Page 4 of Siren's Game

She's so fixated on our brand of being exact opposites that she gets hissy fits whenever I don’t play into her opinion of how I should look when I’m in public. It’s tiring.

I could throw fits in return, tell her where to shove her stupid brand. I could tell her to go fuck herself. But I want to keep the peace. For now.

Because at the same time, I can't deny what this image has done for us. Becoming the Sirens, the worldwide known and loved pop duo, took a lot of work and effort. Our image and marketability certainly made up a big part of our success.

Playing into the opposites, Millie being short and blonde, me being brunette and tall, opened the door for a lot of people to relate to at least one of us.

Now people love us—well, some of them don't, but everyone knows of us, all the same.

And I love this job. I love meeting my fans—unless they're bitches like Lila, who make their preference for one of us obvious.

A preference is fine, hell, I get it. It’s not like I cry myself to sleep when Millie’s fans put their attention only on her. What I don't get is why so many of my fans feel so comfortable treating Millie like shit or air.

Well, we’re almost done with this little tour of the stadium and then I probably won’t even run into her again. I can smile through the rest of it.

At least, I think I do.

We’ve come closer to the players now, close enough that I can hear them laugh and shout at each other and grunt as they catch footballs. My eyes wander over the men, trying to see if I know any of them.

Then I freeze when my eyes land onhim.

Fuck. It can’t be. . .

The closer we get, the more sure I become, and my stomach bubbles with anger, my fingers itching with the urge to call Naroa and rip her a new one. She can’t seriously have forgotten to mention thathewould be here.

Asher McDaniels.

Only seeing his face is enough to make my blood boil with annoyance. I can't believe Naroa didn't tell me he'd be one of the players.

I only realize I've stopped walking when Millie gently nudges my arm, trying to follow my gaze.

"Oh, great," I groan, accompanied by a deep sigh, and fight the urge to turn right back around.

"Isn't that the guy who said you shouldn't get into acting? Asher? AKA Asshat?"

Millie’s remark almost manages to distract me from the annoyance making my skin crawl and it even almost manages to make me chuckle. I sigh again and pinch the bridge of my nose.

A few years ago, Naroa asked me if I would be willing to try out acting. Some director for a romcom was looking to cast someone famous for the role of the female main character to gather some public attention for the movie and had his eyes set on me, which was incredibly flattering to hear.

I was so giddy. I love reading romances, and getting this opportunity offered on a silver platter? Unbelievable. Also Asher was confirmed as the male lead already. I hadn’t met him, but, I mean, he’s very easy on the eyes. I wasn’t mad about it.

Naroa gave me the script and I read it within a day. Sleep is overrated anyway. I just wanted to know how it went, and I’d just finished the last romance book on my list. It really was just perfect timing.

The story was the cheesy kind of romantic, and the main character I was supposed to play was kind of a badass.

It sounded amazing. I was really looking forward to giving acting a go and being a part of this story. Naroa even went so far to hire acting coaches for me, when the interview of that asshat came out.

I think it was on the red carpet of some award show, when rumors about me joining the cast were already flying around but nothing was set in stone yet.

When a reporter asked him about the rumors, he answered, “Yeah, I heard those rumors. I don't know how much truth there is to them, but I would really prefer if the singers left acting to the professionals. There's nothing worse than having to compensate for a partner's bad job.”

I didn't think too much of it. I mean, singers get cast in movies all the time, why would those two sentences change anything?

Well, this particular director decided to change his mind. The media drama surrounding Asher's statement brought enough attention to his movie without me actually having to play a part in it. He didn't need me anymore, so our negotiations stopped right then and there.

Which was a dick move from the director’s side, not from Asher's. But it doesn't change the fact that Asher's interview was the snowball that started the avalanche.

Like Josh pointed out back then, when I was raging to him: I'm only projecting my annoyance somewhere easy to put it, namely on Asher.

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