Dare to Lie [Novel] Chapter 26 – The Madonna on Stage

Becoming an actress hadn't been my choice, but back then, the stage was my only sanctuary.

For as long as I was up there, I wasn't some lowborn girl with an unknown father; I was a princess, a noblewoman, a precious soul receiving someone's singular, radiant love. I was the Madonna, beloved by every member of the audience watching the stage.

‘Let’s see just how good these great actors in Herona really are.’

I was sure they would be far more excellent and professional than I ever was, but I vowed not to disparage my own past as I took Arthur’s hand as he escorted me.

The title of the play was Deep Blue Rapids.

To summarize the plot, it was a story about a man and a woman who fell into a fiery love, drifted apart due to their respective circumstances and misunderstandings, and continued to yearn for each other afterward.

And Dolores Hamilton, whom I suspected to be Ash’s mother, played the female lead as a middle-aged woman. It seemed she would remain seated on one side of the stage throughout the performance, reciting narrations.

In other words, the play unfolding in the center of the stage was her character's flashback.

‘This is a fresh way to structure it. It allows middle-aged or even elderly actors to take on lead roles.’

I was nodding at the thought when I overheard a conversation between some older men sitting in the row behind us.

It wasn't my business, but it was unpleasant to hear.

‘What do they even know to be blabbering about someone else like that?’

Would they hurl the same insults if they went to see a play with an older male actor in the lead?

If you’re passionate about the stage, you’re allowed to make a fuss about wanting to perform. This was Dolores Hamilton!

Her ambition would pave the way for future generations of actresses. It proved that even an aging, wrinkled woman could shine on stage.

While I was fuming internally, the lights in the theater went out and the play began.

On the dark stage, Dolores Hamilton sat in an old chair, bathed in a spotlight as she continued her monologue.

The theater was designed for sound to resonate loudly, but even considering that, her vocal volume was impressive and her articulation was strikingly clear.

Above all, she was so beautiful that the disparagement from the men in the back became laughable.

‘Actually, maybe that’s why it feels a bit awkward. It would have been better if they’d used makeup to make her look older and more worn by regret.’

I lost myself in the play, imagining what it would be like if I were in that position.

Then, at some point, Arthur’s hand overlapped mine.

‘Huh?’

I tried not to act too surprised as I slowly turned my gaze.

Arthur was looking at the stage with a nonchalant expression, but sensing my gaze, he turned his head toward me. He simply gave me a soft smile.

‘I thought he’d fall for it, but he’s falling so well it makes my worries seem pointless.’

I let out a small chuckle and turned my eyes back to the stage.

This date seemed to be a massive success.

‘I’ll have to send an invitation to Ash MacCallan too. It looks like I’ll be marrying this man thanks to him, after all.’

To think I’d owe a debt to someone who’s been such a thorn in my side. Truly, you never know what’s coming next in life.

After greeting the VIP audience and returning to her dressing room, Dolores managed her simmering rage while the makeup artists removed her hair ornaments.

‘How dare he make a fool of me?’

When she had given Ash the VIP tickets to distribute, what she had hoped for were guests from families equal to or higher than the MacCallan earldom.

But today, several guests who fell far short of her standards were sitting in those precious seats.

The troupe could have sent them out, but Dolores had a feeling this was Ash’s doing. Her son was becoming more defiant by the day.

‘What on earth is he so unhappy about? I put him in a position everyone envies! A brat who would have been nothing if he’d lived as a commoner doesn't even know to be grateful for my grace…!’

Just thinking about her son looking at her with those cold eyes made her stomach churn.

Of course, Ash’s conception had been an accident.

Neither she nor Count MacCallan had wanted a child to be born between them.

She had been anxious that the Count might leave her because of it, but fortunately, his affection was solid enough to place the illegitimate child on his family register.

From that point on, Dolores had decided to actively use Ash.

Of course, that wasn't for the sake of the Countess, whom she couldn't stand the sight of.

It was to imprint herself as his mother on the young Ash, so that even after he entered the Count’s household, he wouldn't be able to refuse her requests or commands.

The first few years after sending the child to the mansion went smoothly.

Ash somehow managed to do what he was told, driven by the thought that he could see his mother and be praised by her.

Things like extracting information about the MacCallan family: parties the Count attended, the Countess’s new dresses, businesses they were recently involved in, family discord, frequent visitors, and so on.

Thanks to this, she was able to encounter Count MacCallan often and maintain his affection while receiving a generous allowance, and she also sold information about the MacCallan family to those who were curious for a high price.

Ash, who had gradually become more taciturn and expressionless, made a bombshell announcement in January of the year he turned fifteen.

Ash, whose expression had been stiff from the moment they met, spoke firmly with a look in his eyes she had never seen before.

In that moment, she felt more anger than confusion.

The cold Ash then asked with a strange expression.

Dolores couldn't answer.

She remembered it was winter, but she couldn't recall the date at all.

When she hesitated and then started lecturing him not to test a mother’s love with such trivial things, his face contorted as if he were about to cry.

With those final words, Ash walked away.

After that, she heard that her son had suddenly volunteered for the army.

She was angry that he had enlisted without consulting her, and she was on edge fearing he might die on the battlefield.

Then, just as suddenly as he had enlisted, Ash was discharged and returned with the face of a fully grown man, abruptly becoming a policeman.

From then on, he didn't even reply to her letters, but the problem was solved when Dolores, unable to let go of the goose that laid the golden eggs, put on a show by visiting his workplace in person.

‘Young and immature brat. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to escape me.’

Since every noble in Herona knew whose son Ash MacCallan was.

A sharp pain snapped her out of her thoughts. A few strands of hair had been pulled out while the makeup artist was removing a bobby pin.

The makeup artist apologized, but Dolores glared at her and slapped her across the cheek.

The troupe leader, hearing the commotion, approached with a furrowed brow. Thinking it was a good opportunity, she barked out a complaint.

But his reaction was different from what she expected.

Dolores gritted her teeth as she watched the troupe leader walk away with a look of disgust.

She couldn't live enduring such insults any longer.

‘No matter what, I’m retiring next year.’

To live as abundantly after retirement as she did now, she needed far more money than she currently had, and to get that money, she needed Ash.

She had lost a year and a half of her golden years as an actress getting pregnant and giving birth, so didn't her son have an obligation to take that much responsibility?