94 Q&A + Project Announcement

Thick long red curtains draped over the wooden stage got drawn open, revealing Author hidden behind it. There was a wide smile on their face as they held a script in their hands. Seeing the author stand there, the audience clapped their hands, welcoming Author with warm smiles.

The author bowed their head as a greeting to the audience before walking over to one of the three chairs placed on the stage and the spotlight that shone on her following suit.

Author: I would like to thank you all for coming and joining this interview. I'll be interviewing the characters of TSWLMA. I hope that you'll enjoy it.

Author bowed their head again, receiving another applause from the audience who could barely contain their excitement. As the sounds of hands clapping decreased in volume, Author raised their hand, having them aimed at the other side of the stage, beckoning for someone to come out.

The audience all turned their head to the side to see who the Author was calling. The people stepping on the stage were April and Mark. Mark's hand was around April's waist, supporting her as the weight of the significantly grown baby bump affected her balance. Mark's eyes were solely focused on April, taking his time to guide her to their seats.

At the sight of the two main characters, the audience released a tremendous applause, with some people whistling and cheering wildly. At the passionate response of the audience, Author's brows knit together as they pushed their bottom lip out petulantly, seeing how the public reactions towards their characters differed from how they reacted when Author came on stage.

April got startled at the raucous sound that came from the public, causing her to stagger backwards. But Mark's hand that rested on her waist kept her stable. After confirming that April was okay, Mark threw a sharp glare at the audience. The reaction of the public towards his icy glare was mixed as most of them were immediately stripped of their words, scared that they would end up ten feet underground, while some of them used their hands to clutch at their chest as they swooned.

Mark raised his brow at that, questioning their sanity. Mark and April took a seat opposite of Author.

Author wore a tender smile at the sight of their children.

Author: Well then, shall we start with the simple questions?

April turned her head around, looking over her shoulders in search of someone who wasn't here.

April: What about the rest? Aren't they also going to take the interview?

Author: They are too busy with their own stories right now. Having them here would only lead to unwanted spoilers. Now, I am going to ask you two some simple questions and you guys must answer me at the same time.

April's brows furrowed slightly, and her lips pursed into a thin line as she was deep in thought. Sad that she couldn't see Cher, who she hadn't seen in a while. Letting Author know she had heard them clearly, she gave them a nod.

Author's gaze then shifted to Mark, who sat leisurely on the chair, his legs crossed over the knee while his arm was draped over the back of April's chair. His eyes held little to no emotion as they settled on Author's face.

Knowing that they won't receive an answer from him, Author exasperated before tapping the bottom of the stack of papers where the questions were written on against their lap to align them while wondering to themselves why they had created him.

Author: What is your favorite color?

April: Blue

Mark: Red

On hearing April's answer, Mark's perfect brow arched, his head turning to the side to peer at April with a questioning look in those clear blue eyes.

Mark: I thought that your favorite color was purple?

Red dusted across April's cheeks and her forest green eyes refused to meet with Mark's blue ones as they focused on the grooves of the wooden floor.

Noticing her reaction, Author's lips pulled into a mischievous grin as mirth danced in their eyes.

Author: Why did it change?

Briskly, April stole a side glance from Mark before darting them back to the ground, and the red on her cheeks intensified.

April: I just came to like blue-

April flinched when her eyes drifted up to see the eerie smile of Author. Her gaze then slowly swept over the audience, who shared the same expression as the Author's while giggles erupted sporadically, bringing a chilling shiver down April's spine. What's wrong with them? She wondered to herself, wrapping her hands protectively around her stomach.

Mark raised his hand, cupping April's chin to tilt her head up so that she would look at him. Mark then dipped his head to capture her soft lips, blowing away her uneasiness that she had towards the weird behavior of the Author and the crowd.

Screams erupted from the crowd at the adorable scene.

Mark disconnected his lips to hear a soft sigh coming from April. His lips twitched into a smile while his thumb brushed over her bottom lip.

Mark: I love you too.

The top of April's ear shell became bright pink.

April: I-I never said that I loved you.

Mark gave her a knowing smile, and April felt dizzy as her heart thudded against her chest. Though they had kissed each other multiple times and even went beyond that, her heart never fails to somersault at the slightest show of Mark's affection. April turned her head away, freeing herself from Mark's grasp.

April: Next question.

She said between coughs, trying to sequence the conversation to a different topic.

Trying not to laugh at April's voice that sounded like a squeaky mouse, Author continued with their questions.

Author: How old are you?

April: I became 24

Mark: 28

Author: Your hobbies? And don't say killing or stalking April, Mark.

Mark subtly narrowed his eyes at Author.

April: Taking walks through the forest. I did that a lot with my dad when he was alive.

Mark: Reading books.

Author: Describe each other in one sentence.

Mark didn't utter a word for what felt like minutes, keeping everyone in the suspense. He then looked at April, his gaze holding the tenderness that was only reserved for her before his soft voice carried out the words.

Mark: My world.

Some people in the audience squealed before fainting where they sat. Sighing, author signaled for the film crew to carry the unconscious bodies out of the room.

It was like he placed a spell on April as she got lost in those pair of aquamarine globes that were like the sea, sweeping her away. She coughed, trying to regain her composure, and muttered under her breath.

April: An annoying, flirtatious husband.

Mark placed a kiss on her temple.

Mark: Only for you, kitten.

As if someone turned on the heater inside the closed space, people in the audience used their hands as fans. Fanning their faces to curb down the heat that they felt.

While the couple got lost in their own world from the corner of Author's eyes, they could see some hands waving, trying to garner their attention. Wondering what's going on, they turned their head to see the PD, who had organized this interview holding a sign that told them to hurry as there wasn't much time left.

Author nodded, wearing a professional smile before bringing her focus back to their characters.

Author: I don't want to intrude your moment-

Mark: Then don't.

Ignoring Mark's rude comment Author proceeded with what they were going to say.

Author: But there isn't much time left, so we are going to move on with the questions. April, are you happy?

April stiffens in her seat. The question took her off guard and the smile that she had worn dampened. Mark narrowed his eyes at Author, asking them with his eyes what the hell they think they were doing.

April: Y-Yes, of course I am-

Author: Let me rephrase that. Do you think you made the right choice by marrying Mark instead of handing him over to the police?

The skin between April's brow puckered as she didn't like how Author was asking her these questions.

April: I couldn't have gone to the police. Casper's influence in the police force would have turned my report into a void.

Author: That's true, but it's not like his influence stretches over whole America, right?

April: It would take me years to find out which police station hasn't been corrupted yet.

Author: But isn't that better than letting go of your morals? Think about your children. Aren't you worried they would end up like Mark?

Author saw how April's eyes quivered on hearing their remark. She subtly bit her lower lip before ushering in a feeble voice that sounded unsure.

April: I will make sure that it wouldn't happen.

Author chuckled darkly, shaking their head.

Author: Oh April, did I really made you so naïve? How can you be so sure that they wouldn't end up being killers themselves? I mean, look who their dad is-

All of a sudden, the sound of air being cut through could be heard before something shot past Author's head. The sharp object skimming against their cheek, leaving a glaring red line before hitting the wall behind the Author and getting stuck in it.

Everyone in the audience gasped at the sight of a dagger being stuck in the wall before turning their attention to the man who threw it. Mark wore a dark expression, his eyes seething with anger. He didn't like how Author tried to corrupt April's mind with doubts that may affect their relationship.

Mark: I advise you to keep that mouth shut, because I won't miss the next time.

Author: I thought you promised April not to kill anyone anymore?

The Author had an unfazed look on their face as they expected this type of reaction from Mark.

The temperature in the room dropped and everyone held in their breaths as both of them didn't exchange a word and only kept staring at each other.

After what felt like hours, the corners of Author's lips pulled up and she brought her hands together, clapping as she snorted.

Author: Why the scary face, Mark? Alright, I won't talk about it anymore. You're going to have to face those questions in the other book, anyway.

April: Other book? But I thought that this was it.

Author: That's true, but it would be strange if you guys didn't appear in Cherry's and Brandon's story.

Mark: I swear to God if you're going to bring us trouble I will kill you-

Author: Hahahaha! You can't kill me. I am your freaking creator. Anyway, let's move on to the questions that were addressed to me!

Q: Author how did Mark become co-CEO of April's company? It's not a coincidence right? Guess he took the job after he first met her? Did he just show up and get the job or did he take it by force?

Author: I had already explained it in the story, but no, it wasn't a coincidence. Though he calls himself Co-COE, he is the owner of the company. And knowing that April needed a job used his power to give her one. He calls himself Co-CEO so that it would be less overwhelming for April when he would approach her.

Q: Author, if Mark and April were celebrities who would they be? I mean do your characters look like someone famous that we can better imagine what they look like?

Author:

Jess Glynne for April.

Adrien Grenier for Mark.

Q: Do you have plan for other books like this one?/ Will there be a book following Cher & Brandon or Snake & Casper?

Author: I received a lot of questions asking this. First of why would you even want to read more stuff like this? Second, I am so happy to see that you all want to read or are interested in reading the story of the other characters. The short answer is yes. At first, I wasn't planning to write their stories, but I was shocked to see that there was an overwhelming request regarding them. Because of you guys, I will write their stories 😊

Which led me to the following. I will now enclose my other projects with you all.

I will turn their stories into a series called the Controlling Series.

'TSWLMA!' is Book 1

'Starting Over From The Beginning' (Cherry and Brandon's story) will be book 2

'The Puppeteer and His Doll' (Snake and Casper's story) will be in book 3

You can read these books as standalone. So the order doesn't matter😊

From the moment this chapter gets released, you guys can vote on my P a t r e o n or on my Instagram story which of the next stories you guys would like the read. The one with most votes wins!

I will let you guys know about the release dates of the stories on my Instagram page, so make sure to follow it if you want to see the progress of the stories. And my Patreons will have early access to those stories when they will be released. 😉

This writing journey had been a roller coaster of emotions and I still find it hard to grasp that this story has really ended. I started the story as a joke. Something not serious as I was merely experimenting, trying to put all elements that I'm bad at in a story and I truly didn't expect anyone to read this amateurish gibberish. But as more people read, liked and comment on the story, I thought: Oh shit, some people like this crap?

And I wrote more diligently. I started to grasp the meaning of write and I enjoyed every step of it. I will keep on growing and improving my stories and I hope that all of you will stay seated together with me on this roller coaster.

You guys were my drive and motivation to finish this story. My drive to make even more stories. This story started intending to end it at chapter 25, but it ended at a whooping 93 (problems of a pantser lol).

This is my first story that I ever completed, so this makes me pretty emotional T-T.

Thank you all for giving so much love and support towards my story and characters. You guys are the best!