Chapter 65

Matthew sat in the rest area, his initial annoyance slowly giving way to a fascination that made it hard to look away.
His eyes were glued to Yvonne when Queena’s assistant suddenly rushed over.
“Mr. Gonzalez, it’s terrible! Queena was touching up her makeup in the dressing room and she fainted!”
Matthew’s expression changed instantly. He shot up from his chair and hurried toward the dressing rooms.
Inside, Queena was lying on a chaise lounge, her face pale, looking utterly fragile.
The set’s on-call doctor was examining her.
“How is she?” Matthew asked, his face grim with worry.
“Ms. Spencer collapsed from a combination of exhaustion and severe emotional distress,” the doctor said, removing his stethoscope and sighing. “If this continues, it could easily develop into clinical depression. You must talk to her and help her through this. She’s so young, she shouldn’t be bottling things up.” He looked from Queena to Matthew. “Ms. Spencer, your boyfriend clearly cares for you deeply. Don’t do anything foolish that would cause him to worry.”
Queena, who had just begun to stir, leaned weakly against the lounge, her eyes red as she let out soft, whimpering sobs.
Her assistant, Judy, couldn’t hold back any longer. “Mr. Gonzalez, Queena is only like this because she loves you so much! What has she done wrong? Your fiancée torments her on set, and then she brings your mother here just to humiliate Queena further. Now everyone on set is calling her a shameless homewrecker.
“She’s not sleeping, she just hides and cries all night. Then she has to work all day. How can her body take it?”
“Judy, that’s enough. Stop it,” Queena said weakly, waiting until her assistant had finished to offer a token protest.
“Matthew, don’t listen to her. Yvonne is my sister; she would never hurt me. She’s just a little young and headstrong. As her older sister, I should be more understanding.”
With that, she tried to sit up, only to collapse back onto the lounge with a gasp of weakness.
“Queena, you’re too weak. Don’t move, just lie down,” Matthew said, his voice filled with concern. He gently helped her back, carefully covering her with a light blanket. “You just rest. I’ll handle everything else. I won’t let anyone bully you.”
He stormed out of the room, furious.
The moment he was gone, Queena sat up, all signs of weakness gone.
She gave Judy a look, and the assistant immediately produced a signed check and handed it to the doctor.
“Dr. Scott, thank you for your help just now. This is for you.”
Dr. Scott’s eyes lit up at the amount on the check. He reached for it, but Judy snatched it back.
He looked at her, confused, as she warned him in a cold voice, “Once you walk out that door, you keep your mouth shut. Don’t say a word of what you shouldn’t.”
“Of course, of course. I have the utmost respect for patient confidentiality,” Dr. Scott said, quickly grabbing the check and hurrying out of the room.
Yvonne was back in her dressing room getting a makeup touch-up when Matthew burst in.
“Could everyone please step out? I need a word with Yvonne,” he said, his face a thunderous mask.
“Oh, Mr. Gonzalez needs some private time with his fiancée. We’re just getting in the way,” one of the makeup artists quipped.
The joke fell flat, making the atmosphere even more tense.
The other artists and two actors exchanged uneasy glances before getting up and leaving.
Soon, only Yvonne and Matthew remained in the large dressing room.
Yvonne sat at the vanity, watching his furious reflection in the mirror. She didn’t need
to guess; Queena had obviously been up to her old tricks again.
“Well, Mr. Gonzalez, you look like you’re here to deliver a verdict. Did your precious first love run crying to
you again? she asked with a 9 to
dismissive tone.
“Don’t you dare judge others by your own petty standards,” Matthew snapped. “Queena didn’t say a thing. All she did was cry. She’s too kind for her own good, willing to suffer in silence rather than say a single bad word about you.” sŵnovels