Chapter 3

The next decade was a blur of latex, silicone, and airbrush paint. I became a ghost in the studio. I' d clock in, go to my private workshop, and disappear into my craft. I took every side project I could find, from low-budget horror flicks to avant-garde theater productions. I wasn' t just practicing; I was perfecting. I learned to create new faces, new identities, with a skill that bordered on supernatural.

Meanwhile, Matthew' s life became a living hell, and I watched from the shadows with grim satisfaction.

He was stuck with the Chavez twins.

Nicole, ambitious and sharp, was infatuated with him. She saw him as her ticket to stardom and became ferociously protective, a guard dog for his public image.

Jocelyn, however, was his real problem. Reborn with the knowledge of my talent and my dedication in our first life, she was a constant, nagging reminder of what she' d lost. She haunted him, constantly trying to get to me, begging for my help, for my forgiveness.

"Andrew would have known how to do this," she' d say after a failed audition.

"Andrew taught me a better way to prep for this kind of role," she' d complain.

Her career, which had soared under my guidance in the first timeline, now stagnated. Matthew' s mentorship was superficial. He' d make a few calls, show up for a photo op, but he had no real interest in the hard work of building an actress from the ground up. He wanted a finished product he could attach his name to.

The tension between the sisters was a slow-burning fire. Nicole grew to resent Jocelyn, seeing her not as a sister but as a rival for Matthew' s attention and resources. Matthew, in turn, was worn down by Jocelyn' s constant comparisons and Nicole' s suffocating jealousy.

The golden boy of the studio was losing his shine, all because he was saddled with the responsibility he' d tried to dump on me. And every time I heard whispers of their drama, I' d just smile and go back to sculpting a new monster, a new wound, a new face.

My revenge wasn' t loud or explosive. It was a quiet, patient, and deeply satisfying slow burn.