Chapter 1

I pissed off a top actress just for standing up for what was right.

She blacklisted me from the entire entertainment industry.

She even declared that the only way she'd forgive me was if I bowed and apologized to her dog.

What she didn't know was that my mom's real identity, kept secret for years, was actually the heir to the most powerful family in all of Kingshaven.

And me? I was set to be the one and only granddaughter, the most spoiled in the family.

*****

I was just a background extra hustling in Dreamport, one of those so-called Dreamport drifters.

I never wanted to be an extra, but I grew up in the countryside, my family was nothing special, and my education was nothing to write home about.

I wasn't about to steal or sell myself, so I had to find a job to survive.

Early in the morning, I showed up at the Dreamport extras guild and asked the guild leader, "Hey, any gigs today?"

Normally, since I was always so hardworking, they'd give me first dibs on the jobs.

But today, he just waved me off impatiently. He said, "No gigs. Beat it!"

I steadied myself and headed over to the next drama guild.

The moment the guild leader saw my name on my actor pass, his face changed. He snapped, "Scram. Don't get us blacklisted, too."

Getting kicked out again didn't bother me. I went straight to the third guild. But the same thing happened.

After getting turned down seven times in a row, a guild leader finally spelled it out for me. He said, "Do you even know who you pissed off? Cindy is the industry's it girl. Who do you think you are, crossing her?

"You can forget about ever working in this business again. You're still young and pretty. Just go get married while you still can."

I wasn't having it. I shot back, "Yeah, she's a superstar, but that doesn't mean she can act like a diva and make us extras stand around under the blazing sun.

"All I did was ask her to hurry up. How is that even a crime?"

I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

That day, a bunch of background actors were dropping like flies from heatstroke.

Meanwhile, Cindy was chilling under a sunshade, getting fanned by her assistant, fussing over her dog, and refusing to lift a finger until the crew brought her an iced drink.

Did being just regular folks mean we didn't count as people?

The guild leader scoffed, "You seriously don't get it, do you? You think you can measure up to Cindy? She graduated from Kingshaven Academy of Arts, and she scored the lead role in her very first show.

"She's got big money and powerful connections backing her. What about you? You think your folks can pull any strings for you?

"She's way up there, and you're way down here. You're not even playing the same game."

The guild leader, who was usually cool with me, kept shoving me away as he spoke, clearly scared someone might catch us talking.

Worn out and defeated, I headed back to my shared place, only to find all my stuff dumped all over the living room.

My greasy landlord, Dustin, was hugging my blanket and flinging it into the middle of the room.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" I called out, hurrying over to block him.

"What's your problem?" I shouted.

Dustin snapped, "Your lease is up. Get the hell out."

I yanked the contract out of my bag and jabbed a finger at it. I demanded, "Isn't this supposed to end next month? I still have over a month left."

Dustin snatched the contract out of my hand and ripped it to shreds.

He yelled, "Lease is up when I say it is. If you dare stick around, I'll get someone to mess you up. Just so you know: you pissed off the wrong person, and someone dropped 7 grand just to kick you out, right now."

He chucked my blanket onto the filthy floor, cursing me out as he walked away.

I just slumped down on the couch, totally spent.

I grabbed my phone and started dialing a few friends from the extras crowd, girls I used to call my besties.

Not a single one picked up.

And on WhatsApp, I was blocked by all of them.

My phone kept blowing up with notifications: I was getting kicked out of group after group.

I was kicked out of every single group on all my social media accounts.

In that moment, it felt like the whole world had turned its back on me.

After grinding it out in Dreamport for three years, I wasn't just trying to survive; I was chasing a dream, too.

But now? Every dream, every job I had, was just ripped away from me.

I'd been completely crushed.