- 8 hours ago
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00For two years, I played the quiet, understanding girlfriend.
00:07Then Nico gave my first-class seat to another woman
00:10and told me to take the rear cabin like an adult.
00:15What he didn't know?
00:19I wasn't some disposable girlfriend trying to enter their world.
00:24I was born above it.
00:26One phone call later, my mafia Don father froze every car, jet, and account tied to Nico's family.
00:32Now the same men who laughed while I walked to row 24 are bowing their heads when I enter the
00:37room.
00:37And Nico?
00:38He still doesn't understand why everyone suddenly looks terrified of me.
00:50By the time I reached first class, Lila Rossi had already made herself at home in my seat.
00:56This trip was supposed to be the two-year anniversary celebration for me and Nico.
01:01I had spent two solid months putting it together.
01:04But here was this woman, sprawled out in my seat, wrapped in my cashmere blanket,
01:08sipping my shane, and wearing the pale gold gown I had designed myself and never even gotten to put on.
01:15When she saw me walked in, she flashed that signature innocent smile of hers.
01:19Oh, Rory, you finally made it.
01:22Nico said you're always the reasonable one.
01:25I'm sure you won't mind this tiny little change, right?
01:29Tiny little change?
01:31For this trip, I had handpicked the menu, chosen the wine, and even prepared a tea that Nico only pretended
01:37to like.
01:38And now another woman was lounging there like she owned the place, soaking up every bit of effort I had
01:44put in.
01:46Rory, we're in public. Don't make this into a whole thing.
01:50Lila was up all night working for the company. She needs to stretch out and rest.
01:55This seat works perfectly for her.
01:59So you just went ahead and handed my seat to her on your own?
02:03I actually told Nico I'd just go sit in the back, but he absolutely wouldn't hear of it.
02:08He said, row 24, an economy, is basically made for someone like you, since you've always been so good at
02:15roughing it.
02:15It's one seat. The flight is four hours. Go sit in the back and stop acting like I sold you
02:20into slavery.
02:22Nico, you handed my dignity over to another woman with your own two hands, and now you want me to
02:26say thank you for it?
02:30You think acting all pure and above the drama makes you special? Please.
02:34At an event like this, Rory, being obedient doesn't make you noble.
02:39It just makes you useful. Disposable.
02:42Watching the two of them play off each other like that, every humiliation I had swallowed over the past two
02:46years for the sake of love died right there on the spot.
02:49Fine. Enjoy the seat.
02:50Nico thought he had won, that disgusting smirk of total control spread across his face.
02:54I laughed under my breath, turned around, and walked toward economy.
02:58Halfway down the aisle, my phone went off with a sharp buzz in my pocket.
03:01It was my father, the man I hadn't spoken to in three years.
03:05Which brain-dead idiot thought it was acceptable to put my daughter, the pride of the Voss family, in the
03:10back of a commercial flight?
03:14Row 24, in economy.
03:16Directly across from the lavatory, the air carried a distinctly sour recycled smell, and the first message my two-year
03:22boyfriend sent me after stealing my seat.
03:24Lila's business report.
03:26The kind with holes you could drive a truck through.
03:28Lila has a senior leadership review in Zurich tomorrow.
03:30She's exhausted and doesn't have the bandwidth to fix it herself.
03:32Clean this whole report up before we land.
03:35Scrambled data, missing sources.
03:37If this thing got submitted, the executives would tear Lila apart in front of the whole room.
03:43Nico, this is not my job.
03:45Why on earth would I do this for her?
03:47He called immediately.
03:48His voice was pure impatience.
03:50Rory!
03:51This is tied to the overseas project we've been building for two years.
03:54Lila's the face of the boardroom.
03:55What's the big deal about helping her out?
03:57Oh, and when you write it, match the tone.
03:59Make it sound smart, but not too smart.
04:02If it's too polished, the executives will get suspicious.
04:05Get it done.
04:06If you can't handle something this simple, don't be surprised when I bring Lila into the inner circle and leave
04:10you outside where you belong.
04:11Two years.
04:12I had rewritten more slide courts than I could count for him.
04:15I had stayed up cleaning up his messes more times than I could remember.
04:18And what I got in return was being dropped to the bottom while being handed a brush to paint someone
04:22else's crown.
04:23Fine, Nico.
04:24I'll do it.
04:25I opened my laptop.
04:26No crying.
04:27No yelling.
04:28I spent two hours restructuring the data.
04:30But next to every fatal error, on every single page, I stamped Lila's initials in the most eye-searing shade
04:36of red I could find.
04:37L. R.
04:37It read like a death certificate.
04:39Pre-filed at the morgue.
04:40The moment I shut the laptop, a man in a black suit appeared silently beside my seat.
04:43No sound.
04:44No warning.
04:44Damien, my father's personal envoy.
04:46Miss, the Don received your location.
04:50Tell my father I'm not ready to reveal who I am.
04:52Not yet.
04:53Damien bent slightly at the waist, his voice low and precise.
04:55The Don's exact words.
04:57Since someone out there was foolish enough to disrespect you, the man called Nico has 39 minutes of safety left.
05:05Three hours later, the plane touched down at Geneva Airport.
05:09The whole trip to Europe was for one reason.
05:11The DeLuca family's exclusive overseas partner's dinner.
05:14About as inner circle as it gets.
05:16The moment we cleared arrivals, Nico wasted no time putting Lila on display for everyone to see.
05:21She walked out front, in the gown I had made with my own hands.
05:25And Nico trailed behind her like a personal bellhop, hauling her luggage.
05:31As for me, I followed behind them carrying a heavy tote bag completely invisible.
05:34Treated like an afterthought nobody had bothered to introduce, the DeLuca family's motorcade was lined up outside in a long,
05:39gleaming row.
05:40Everyone crowded around Lila with warm greetings and pleasantries.
05:43Not a single person thought to acknowledge me.
05:45The actual girlfriend.
05:46Lila turned around and gave me that smile of hers.
05:49Warm on the surface, rotten underneath.
05:51Rory, aren't you exhausted carrying all that?
05:54I actually offered to help.
05:55But Nico said no.
05:56He said my skin is too delicate.
05:58You know how you are.
05:59Tough as nails.
06:00The executives nearby let out quiet chuckles.
06:03Nico stood right there and let it happen.
06:05The contempt in his eyes making my stomach turn.
06:07Outside the estate, three matte black Maybachs sat idling.
06:10Nico guided Lila into the first one.
06:12But when I reached for the door of the next car, the driver slammed it shut before my hand even
06:16touched the handle.
06:16Nico rolled out the window of the first car and looked down at me.
06:19The cars behind mine are for the support staff and housekeeping crew.
06:22Ride with the logistics team.
06:23The hotel isn't far.
06:24Stop wasting everyone's time.
06:27At the hotel, the humiliation got less subtle.
06:30Lila and Nico were handed a presidential suite.
06:32The front desk attendant didn't even look up when she slid a key card across the counter to me.
06:37A room on the basement service floor.
06:39Rory is pretty low maintainant.
06:40Nothing too basic would bother her.
06:42I took the dirty little key card and gave him the most relaxed smile I had managed in two years.
06:47You're right.
06:48Cheap is exactly what some people deserve.
06:51The moment I finished speaking, the revolving glass doors burst open.
06:54A Rolls Royce phantom was waiting outside.
06:56The arrogant European bodyguards in the lobby all stood up straight in an instant.
07:00Tomas, my father's chief butler, stepped out and walked straight to me.
07:03Then, in front of everyone, he lowered his head for the first time in 20 years.
07:06Miss Rory, Don Marcus sent me to take you home.
07:10The family knows everything you've been through.
07:12And now they're ready to make them pay.
07:16That bow from old Omas dropped the entire luxury lobby into total silence.
07:20Nico stared at the multi-million dollar car and the head butler standing before me with his head lowered.
07:24The arrogance drained from his face and what replaced it was something almost comically confused.
07:28What exactly is going on here?
07:31Where did you rent these people from?
07:34Nico, he is in a league you will never reach in your lifetime.
07:43Please.
07:44You rented a luxury car and hired some actors to make yourself look important?
07:50Rory, the lengths you'll go to just to get Nico's attention are honestly embarrassing.
07:54Tomas turned and looked at her, one cold measured glance.
07:58It was enough to strangle the laugh right out of Lila's throat.
08:00She couldn't stop trembling.
08:02That evening, the DeLuca family's international business dinner.
08:06I sat in the very last seat at the very last table in my plain work clothes.
08:11And then Lila walked onto the stage on Nico's arm and my focus locked onto her instantly.
08:20Around her neck was a black rose necklace, my mother's only keepsake.
08:24The one Nico had told me he was taking to the jeweler to be repaired.
08:29The one I had told him my mother was wearing when she touched it for the last time before she
08:33died.
08:34Nico.
08:36Who gave you permission to touch my mother's things?
08:39I walked to the stage, stepping over broken glass without slowing down.
08:43Lila instinctively covered her neck with her hand and performed a look of a startled swan.
08:47Rory, you're being so petty.
08:49Nico said it was just sitting in a box collecting dust anyway.
08:52Only something as beautiful as my gown could actually do it justice.
08:56Stop making a scene, Rory.
08:58It is a beat up old necklace.
09:01We are at an important event tonight.
09:03You're throwing a fit over something that belonged to a dead woman.
09:10Do you have any idea how that looks?
09:13Watch your attitude.
09:15If the deal falls through because of this, I will make sure you disappear from New York completely.
09:23Disappear?
09:24I pulled out a matte black encrypted phone I had never used before and made a call.
09:27Dad, they put mom's necklace around a dog's neck.
09:30From the other end of the line came the sharp splitting sound of a crystal wine glass being crushed barehanded.
09:35After he crushed that glass, the phone went completely silent.
09:39That silence was the last warning sign before Don Marcus' boss decided someone needed to be destroyed.
09:44His voice came through the receiver like cold air off a Siberian glacier.
09:50Is the necklace still on that woman?
09:54No.
09:56Good.
09:57Then let all of Europe watch exactly how she loses everything because of it.
10:06In the same instant, every one of the hundreds of influential European financiers in that banquet hall quietly set down
10:12their glasses.
10:13The bank president hosting the event, the one who had never once gave Nico the time of day, had gone
10:19completely white.
10:20His legs were shaking.
10:22My father's voice on the other end was absolute zero.
10:27Rory, do you want them reduced to nothing in five minutes?
10:31Or do you want them to walk out of here on their own two feet, fly back to New York,
10:36thinking they've won the world,
10:38and then watch every single door slam shut in their faces one by one?
10:45Two years of humiliation ran through my mind.
10:49Letting them collapse here, in front of everyone, felt too quick.
10:53Too clean.
10:54Their vanity deserved better punishment than that.
10:57Dad, I want them to climb all the way to the top.
11:00Let them fly home tomorrow feeling like they conquered everything.
11:04And then, right at the peak of it, right when they're most proud of themselves,
11:08I want their entire world torn down from the top.
11:13Now that is the Vosblood talking.
11:18I don't know who you people are, but DeLuca's position on Wall Street is not something you can threaten with
11:25a phone call!
11:27I repeated his words to my father.
11:30My father's response was ice cold.
11:33DeLuca, after tomorrow, that name will only appear in the footnotes of a bankruptcy filing.
11:40While my father had been eating breakfast,
11:43he had completed the full acquisition of the largest transatlantic passenger airline route between Europe and the United States.
11:49Their return flight authorization had been cut off entirely.
11:53I looked up at Nico and Lila, still smiling, still believing they had already won.
11:58They had absolutely no idea that what they thought was a triumphant gateway home was actually a one-way first
12:04-class ticket straight into the ground.
12:07Geneva International Airport
12:08Afternoon lights winded through the windows of the VIP departure lounge.
12:11Nico and Lila had their confidence miles back, fully reinstalled.
12:13Last night's dinner had wrapped up without a hitch, and Lila had her arm looped through Nico's.
12:17Like the whole of European high society had just been a stepping stone placed there specifically for them.
12:20Nico looked me up and down.
12:21You sorted out your own ticket back to New York, right?
12:24There is no first-class left on today's direct flight.
12:27You're looking at a 20-hour layover in Coach.
12:29Have fun with that.
12:31Honestly, Coach with layovers isn't that bad.
12:33Good for building character.
12:34It suits you, Rory.
12:35You've always had that sort of, I don't know, budget traveler energy.
12:39Maybe so.
12:39I hope you two have a smooth flight home.
12:45I'm sorry, sir.
12:46Ma'am, you've both been denied boarding for this flight.
12:49Three hours ago, this aircraft was chartered in full by the Vos Group and reclassified as a private flight.
12:53Both of your tickets have been voided and flagged as non-transferable.
12:56Full refunds are being processed as we speak.
12:58Rory!
12:59You did this!
13:00I know you did this!
13:02Me.
13:03Come on.
13:03I'm just a girl who was about to go find her seat in a 20-hour layover.
13:07Remember?
13:07The budget traveler one?
13:10Miss, your private aircraft is ready for departure.
13:13The Don's instructions are that this flight is entirely at your disposal.
13:17Nico turned back slowly and stared at the plane that had been powered up for one single passenger.
13:21The first crack in his world opened up right then, and it was not going to close.
13:25What?
13:26No.
13:27No way, this can't be real.
13:28Rory!
13:29A private jet!
13:31You're lying!
13:33Nico completely lost it.
13:35He grabbed Lila's arm and tried to force his way into the private VIP corridor.
13:41Damien stopped him with one hand and sent him stumbling back three steps.
13:45Sir, this is a Vos family private aircraft.
13:49One more step forward will be treated as a security threat.
13:51Are you out of your minds?
13:53She is my girlfriend!
13:54Nico screamed across the corridor at me.
13:57Correction.
13:58Ex-girlfriend.
14:00That one sentence, said out loud in front of everyone, shredded whatever was left of Nico's dignity in one clean
14:07motion.
14:09Panic, too.
14:10Lila.
14:10And her voice shifted into that particular helpless ranger she used when she needed someone to feel guilty.
14:15Rory, why are you being so cruel?
14:18You chartered the plane.
14:20What does it cost you to let us come along?
14:23Do you have any idea what it'll mean if we miss tomorrow's board meeting?
14:28That's on you!
14:31Funny, I seem to remember someone saying just 30 minutes ago that a layover in Coach was a wonderful, authentic
14:37travel experience.
14:39Apparently, that only applies when it's my problem.
14:44Nico took a slow breath and deliberately softened his voice.
14:48He switched on the version of himself he used when he wanted to sound generous.
14:53Baby, relax.
14:55You've made your point, okay?
14:58You've had your moment.
15:00Let us on the plane, and I'll forget the whole thing with Lila from last night.
15:05We go home, everything goes back to normal.
15:08Nico, this is your real tragedy.
15:10Even now, you genuinely believe the world rotates around your ego.
15:15Nico's jaw tightened until his teeth ground together.
15:18If we're not at the financial review tomorrow, President Lennard will have us both removed from management.
15:22You understand that?
15:27Then I hope you can find good seats on the train.
15:30I turned around and walked up the stairs, the black carpet running the full length of the boarding ramp beneath
15:34my feet.
15:36Nico was still screaming behind me like a man who had lost his mind.
15:39But that voice no longer had the power to make me turn around for even a second.
15:45The cabin door closed with a slow, mechanical hum.
15:49My phone lit up.
15:51A message from my father.
15:53When you land in New York tomorrow, I'll take you to get back what's yours.
15:56They thought they could mess with my daughter.
15:59They're about to learn.
16:03On the 10-hour flight back to New York, I stretched out in the full flatbed suite and slept better
16:10than I had in years.
16:17Meanwhile, Nico and Layla were crammed into a grimy train station somewhere, eating instant new Deedles next to their luggage.
16:27The so-called DeLucre Core Project, the big overseas deal Nico had been so proud of, was never something he
16:34had won through talent or effort.
16:41My father had dangled it in front of him deliberately as a test.
16:46A controlled leak.
16:49Nico didn't even make it past the first line in the sand.
16:54The next morning, 10 o'clock, New York headquarters, main boardroom.
17:01I walked in wearing a sharp-lined black Givenchy suit and took my seat without hurrying.
17:07Ten minutes later, the boardroom doors flew open.
17:11Nico and Layla barreled in without having had the chance to go home first.
17:18President Lenard sat at the head of the table, looking like a man deciding whether to start shouting or start
17:25firing.
17:28The core board meeting started four hours ago.
17:35Director DeLuca, do you now consider this company your personal property?
17:43Sir, the flight was canceled.
17:46It was completely out of our control.
17:51Right.
17:52I heard you spent the night on a packed train.
17:57Sounds like a valuable lesson, Director DeLuca.
18:01Care to share?
18:04Regarding the flagship aviation finance project under the Fengrei Group portfolio, valued at over $10 billion,
18:11we are changing project leadership effective immediately.
18:15Rory will take over as full project lead, reporting directly to me and to the Fengrei board.
18:23Nico, you're being moved to a supporting role.
18:32That is completely unfair, sir!
18:36Rory has only ever been a regular member of the team,
18:40who only sorts out other people's presentation documents.
18:45She does not have the matching ability to take charge of such an important project!
19:00Miss Rusty, instead of worrying about whether she belongs here,
19:03maybe you should worry about the report below us.
19:07The CFO put you in charge of it yourself.
19:11Lila, don't tell me you left your numbers on the train.
19:20The report, Miss Rusty.
19:37Sir, Lila was awake the entire night on that train, working on this without a single hour of sleep.
19:43We cannot penalize a dedicated employee for a situation caused by an airline's operational failure.
19:49I'd love to step aside.
19:51The draft from Miss Lila, up all night on the train, Rossi,
19:56has been sitting in my shared cloud folder the whole time.
19:59What appeared on screen was not a polished, cleaned-up deliverable.
20:02It was the original document, covered in my edits from the flight.
20:05Every critical error, surrounded by blood-red annotation,
20:08with a time stamp attached.
20:10Data fabricated.
20:11Nearly every single page had one.
20:15Miss Rossi,
20:16this is the document you intended to submit under your name to the Fengrei Group's core briefing?
20:22You plan to hand us fabricated figures and let this entire company get blacklisted across the industry by tomorrow morning?
20:30Nico, you're the one who said Rory was part of the team!
20:35You're the one who said she deserved to clean up after me!
20:39This is your fault, too!
20:41That finished off whatever was left of Nico's carefully maintained image.
20:44His panic flipped instantly into something wild and backed into a corner.
20:46You know what, Rory? Fine.
20:48You want to play it this way?
20:49I will post every single piece of dirt I have on you to the company intranet today!
20:52If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me.
20:55He showed me a smile that had gone crooked.
Comments