Mimi seemed to sense the malice of a stranger and buried her face in Elisa’s arms. Elisa’s heart ached; she didn’t like it when others called her Mimi ugly, and she certainly didn’t want to hear that Mimi wouldn’t live long. She took a tissue from her bag and wiped away the tears from the cat’s eyes.
“We will always be together,” Elisa said.
Mimi let out a hoarse meow in response to her words, sensing Elisa’s discomfort. It carefully extended its tongue and licked the back of her hand. The tiny barbs on the cat’s tongue made Elisa’s skin itch, but she raised her hand to stroke its head.
The feeling of motion sickness was unbearable, but she had endured it over the years. She had grown accustomed to enduring discomfort, so it didn’t seem particularly unbearable to her.
After an hour’s drive, the driver pulled over.
“We have arrived. Beauty, give us a five-star review,” the driver said.
Elisa ignored him, slung her bag over her shoulder, and carried the cat off the car. Instead of going straight to her apartment, she took Mimi to the pet store.
Once a clingy cat, Mimi was now very afraid of strangers, constantly burying its face in Elisa’s embrace. Elisa didn’t want to force it, so she comforted it until it lifted its head. Its pupils contracted, and it looked around warily.
The vet gave Mimi a full check-up. The situation was not good. Over the years, Hamish had often asked the vet to help care for Mimi’s health. However, a cat’s lifespan simply couldn’t compare to that of a human. At four years old, and with the injuries from the fire, its lifespan had been cut in half. It was now like an elderly person in their twilight years, with its organs gradually weakening. Just as with humans, longing could become an illness for a cat.
The vet prescribed many nutritional supplements for Mimi and gave Elisa the necessary instructions. In addition, Elisa bought a comfortable cat bed and some cat toys, all of which Mimi had once enjoyed playing with. Elisa didn’t want to know how many years Mimi had left; she only hoped that while it was alive, she could make it happy.
She bought a lot of things, spending two thousand dollars, and the staff helped her to deliver everything to her small apartment.
Elisa placed Mimi on the sofa and checked the time. It was already noon. She prepared the cat’s meal before making her own.
It was already late, so she cooked a bowl of noodles, and together, she and the cat had their lunch by the sofa. Elisa began to tidy up the room, putting away the things she had bought from the pet store, assembling the cat tree and setting up the cat bed.
She put Mimi in the cat bed. “Try it and see if it’s comfortable to sleep in.”
Mimi stepped on the cushion, then slowly sat down and lay down. Its eyes narrowed, and when Elisa scratched its chin, it purred comfortably.
…
While Elisa was tidying up the room, the phone rang. It was an unknown number. Elisa hesitated for a moment before answering. “Hello.”
“Elisa, the team wants to discuss and hopes you can continue to record the Weekend Show,” Mr. Usoro’s voice came through.
Elisa declined, “I’m sorry, Mr. Usoro, I’ve decided to leave the show.”
“Why?” Mr. Usoro’s voice sounded urgent. “Is it because of Filippa and Sebastian? You can rest assured, Sebastian has already left the team, and we have also unilaterally proposed to terminate the contract with Filippa. She will not appear on the show again.”
“It’s not because of them.”
“Then why?” Mr. Usoro paused for a moment and then realized, “Are you blaming us for not standing up for you right away and giving you fair treatment?”
“You have your own considerations, Mr. Usoro. I’m not continuing because I’ve already proven my acting skills, and I only signed a one-term contract. Mr. Usoro, I am very grateful for the opportunity you gave me, and I apologize for the trouble I caused you during this time.”
But if she said there was no feeling in her heart, how could that be possible? Who wouldn’t like the feeling of someone standing by her regardless of right or wrong?
Mr. Usoro let out a bitter laugh. He couldn’t believe he was calling Elisa to ask her to continue recording the show. He still remembered how Elisa looked on stage, “helpless and unsupported,” for a full three days, with no one speaking up for her.
He had witnessed Elisa’s acting skills with his own eyes, yet he chose to stand by and watchElisa being insulted online for three days. How could he have the face to ask Elisa to continue recording the show?
“I’m sorry, Mr. Usoro.”
“Those words don’t exist between us. I’m not going to continue with the show for a reason. Revenge and Love is about to start filming, and Mr. Kentala has been working on the script. I need to study it at home. If I go back to your show, I’ll get mixed up with the scripts.”
“Okay, I understand. Can we still work together in the future?”
Mr. Usoro specialized in variety shows. Elisa thought for a moment and wasn’t sure if there would be any future collaboration. She hadn’t even thought about acting for a lifetime, so how could she have spare time to do variety shows?
However, Elisa didn’t directly refuse Mr. Usoro. “If there’s an opportunity, we can definitely work together.”