Star-crossed double-cross 25

Chapter 25 – Question time

“Ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome the princess of pop, Bianca Cabello.” The audience erupted into a mixture of cheers and applause as the late-night television presenter introduced his final guest of the evening.

Stepping out from backstage into a sea of smiling faces, Lucian waved to the crowd and grinned. Trotting towards the centre of the room, he took great care not to trip on his block-heeled sandals before greeting the host of the show with a peck on each cheek.

“Come on everybody. Give it up for one more time for Bianca Cabello,” the host yelled as Lucian smoothed out the skirt of his short floral dress before sitting down and seductively crossing his pantyhosed legs.

Feeling calm, Lucian waved to the crowd one more time, just as he’d been coached. He had learned through the countless interviews he’d had to sit through over the last couple of weeks that there was an art to it. It was actually quite simple. The questions were always pre-determined with his answers displayed above the camera he was supposed to look into at any given time. All he had to do was sit up straight, smile, and flirt a little.

“Bianca, welcome. Thank you for coming over to see us,” the TV host said, leaning back on his chair behind a big oak desk. “And looking incredible as always tonight.”

“Thank you, Craig. It’s a pleasure to be here,” Lucian replied, looking the older grey-haired man directly in the eyes. “You’re not looking too bad yourself.”

“Oh, Miss Cabello, are you coming on to me?” Craig said playfully as he leaned across and placed both hands on Lucian’s nylon-clad knee. “I'll warn you, I’m not that easy, you know. At least buy me dinner first.” He added as the audience burst out laughing.

Having to play out the cheesy pre-planned act, Lucian wanted to roll his eyes but resisted. “Your place or mine?” he cooed, placing his long-nailed hands atop the hosts.

Pulling away, Craig leaned back on his chair once more and dramatically fanned himself while playing up to the cameras. “Phew. Now there’s an offer, but I need to calm myself down. I’m not sure my heart can take this much excitement.”

When the crowd settled down, Craig leaned forward once more. “So, Bianca. You’re known as a tough straight-talking kind of gal. Shall we put that to the test? I’ve got some pretty tough questions for you tonight.”

“Bring em on Craig,” Lucian answered with a smile, reading off the autocue above camera number two. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Alright then, let's talk about your new album,” Craig announced as a picture of Lucian wearing sexy lingerie while lying seductively on a sofa flashed up on the screen behind the pair. “As we all know, you’re an extraordinarily talented young woman. You can sing and dance. You write all your own songs, and on top of that, you are incredibly beautiful. How can we all be sure you weren’t grown in a lab somewhere?”

The Audience burst out laughing as Lucian giggled along. “I’m human, just like everyone else. I was just lucky enough to have incredibly supportive parents and then worked tirelessly to develop the gifts given to me by God.” A round of applause rang out around the room in response to the answer.

“Well, we’re all looking forward to seeing your talents when you sing us your latest release later. And talking of the single. I have to ask about the name, Fill me up. You’ve been quoted as saying the inspiration for the song was your new relationship with one Zane Efron. It’s a bit of a saucy name, isn’t it?”

“Ooohhh,” went the crowd as Lucian forced his thick lips into a smile and threw his shiny red hair over one shoulder. “Haven’t you got a dirty mind,” he announced with a chuckle. “But you're wrong. The words just express how complete I feel with Zane by my side. I love you, Baby,” he added before blowing a kiss into the camera, making the crowd coo and himself feel sick.

“Ahh, how sweet. You two do make the perfect couple. I wouldn’t be surprised, in thirty years, if your babies are ruling the world,” Craig joked. “But, let’s talk about your accident. Some people claim it was faked while you got plastic surgery. Is that true?” The host asked as a picture of the old Bianca appeared on the screen.

“That’s a lie, invented to sell magazines,” Lucian responded emphatically. “To be honest, Craig, it sickens me how people can write stuff like that. The accident was a very traumatic and scary experience. It took a lot of strength to recover, and yes, I had a few operations to repair the damage done, some on my face. But none of it was out of vanity. I’m proud of the way I look, I wouldn’t change it by choice.”

A round of applause broke out around the studio in support of Lucian’s words with Craig joining them. “Well said,” the smiling host announced. “There’s far too much negativity in the media these days. We should all learn to celebrate the achievements of others rather than try to drag them down.” The applause got louder in response to the comment as people hollered and whooped.

“Thank you, thank you,” Craig announced, trying to quieten down the crowd. “Ok ladies and gentlemen. The next section will be a surprise for Bianca and for all of you. Please welcome record producer and agent to the stars, Raul Jimenez.”

Spinning his head to the right, Lucian’s face dropped in surprise as Raul strode across the stage to make a completely impromptu appearance. After greeting Craig, Raul kissed Lucian on the cheek before taking a seat in a chair that had magically appeared.

“Raul, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for joining us. I’m really excited to have you here.” Craig said, leaning back in his chair.

“Thank you, Craig. I’m delighted to be here.” Raul said as he nodded and smiled at Lucian, whose beautifully made-up eyes darted around the room, trying to work out what was happening.

“So, let’s get straight to it,” Craig announced, replacing his question cards with a set from under the desk. “Bianca’s appearance has changed a lot recently, and she claims not to have had cosmetic surgery. If that is true, how would you explain the changes?”

“Well, that’s quite simple Craig,” Raul said as he sat up straight in his chair. “You see, Bianca Cabello was a difficult person. Always complaining and creating problems for the record label, so we had her killed and replaced her with the person sitting to my right.”

The crowd gasped before exploding into chatter. “That’s right, folks,” Craig shouted above the noise. The girl sitting here is not Bianca Cabello, in fact, she’s not even a girl. The person sitting here, wearing Bianca's clothes, and living her life is Mr Lucian Styles from North Pennsylvania.” As Craig spoke, the picture on the screen changed to show Lucian before his transformation.

(See image 25.1)

Feeling his stomach churn, Lucian’s body shook as he looked at Craig and then at Raul. A cold tingle oscillated up and down his feminised body as he prepared to defend himself. To say his piece. To tell everyone how he had been tricked. No blackmailed into his current situation. But he couldn’t speak. He tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Suddenly, the mood in the room changed as everyone began to laugh and point in his direction. “Eww, she's a boy.” “What kind of pervert would do this," were some of the comments Lucian overheard as he grabbed his head as a shocking pressure in his brain started to build. The pain grew, and the room spun until suddenly, he awoke in his bed in a cold sweat. Out of breath and soaked through, he brought his pillow to his chest and clutched it tightly to his bosom. The dreams were getting worse and becoming more frequent. Rocking back and forth, Lucian began to sob. Overwhelmed, he was at his breaking point. Something had to change. He couldn't live this way anymore.