Chapter 93 The Premiere
Celebrities paraded down the red carpet, barely paying attention to the bright camera flashes and screaming fans all around them. The premiere of Chipfairies 2 was a grand affair, which was a hopeful sign for the film’s future.
When Emily and Byron emerged from their limo, she hardly expected people to cheer for them, but the crowd went just as wild as it had for the Hollywood actors.
A young woman with a microphone closed in on them, followed by a camera man. “Here comes Byron Pomeroy, the executive producer of the film,” she said, “Mr. Pomeroy, there are rumors that you took on this project as a joke. Is there any truth to that?”
Byron looked right at home on the red carpet. His tall, dashing figure caught the public’s eye, and his chiseled face looked perfect from every angle. “No joke,” he said, “I made this film because I believed in it. The Chipfairies are all about having faith and believing in magic. And that’s what I did. It was the cast and crew who put in the real work on the film, but I like to believe I gave it that initial spark.”
Emily could tell he was putting on a show, but she didn’t want to say anything in front of the camera.
Once they walked on down the red carpet and entered the theater foyer, Byron nearly burst out laughing, and his laughter was contagious.
“I’m glad you find it funny, Mr. I-believe-in-magic,” Emily said, giggling right along with him. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Why? The film turned out all right,” he responded. “But I really will start believing in magic if it does well at the box office.”
“Of course it’s going to do well,” Emily said, “It’s a good film.”
“You never know,” Byron cautioned, “Good reviews from critics don’t always translate into box office dollars. The audience will have to give it their seal of approval.”
The clamor outside exploded into ecstatic cheers. Some of the film’s stars were arriving. All eyes turned to the doorway. The most slender, elegant woman walked in, her dress shimmering with extravagant crystals, her hair descending dramatically in dark waves. It was Nova Summers.
Emily wondered how anyone could be this beautiful. She had seen Nova on the screen, but it seemed the actress was even more gorgeous in real life. For a moment, Emily caught a wistful look in Byron’s eye as he admired Nova’s entrance along with everyone else.
But Emily resolved not to let it bother her. This was just an ex-girlfriend, even if she happened to be a Hollywood celebrity.
Nova greeted her friends and other members of the cast and crew.
“Let’s go say hello,” Byron suggested, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Emily realized she must have looked a little wary as she stared at the stunning movie actress.
“It’s going to be fine,” Byron assured her, “she’s very nice.”
“Byron!” Nova had finally seen him and was coming towards them with her long, graceful strides. The side slits in her dress displayed her slender legs to their full advantage. “I didn’t know you were going to make it.”
“How could I miss this?” Byron said suavely. He greeted Nova with a brief hug. “Nova, this is my fiancee, Emily.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nova said, shaking Emily’s hands with her silk gloved fingers, “My sympathies.” She rolled her eyes as if to suggest what an annoyance it was dealing with Byron.
“And mine, on having to work so hard to bring a dead franchise back to life,” Emily said.
She was starting to feel insecure. It was hard to imagine anyone remaining indifferent to this woman. Even Emily herself was nearly swooning at the scent of her delicious perfume.
“Oh, it was fun.” Nova waved her gloved hand in a carefree gesture. “I didn’t see how Chipfairies could ever make it, but with a few tweaks... I think we may have a winner on our hands. You were right to fight for it, Byron.”
“It may be too early to tell,” Byron demurred.
“I have a feeling it’s going to be great!” Nova said.
She soon excused herself and went off to mingle with other people.
“See, she’s not so bad,” Byron said.
Some journalists entered the foyer, and Byron had to go take pictures with the cast and crew while Emily waited. She didn’t know anyone else there, but she wasn’t too bored as there were so many celebrities to see sauntering by. She tried not to feel jealous as the journalists snapped myriads of photos of Byron and Nova together.
Something caught Emily’s eye, and suddenly her body felt drained of breath. A tall man with spiky blond hair was making his way towards her through the crowd.
Her rational mind tried to tell her it was highly unlikely that Josh could get tickets to this event, but her body reacted instinctively, and suddenly she was panting and gasping in panic.
The man came closer... but it was a totally different person. His face was very thin and pale, not like Josh at all. Even though she knew that, Emily found it hard to breathe, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a heavy stone.
Suddenly she heard Byron’s voice close beside her. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t know what to say. “Yeah... I think so...” she mumbled.
“Do you want to sit down?”
She nodded, and Byron guided her to a less crowded place, his hands confident and gentle against her back.
Finally, she was able to sit down and catch her breath.
“What happened?” Byron asked. “Do you want to go back to the hotel and rest?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I think I just had a panic attack.”
Byron looked at her with growing concern. “Is it because of Josh?”
“Yeah, I thought I saw him for a moment.”
“You sure you’re all right?”
“Yes. I’m just embarrassed,” she admitted. “I thought I was over my fears.”
“It might take some time,” Byron said, his eyebrows knitted together with worry.
They went into the theater to watch the premiere, but Emily found it hard to focus on the film. She was too disappointed that Josh still held such a major place in her life.
