MY CHOICE OF JEWEL

MOLLY'S POV The morning after I returned home, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Calls, messages, emails, most from people who used to circle around the old Molly like vultures at a feast. Managers, producers, so-called "friends." Each one eager to drag me back into the same cycle of scandals and shame. I answered none of them. By noon, my manager stormed into the house uninvited. A sharp, suited man with greased-back hair and the permanent smell of cheap cologne. His name was Frank and in the memories of the old Molly, I found plenty of reasons to dislike him. He barged into the living room, his voice sharp. "Molly, do you have any idea how much damage your coma did to your career? We need to fix your image, immediately. Interviews, variety shows, maybe even a fake dating scandal" I raised a hand. "No." He froze, as if the word was foreign to him. "No? You can't just" "I said no." My tone was calm, steady, leaving no room for argument. "No fake scandals. No drunken parties for the cameras. No humiliating interviews where I play the fool. That Molly is gone." I said to him. His jaw dropped. "What are you talking about? This is what keeps you relevant!" I leaned back against the sofa, eyes cold. "If relevance means being a clown for the public, I'd rather disappear." The silence that followed was heavy. Frank stared at me as if I'd grown a second head. Finally, he sputtered, "Who are you? You're not... You're not the Molly I know." A slow smile curved my lips. "Exactly." He left in a fury, muttering about contracts and consequences. I watched him go, un-bothered. Let him rage. I had already decided, if I was going to stand in the spotlight, it would be on my terms, not theirs. Later, I scrolled through social media. My name was already trending: #MollyhenryAwake. Comments flew across the screen. "She ignored the reporters? That's not like her..." "Did she actually look... calm? Mature?" "No way. Molly Henry doesn't change." I chuckled softly. Oh, you'll see. You'll all see. By the second day, the gossip industry was in flames. Every media outlet replayed the same footage of me walking out of the hospital, silent, composed, ignoring the chaos. They dissected it frame by frame, as if they couldn't believe what their eyes were telling them. The old Molly would have thrown tantrums, shoved cameras, shouted. But me? I had walked out like the world owed me nothing. And it terrified them. I was sipping tea in the quiet of my living room when the air shifted. Heavy footsteps, the click of polished shoes against marble. Not Frank. Not a servant. This sound carried authority. When I looked up, he was there. Kelvin Brass I almost smirked. The devil had come to my door. He didn't bother with greetings. His eyes swept over me, cool and sharp, scanning, evaluating. "So it wasn't just a hospital trick. You really have changed." I set my cup down with deliberate calm. "Disappointed?" I asked. His lips twitched, almost a smile but not quite. "No. Curious." He said. He crossed the room without invitation, his presence filling the space, pressing against me like an invisible force. The staff stood frozen at the edges, too terrified to breathe. "You ignore reporters," he said. "You dismiss your manager. You look at me without fear. Tell me, Molly... what exactly are you planning?" I held his gaze, unflinching. "To live. On my own terms." Silence. Sharp, suffocating. Then, "Dangerous words," he murmured. His eyes lingered on me, longer than necessary, as if peeling back layers no one else could see. And then, just as suddenly, he turned. "Very well. I'll be watching." He left as swiftly as he came, leaving only the echo of his presence behind. I exhaled slowly, a laugh slipping past my lips. "Let him watch." Because this time, I wasn't the one being hunted. I was the one setting the stage.