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Ava lets out a short, dry, humorless laugh.

“I don’t know. I just… I’m scared.” Her voice trembles, and she takes a deep breath before finishing in a quieter tone. “I’m a woman. And one mistake means goodbye.”

Beatrice exhales slowly, as if carefully choosing every word before speaking.

“I get what you’re feeling,” she begins, her voice low. “Maybe not in the same way, because movieand music are different worlds, but… do you really think women in the music industry have more room to mess up?” She pauses, her hazel eyes tired. “If I’m too private, I’m cold and ungrateful to my fans. If I’m too open, anything I say becomes a headline. If I date someone, it’s a PR move. If I break up, I’m unstable. If I’m seen with a producer, I’m using him. If I complain, I’m difficult. If I stay quiet, I’m easy to control.”

Ava watches her face, trying to absorb every word, then adjusts her posture slightly, as if it’ll help her focus better.

“And you know what the worst part is? It’s normal. None of the women in music get treated with the same freedom men do. They mess up, cheat, say horrible things, get caught in scandals, and a month later, they’re back promoting their new album. Us? We have to be perfect. And if we’re not, we have to fight twice as hard not to disappear.”

Ava feels awful for having only thought about herself until now. As if the weight of this scandal were hers alone to carry. But it wasn’t. It never was.

“So yeah… I get your fear. Because I feel it too,” Beatrice continues. “I’ve spent years building everything I have, and now people are saying my whole career is a lie. Like everything I’ve ever done was built on this fake story.”