THE LOST HEIRESS RETURNS AFTER DIVORCE
Chapter 17: Little piggy

Chapter 17: Little piggy

She bowed. Even as she was done, there was silence. Heather thought she did bad cause of the way everywhere was silent.

"Jesus Christ..." one judge muttered under his breath.

"Miss Heather," another said, clapping his hands together, "you are... amazing."

Heather couldn’t see their faces clearly, but she could tell from their voices—they were impressed.

"I’ll give you a ten," the first judge said.

Heather smiled slightly.

"Same here," another judge added.

"I’ll say... 9.5," said a woman at the table.

Then there was a pause. One judge hadn’t spoken yet. Heather waited.

"I’m not quite grasping your audition," he said. "Do it again."

Something about that voice made her pause. It sounded... familiar.

"Uh, he said from the top, Miss Heather," one of the other judges clarified, noticing her hesitation.

She started again. "How do you keep—"

"Cut," the same voice interrupted.

"Your voice doesn’t have the strength it needs. You’re too soft. Start again. From the top."

Heather inhaled slowly, trying not to let her frustration show. "How do—"

"Cut. Again, from the top."

She tried once more. "How—"

"Cut."

"Your tone is wrong," he said. "This is a survival film. You need to sound like it matters." he paused, "Also, don’t read the script. You must have memorized everything just to read for us."

That’s wasn’t even in the script, what the hell does he know about acting? Heather thought.

Still, she breathed in and tried to reset.

"Cut."

"I haven’t even—"

"Cut."

"No talk back. Just pure acting."

She heard him stand up from his seat. He stepped forward, and moved slightly closer to the light, one of his hands were in his pocket.

Of course. It was him.

Fucking Caius.

"From the top," he said again.

"How do you—"

"Again."

"If you’d just let me—"

"Again."

"How am I supposed to—"

"Again."

Heather didn’t speak anymore. She just stared at him, hatred burning behind her eyes.

"Maybe it’s the scene," Caius said, turning to the other judges. "Let’s give her something she’s more familiar with. Something simple."

The other judges looked unsure but nodded. Caius always got what he wanted.

He turned back to Heather. "Let’s make this easy. Where did you grow up?"

Heather was hesitant, she knew he already knows this. He used to mock her with it. "Vallmont."

"A farm town, right?"

When she didn’t answer, he went on. "That place is all about farming."

She nodded slowly.

"So you grew up surrounded by piggies and goats."

He was digging now, going somewhere cruel. She could feel it coming.

Heather had been sent to that place by Evelyn when she was just a child. While Lauren had been sent overseas, Heather was abandoned in that rural town.

Evelyn never cared for her. Treated her like a burden, like a mistake. Especially since her mother was dead.

Heather said nothing. She only nodded, her eyes cast to the floor. This memory brought a lot of negative emotions for her.

"Well then," Caius said with a smirk, "oink for me."

Her eyes lifted slowly. "What?"

"Get on your knees and oink, you little piggy."

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. This wasn’t about the audition. He was punishing her, he was doing this because she had refused to sign the legal document.

"Tell you what," he said. "If you oink, I’ll give you the role."

"I’m not oinking," she said, her voice quiet, almost like a murmur.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I said," she repeated louder, "I’m not oinking."

"Then get off the stage, little piggy."

Heather froze. She couldn’t leave, walking out now would mean giving up everything. The role, the company, the future she had fought so hard for.

So she did it.

She knelt, hands flat against the floor. She inhaled sharply.

It’s just acting. She kept telling herself.

"Oink. Oink."

There were quiet laughs from somewhere in the crowd. That’s when she realized she wasn’t alone. People were there; watching and listening.

Her heart dropped. Shame swept through her chest like a fire. Of all the things Caius had done to her in the past—none of them came close to this. This was the worst humiliation of her life.

She stood slowly, brushing her hands against her knees.

She looked at Caius, who was smiling like he was pleased.

Then she turned around and walked off the stage.

"How did it go?" Manager Sheng asked as Heather kicked open the audition door with her foot.

"Careful," he added quickly. "Company property."

"It’s my fucking company!" Heather nearly shouted.

Sheng glanced around nervously, adjusting his glasses. "You’re going to expose yourself with a temper like that."

"Wouldn’t that be better?" she snapped. "At least then I’d stop being treated like I don’t matter."

"You’re just upset, and clearly in a very bad place. Now, how did the audition actually go?"

Heather turned in circles, running her fingers through her hair. Her frustration boiled over.

"That son of a bitch—Caius."

Sheng tensed. "What did Caius do?"

Heather’s breathing turned shallow. The words came out jagged. "He... he made me get on my knees and oink."

Sheng blinked. "Why would he do that?"

"You tell me," she spat.

He rubbed his forehead in disbelief, sighing.

"How did he even get to be a judge on my film?" Heather growled.

"Stop it, Heather," Sheng warned, through clenched teeth but with a polite smile for the hallway cameras. "He’s one of the biggest sponsors."

Heather’s eyes narrowed. Sponsor? That didn’t make sense.

"I thought he lost everything."

"Caius?" Sheng snorted. "He’s a multi billionaire. You don’t go broke overnight when you’re that kind of rich."

Sheng didn’t know about the legal documents, or the leverage Heather refused to give up. But in time, all the power Caius flaunted would be stripped away. Heather knew it. He just didn’t.

"I’m just mad," she said, raising a clenched fist. "I could kill something."

"Alright," Sheng said gently, lowering her hand. "Let’s channel that anger somewhere useful."

"I might not get the role," Heather said quietly.

"Yeah," Sheng admitted, no lies between them now.

"But Miss H might still give it to me," she added, giving him a pointed side glance.

"No. We’re not going down that path." Sheng’s voice was firm. "If she favors you now, on your first day, what will people say? That she was secretly watching the auditions? Where even is she?"