and that same day, I found out I was five weeks pregnant. Long story short, I asked him to choose. To be with me, and together, we’ll figure something out. We always did. That was who we were. But he left.”

“He knew you were pregnant.” Deloise was shocked. “He knew and he still left?”

“That’s where you are wrong. I demanded he make a choice and when he couldn’t give me an answer, I left. I couldn’t coddle him while he was leaving, and I couldn’t trap him using my pregnancy either. I wanted him to choose me. Not because of my baby, or anything else. I wanted him to choose me because he loved me, I wanted him to choose me like I chose him, but he chose his career. He chose wrongly.”

Esther felt breathless as soon as she finished. She couldn’t tell what her daughter thought – a fact that both worried and distressed her.

“Due to the pregnancy, I was disowned by my parents but I didn’t care. For you, I forfeited my dreams to be a lawyer and found a job to keep us alive. Best decision I’ve ever taken.” She sniffed, “So yeah, I hid you from your father, and prevented you from going through that route because I knew first hand what it does to people.” With one look at Deloise, she added, “And I was right.”

An overwhelming feeling hit Deloise, this was a lot to take in. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this.

“You made him choose, just like you are making me.”

“Bingo. And like your father, you picked wrongly.”

“Don’t say that…”

“I can see it. You’re not ready to give it up.” She remarked, “I doubt you ever will.”

“Why?” Deloise threw her hands, “Why on earth do I have to give it up? I worked so hard, took a lot of things just so I could get to where I am. Do you even know what I went through in order to get here? I did everything and we were fine, why can’t we put this behind us and move forward?”

Deloise’s voice broke towards the end of her rant. Her mother remained unmoved.

“I can be both your daughter and an actress, just like my father could have been both a lover and an actor. Why make things difficult?”

“I have nothing more to say to you.” Esther clenched her jaws, “How did you go from a respectable law student to this?”

A wry smile, “I got a scholarship. My talent was recognized, my potential was appreciated enough to earn me a spot.” She explained, “And though I went about it in the wrong way, I don’t regret a thing.”

“Good for you.” Esther said, done with the conversation.

“Does it have to be like this?” She was breaking, whatever strength she thought she had upon arriving was deflated. “I am your child… If you love me, we should meet in the middle.”

No reply.

“I’ll be on my way.”

Deloise rushed out the house, holding back tears. For some reason, she felt a gaping hole in her heart. They were irreconcilable, for as long as she remained an actress, she didn’t have a mother.

Inside, Karen rushed to a sobbing Esther. “What did you do? I heard the door shut and.. oh my goodness.”

Esther couldn’t hold back her tears. “S-She left… S-she isn’t coming back…”

Without a word, Karen rushed out to stop her, but arrived a moment too late. Deloise was gone.