?strongChapter 19:/strong

With renewed resolve, Carrie decided to rededicate herself to both her acting and her writing endeavors.

Luckily, she had reconnected with her former agent, Ruby Curtis, the previous night.

Ruby, though somewhat reserved, had not turned her down and had proposed they meet today.

“Carrie?”

As Carrie was applying the final touches to her morning routine, Ruby’s voice, apanied by a gentle knock, filtered through the air.

Carrie moved to the door and pulled it open, revealing Ruby standing there with an air of poised professionalism.

Ruby, dressed in an impably tailored gray business suit, had transformed from the plump-cheeked novice Carrie once knew into a sharp, formidable career woman.

Back when Carrie was under Ruby’s wing, Ruby had still been an underdog in the industry, often overlooked because her rostercked notable celebrities.

Upon weing Carrie to her circle, Ruby couldn’t hide her delight, announcing she had finally found a protégé to teach and foster.

Yet, as time unfolded…

Within a mere two years, Ruby had carved a niche for herself in the industry, catapulting several fledgling stars into prominence.

Everyone seemed to be ascending, everyone except for Carrie, who had paused her ascent for love, anchoring herself firmly in a bygone era.

“Ruby,” Carrie called out as she ushered her into the room and gestured toward a chair.

Ruby took the seat without hesitation, her voiceced with biting sarcasm. “I was under the impression you’d snagged yourself a wealthy husband and abandoned this chaotic industry for good. And yet, here you are. Did the dream of avish, leisurely life as a housewife crumble, sending you scurrying back to me?”

Back in the day, Carrie hadn’t spent much time under Ruby’s guidance before she began to sideline her own career aspirations.

Their connection, as a result, had been tenuous at best. When Carrie had announced her intention to exit the industry, she spoke only of a new love in her life and her ns to marry.

The man in question came from an affluent family and detested the re of the public eye.

Ruby, though reluctant, couldn’t dissuade Carrie from bing a trophy wife and had to let her go, though grudgingly.

Yet, who could have predicted that in just two short years, Carrie would be on the phone, her voice tinged with defeat, confessing that her romantic endeavors had faltered and she yearned to reim her spot in the limelight, pleading for Ruby’s guidance once more?

Upon hearing this, Ruby was struck dumbfounded.

If not for Carrie’s undeniable beauty and her once mesmerizing talent on screen, Ruby wouldn’t have even entertained this meeting.

Carrie, well aware of her own mistakes, remained mute as Ruby’s scathing words filled the air.

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