Page 40 of Love in Times of Contempt

Liam laughed and posed for it.

Ana took a deep breath, sealing her smile in place as fans kept calling for Liam. She took a few extra steps and tried to find— or make— her own fans.

"Hi!" Ana told someone across the barrier. "Looking forward to the documentary?"

"Yes!" the fan replied. "I heard you get to see the real Liam in it— can't wait!"

"You're the director, right?" Someone else asked. "You're Ana Lira."

"I am."

"You're so pretty," a third person said.

Ana laughed. "Thank you."

Liam joined her and the three fans she'd been engaging with turned to him and asked him for his autograph. Ana moved to the next group.

"Hello," Ana tried with the group. Most people stared at her boyfriend, but she tried not to let it affect her.

"You're Liam's girlfriend!" One of the fans said.

"And his director for this film."

"You're so lucky."

She nodded. "I am, yes."

By the time she'd tried chatting with fans three times, she'd been forced to accept that fans were there for him; that if people followed her career, they treated it differently than his. A fist grabbed her stomach, twisting and telling her she was barely more than Liam's entourage.

Fuck that. So what? Being a director was never about the glamor. She refused to be jealous of Liam's fame… especially when she was extremely aware of its costs.

Becca put an arm around Liam and guided him away from the fans, and both apologized to them. Ana waved at them and followed Liam and Becca. She quickly reminded Ana and Liam about the photo section, how they'd take pictures together and apart. Liam, as usual, managed to make her feel cared for with a simple touch; his presence comforted her, as distracting from her as it was, and even if she wasn't the focus of attention, the movie would gain higher traction thanks to him. She didn't want to forget that.

When pictures were done, Becca called Ana to stand next to Liam at the interviewing section, and to answer questions together.

The group of reporters wasn't as big as the ones at award shows, but much bigger than Ana had ever seen for her movies before. Big for a festival, in any case. Ana took a deep breath, the lingering stress of being faced by flashing cameras and screams for people wanting their attention— too close to the experience of paparazzi for comfort— but finding refuge in standing next to Liam.

Becca led them to the first reporter.

"Hello!" Liam said, his professional, casual smile on, and a hand on the small of her back.

Ana smiled as well. "Hi there."

"Hi, both of you. We're so excited to watch this documentary. There are rumors running around about how it depicts the ugly side of Hollywood. Can you tell us more about that?"

The reporter placed the microphone in front of Liam. Ana made herself smile.

"I wouldn't say it's about the ugly side of it, but the difficult side. Not everything is glam and sparkle and in this film we talked a lot about that."

"And it must not have been easy to jump into the glam of it all. How are you dealing with it?"

It was Ana's turn to speak. "As well as I can. Being around Liam has brought a lot of attention to me as a person that I never expected to experience, and it tends to make my work harder to see for some folks."

The journalist nodded, but a spark of understanding was missing from his eyes.

"One more question. You've said that you worry about backlash from this movie. Can you tell us more about that?"

The microphone went back to Liam.