The initial shock behind her, Cyrielle needed to decide quickly how she would react. There were two ways she could think of : Bury the issue with more provocative news, or admit to it. Both sounded bad and she had no idea how to do it.

  Seeing that she was thinking actively, Manon tried her best to calm down, and gave her some pointers.

  “If we announce our colboration, it will bury this and nobody will talk about that anymore. However, it will resurface one way or another, maybe at the worst time. It’s always like that. So I would advise you to use this issue as an opportunity. Just like you did when you accepted a non-binary model for your runway, broaden people’s minds by talking about celebrity’s mental health. I think it’s the best way to deal with this.”

  Cyrielle nodded. It would be a tough pill to swallow, with reporters scrutinizing her every move, but long term it was better. She inwardly took a deep breath and called Julie, who was already riled up.

  “Calm down… No, I don’t want to change my lodgings. It doesn’t matter, it would have blown up one day anyway… Listen to me, I will admit to it.”

  She had to spend some time calming Julie down, but ultimately she hung up and turned to Manon.

  “I’m sorry for all that. It looks like trouble will come your way when the feature is announced.”

  The singer shrugged as if it was no big deal.

  “I’ve been in the entertainment industry for more than forty years, something like that won’t even hurt me. Now, do what you need to. I will handle the rest.”

  Cyrielle smiled and greeted her before walking towards the van where Hugo, the road manager, was waiting. The burly man immediately turned to her, his face full of worry.

  “Are you okay ?”

  “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Bring me home, I will take care of it.”

  Once in her apartment, she sat on the couch and checked her missed calls. She had a lot, but she needed to focus on the most important ones. The first person she called back was her mother.

  “Hello, princess ! I saw the news, it’s about your father, right ? Did he try to contact you ?”

  Of course, she would know her daughter best. She may not live with Cyrielle anymore, but her mother had supported her all throughout her mental struggles, when reality was too painful without antidepressants, back when she was 18. It was not a surprise that she had immediately guessed where the panic attack was coming from.

  “Yes, it was him. I became famous and rich, so obviously he would want to contact me again. I should have known.”

  Her mother spoke in a soft voice.

  “Don’t say that. It’s sad if you are always expecting the worst from people. You had hoped that he would be decent enough to leave you alone, it’s a good attitude to have, don’t beat yourself over it. Are you okay, now ?”

  “Yes. I met a doctor, received medication, and I have nice people with me. I’m really fine. In fact, I think I wouldn’t crumble now, even if he stood in front of me.”

  It was true that thanks to ‘Nerves of steel’ there was no way Cyrielle would crumble again, but more than that, she felt that she had assembled a good support system, full of nice people who would stand by her side whenever she needed it. So she wasn’t that scared of her father anymore. What could he do anyway, when she was always surrounded by staff members and four pitbulls - Julie, Coline, Bernadette, and Manon - ready to protect her and take him down if he tried anything ?

  That thought made Cyrielle smile. This life was turning out very nice. Almost ten months earlier, she would have been defeated and would have given up, but she was not ready to do that anymore. She would fight for her happiness.

  “I will be fine. He won’t get to me.”

  She heard her mother breathe a sigh of relief, but she still seemed anxious.

  “It’s good if that’s the case, but you know him. He won’t stop. He will probably try again until he has what he wants. If you are his goal, he will find every possible way to get you. And even if he grew a conscience and gave up, his wife and kids won’t. Your brother told me that they have become even more aggressive since you started becoming famous. Apparently, they scream and hit each other every day while putting the bme on you.”

  Cyrielle sprung up.

  “Léo still talks to him ? But you told me after I got out, they changed their target to him ! He shouldn’t stay close to people like them !”

  Her mother sighed.

  “I know, I think the same way. If I ever heard that they put their hands on him, I will absolutely bring them to court this time. But you know your brother, he doesn’t want to abandon his family. He has a kind heart, even if he hides it.”

  Cyrielle nodded and sat back on her couch. Léonard was a 21 year old who always looked annoyed, making a disgusted face everytime his sister tried to hug him, but inside he was a real golden retriever, like Cyrielle. They both were kind and trusting, with a lot of faith in humans, but that trait had hurt Cyrielle so much that she was scared her brother would suffer the same fate. However, she couldn’t do anything, as she was living so far away. It was even more true now that she was a celebrity, she had no way to meet her family without reporters making a big deal out of it, especially with the current issue.

  She sighed.

  “Should I tell my agency to keep them away ? If I give them their names and faces, they will prevent them from getting too close.”

  Her mother disagreed vividly.

  “What if someone catches wind of it, or if the information is leaked ? It will bring trouble to you, but also to us. All the media attention will be on your family dynamic and why you have such a bad retionship with your father.”

  “You’re right… I guess I can’t do anything except be careful. It’s frustrating…”

  They talked a bit more, and Cyrielle ended the call since she had a lot of people to text and soothe about the situation. Her life may be better than before, but the struggles weren’t over.

  After making sure that everyone had calmed down, Cyrielle took a deep breath.

  ‘Addressing the issue… How should I do it ?’

  [You have a lot of followers on social media. I would suggest posting a story on Instantgram.]

  ‘It’s a good idea… What should I say ?’

  [Since you decided to admit to it, say that you had a panic attack and instead of expining why, deflect by talking about the fact that celebrities are people too, and they have feelings and sometimes can be in bad pces. End on a positive note to comfort your panicking fans, saying that you are alright now, that everything is settled, and you saw a doctor.]

  The pn was logical and reasonable. It would feed the reporters while erasing the false rumors, and calm down the fans while creating a discussion to shift the public's attention. It was perfect. Cyrielle nodded and started to record.

  ***

  At the same time, a man was scrolling on his phone, sitting in a luxurious living room.

  ‘That day… Isn’t that when I send her the message ? She had a panic attack ? What bullshit ! I never did anything to her !’

  Laurent Laporte was grinding his teeth while reading the articles. PTSD ? Nonsense ! All the headlines he was seeing in the online newsfeed were making him angry. But at the same time, a small part of his heart was feeling sad. His own daughter was scared of him to the point of panicking and losing consciousness, and he was the only one to bme for it.

  He stood up and started pacing the room, trying to shake off his feelings. Talking to her wasn’t even an option, now. He had imagined that even if she hated him, they could meet up and talk for a bit, he would act nice, and she would come to him with all her money. But it was obviously impossible, if she couldn’t even bear to see his texts.

  At that moment, a skinny woman entered the room. She had a bruise on her arm and a split lip.

  “Are you happy now ? Just hearing about you makes her freak out !”

  The man raised his head, contorting his face in a furious scowl.

  “It’s your fault, you witch ! I completely lost my daughter because of you !”

  “Witch ? You are the monster ! You already have a daughter right here and you won’t even look at her !”

  “Your spawn isn’t my daughter ! I had two girls, and one left the country to not see me anymore, and the other almost died of terror just seeing a text ! You ruined everything !”

  The woman screamed in rage, and jumped on the man to hit him in the face. He easily dodged and hit her back, plunging his elbow in her stomach. When the woman bent over in pain, he kicked her and threw her on the ground. He then looked at his wife, while her face was still full of hate and her body was shaking.

  “I’ll go drink with my colleagues. I don’t want to see you.”

  On the first floor, peeking through the stairs’ railing, two silhouettes were observing the scene in dissatisfaction.

  “It’s all that bitch’s fault, our parents never fought like that before !”

  The young man was clenching his fist’s so hard that his fingers were white. His sister was nodding enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, she really is a demon. But you heard, right ? She had a panic attack just by receiving a text from Laurent. Maybe we can do something about it, to remind her of her pce ?”

  The siblings looked at each other and smiled.

  “What do you want to do ?”

  The boy asked with his eyes twinkling.

  “Well, she is a celebrity, right ? It would be nice to see her freak out in public.”