Chapter 5 Ivana launched her full - scale invasion of the industry , showing up wherever Talia was like a bad rash . When Talin was rehearsing what was supposed to be her farewell Broadway musical - a passion project she'd been developing for years - Ivana somehow muscled her way into the production halfway through . Overnight , Talia's songs got slashed in half . All her big numbers , her emotional solos , her character's entire arc - handed over to Ivana on a silver platter . " Director , I'm not sure how to play this scene . Could you walk me through it ? " Ivana approached during a break , script in hand , all wide - eyed innocence . " Oh , this part ? Super easy . Your character slaps hers during the argument - really let the emotion rip . Don't hold back , make it look real . " Talia froze . She didn't remember any slapping in the original script .. When she cornered the screenwriter , he squirmed like a worm on a hook . " Look , I just write what I'm told to write . Don't blame me I've got bills to pay . " The puppet master's identity was pretty fucking obvious . Ivana bounced back over , practically glowing with excitement . " Talia ! For the sake of authenticity , I'm gonna really hit you , okay ? You're such a pro - I know you'll be cool with it . " She raised an eyebrow , smug as hell " Right ? " Talia glanced over and spotted Trevor lurking behind the theater seats , baseball cap pulled low but impossible to miss . Of course he was here . Had to babysit his precious princess during rehearsal . Swallowing her pride like broken glass , Talia nodded . " Fine . " What followed was exactly what she'd expected - take after take of Ivana " accidentally messing up the slapping scene . She could nail every harmony , hit every dance move perfectly , but somehow kept flubbing the hits . Wrong line delivery . Missed emotional cue . Bad blocking . Forty - five minutes and countless takes later , Talia's face was swollen and burning . Even the director looked sick watching it . " Alright , everyone take twenty , " he called , unable to stomach any more . Talia's cheeks felt like they were on fire . Kristen was sobbing , furious on her behalf . " That bitch is doing it on purpose ! She's torturing your ' Talia felt like crying too , but she wiped Kristen's tears instead . " It's okay . " Through her assistant , she watched Trevor approach with an ice pack in his hand . " Face still hurt ? " He actually sounded concerned for half a second , " What do you think ? " Talia's voice was flat . Trevor shrugged . " Ivana's new to live performance . Sometimes it takes practice to get the blocking right . Just be patient with her do a couple more takes if you need to . " Talla almost laughed . " She won a Grammy and you want me to be patient with her ? " 23.07 Chapter 5 " Why don't you let her slap you thirty times and see how it feels ? " Trevor's expression hardened . " This is literally your job . You're a performer - getting hit comes with the territory . You don't get to complain . " After lecturing her , he finally held out the ice pack . " Here , ice that up and get back to work . Ivana's got dinner plans and her stomach can't handle being hungry too long . " Funny how he'd forgotten that Talia had stomach problems too . She smiled bitterly . But before she could take the ice pack , Ivana appeared . " Trevor , my hands hurt so much , " she whined , holding up her palms like wounded paws . This scene is so hard - I'm exhausted from all that hitting . " Trevor immediately redirected the ice pack to her hands , his voice going soft . " If you're tired , we can wrap for today . Pick it up tomorrow , yeah ? " Ivana turned to Talia with fake sweetness . " Would tomorrow work for you ? For finishing this number ? " When Trevor couldn't see her face , Ivana's smile turned vicious . Her eyes were cold as ice , not a trace of innocence anywhere . Talia stared right back at her . " Ab - so - lute - ly not . " Ivana kept up the act . " But why not ? Look , my palms are all red from hitting you so much . " She held out her hands , practically shoving them in Talia's face . Pure provocation . Talia had reached her breaking point . Her hand flew up and cracked across Ivana's cheek . " Are you fucking kidding me right now ? " Ivana staggered backward , clutching her face in shock . Apparently she hadn't expected Talia to fight back . She immediately ran crying to Trevor ,