When Cyrielle’s team arrived at Manon’s enormous vil, they were guided to the studio by her agent, a nice-looking man with the most charming smile. The studio was in an annex, on the side of the property, it was very big with several recording booths for voices and instruments, and multiple computers connected to sound engineering equipment. Manon was sitting at a desk, big headphones on her ears. She immediately got up upon seeing Cyrielle and greeted her with a smile.

  “How are you ? While waiting I made a few demos. It’s nothing fantastic, but I would still like you to hear them and give me your opinion.”

  Cyrielle greeted her politely and sat on a neighboring chair. But instead of making her listen to the tracks, Manon started to speak again.

  “Oh, by the way, I saw the docuseries about your album ! It was really good and very eye opening about your process. Did you really create all those songs in less than two months at home ?”

  “Yes. I just had a stroke of inspiration, I guess.”

  The singer smiled.

  “Creating a first album that easily ? Don’t fool me, it’s impossible. You were a musician previously, right ? Well, I won’t pry if you don’t want me to.”

  Another misunderstanding was starting to spread in the music industry, it seemed. Cyrielle shrugged. One more or one less, it didn’t matter. Now that her image had reached this point, nobody would believe her if she tried to admit to being a normal girl. The general opinion was divided between her being a genius, or putting in a terrifying amount of work, but all agreed on one thing : She could not absolutely dominate the fashion and music industry without having experienced it before. However, no matter how much the reporters were digging, nobody had heard of her before. Cyrielle was now a mysterious existence hidden in a veil of secrecy and mysticism.

  “Oh, I also watched your runway, it was stunning ! Could you design a stage outfit for my next tour ? I will pay you handsomely, of course.”

  “Yes, if you want to. The promotional work for my album is finished and my collection is completed, so I have time.”

  Manon rolled her eyes, her arms crossed.

  “How naive are you ? We are already in october ! The end of the year is coming soon, and you know what that means. All the award ceremonies will want to have you !”

  Cyrielle shook her head.

  “It’s my debut year and my album came out in summer, I don’t think I’ll get rewarded.”

  “If nobody pays attention to you, they are clearly corrupted ! You made such an impact in the industry, it’s obvious that you should be rewarded. I’m sure people will talk about it during the broadcast…”

  Manon stopped herself and furrowed her brows.

  “Are you sure you want to appear on it ? I mean, you probably discussed it with the interviewer beforehand so they won’t ask strange questions, but it’s broadcasted live and there is a segment with questions from the audience, right ? I’m worried…”

  “It was prepared beforehand to talk about my runway, so I have no choice.”

  A few months ago, when Cyrielle had told Julie about her collection, her friend had prepared a TV appearance to talk about her designs. It was a news broadcast with a segment where a celebrity could come and talk about hot topics while promoting their work. Cyrielle had accepted because she was less active on social media and didn’t do any interviews since the one with Bernard Leroux. However, since then the scandal about her mental health had exploded, and even if it had quieted down a bit and the focus of the debate had changed, she was still under a lot of scrutiny. The TV host would probably not feed the controversy since they had an agreement with Cyrielle’s side, but the appearance included a segment with questions from a live audience on set. It was a major risk.

  Manon anxiously scratched her head.

  “Can’t you cancel it ? It seems dangerous…”

  But Cyrielle shook her head.

  “It was announced in advance, if I cancel it the reporters will run with the news and publish articles about how I had another panic attack and that’s why I’m canceling a schedule. It’s better to go anyway and face the problem head on. I already prepared some answers and topic changes in case of an emergency. The channel is aware of the situation too, so they are ready to intervene if something goes wrong.”

  Manon still seemed anxious, but she finally nodded.

  “Okay. If you say it will work out, then I can’t stop you. Just be careful.”

  They then focused on their music, listening to demos and writing down ideas. Cyrielle was going back and forth to the piano, pying a few notes and listening to it with Manon. At the end of the day, they had a basic skeleton of a song.

  ***

  A few days ter, Cyrielle was seated on a sofa next to an energetic woman.

  “So Mademoiselle Cyrielle, your collection was a huge success ! I heard even professionals from the industry compliment you.”

  “Indeed. I didn’t expect such praises from established designers. Emilio Gabasace in particur was very nice in his Bluebird post, and said that my collection was revolutionary.”

  “Yes, I saw that too ! It’s incredible to think that your very first collection is so successful ! Now, here is a question everyone is asking, myself included : Can we actually buy those clothes ? I mean, I desperately need Coline Fntier’s outfit ! It would look very bad on TV because of the green screen, but I will wear it to every event !”

  The audience cpped in agreement and the host ughed. Cyrielle looked at the seated people, approximately fifty audience members, and smiled elegantly.

  “If you like my clothes that much, then I am happy to announce that we are currently discussing with manufacturing companies. The collection should be on sale early next year.”

  The host gasped and appuded loudly, followed by the spectators.

  “That’s incredible news, I can’t wait ! Now that we are actually talking about sales, your album is number two on the french charts ! What do you think about that ?”

  Cyrielle shifted her crossed legs to hide her embarrassment and responded with poise.

  “I think it may be due to the docuseries. I didn’t expect it to become so popur, it’s just me being recorded while creating music, but people seem to like it a lot. I even received an offer from Neytlix for the docuseries to be streamed on their ptform, with dubs and subtitles for my fans worldwide.”

  The woman opened her eyes wide and leaned towards Cyrielle.

  “Did you accept ? This is a huge opportunity ! You are quite popur in Europe, but you aren’t that well known in America or Asia, right ? With a Neytlix docuseries, you could soar internationally !”

  Cyrielle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned to the audience who was holding their breath.

  “Yes, I accepted.”

  Everyone cpped again, and the host had a hard time trying to make the studio quiet down.

  “I also saw a recent video on your MyTube channel, where you renovate the main building of Perfection Leather. The interior design was so modern and stunning, I would love to go there if only to look at their garden ! Where are you hiding all those talents ? Interior design, fashion, modeling, sewing, singing, composing… And that’s not all ! You have been announced to participate in a show jumping competition soon, right ? Everyone who follows you knows that you like horse riding, but this news really made me speechless ! Where do you find the time ?”

  Cyrielle shyly adjusted the colr of her ced shirt.

  “Contrary to the majority of people who need to work everyday to have enough money to live, I already have quite a bit of savings, so I can afford to freely pursue my dreams with all I have. It’s not really fair to compare me to everyone.”

  Some audience members screamed in agreement and appuse erupted once more. It was now time for the audience questions, and the host smiled while discreetly signaling the security staff to get ready. She stood up and handed the microphone to a bubbly girl.

  “Hello Mademoiselle Cyrielle ! Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous… I’m a horseboy and I was wondering if we can come to see you at the show jumping competition ?”

  Cyrielle broke into a sincere smile.

  “Thank you so much for being a fan. I would prefer it if you didn’t come. It’s a small local competition and there will be a lot of regur people, as well as delicate animals. If there is a lot of agitation, it could be an inconvenience and scare the horses. However, I can ask my team to broadcast it live if you are interested.”

  “Okay, we will stay at home, then ! But you need to stream it !”

  “I will make sure to obtain the permission.”

  With a bit more banter, the girl finally sat down and the microphone was handed to a shy looking man.

  “Hello, I really loved your album and then I watched your runway with a non-binary model, and I saw that you once performed at a drag show. I am a gay man and I was really happy so I’m wondering if you are part of the queer community.”

  This was a really controversial topic, one neither the host nor Cyrielle had expected, but there would be backsh if they shut down the man. So Cyrielle elegantly smiled and replied calmly.

  “I don’t really know myself, to be honest, but I did a lot of research about the queer community when I was preparing for the drag show, and I came to respect all those people who fight for their rights. I hope it answers your question.”

  The man nodded and sat back with a smile. The audience was already starting to get agitated, so the host announced they would take one st question before ending the celebrity segment. A girl took the microphone from the host's hand and stood up suddenly, prompting everyone to look at her, including Cyrielle who froze.

  “Hey, bitch ! How does it feel to act all high and mighty as if you were a rich girl when in fact you grew in a forest with your feet in chicken poop ?”

  The blonde girl was smiling arrogantly while staring into Cyrielle’s eyes. It was her step-sister.