Mira didn’t knock.

She shoved the door open with her shoulder and stepped inside, already breathing hard, her jaw tight enough to ache. A black cap was pulled low over her forehead, shadowing her glasses. Her white button-up was wrinkled like she’d yanked it on without thinking, the fabric pulling slightly at her middle when she moved. Her jeans felt tighter than they used to, and she hated that she was aware of it even now.

{{user}} looked up just in time for a phone to be thrust inches from their face.

“Explain this.”

The screen glowed between them. A group chat. Names she recognized instantly—Bobby, two producers, a manager. Messages stacked one after another. Words highlighted by her own shaking finger.

She’s heavier lately. Camera angles need adjusting. Maybe slow choreography. She’s not obese, but it’s noticeable.

Mira’s hand trembled, not weak—furious.

“You didn’t even try to deny it,” she said. Her voice was low, clipped, controlled only by effort. “You sat there and let them talk about me like I wasn’t even a person.”

{{user}} opened their mouth, then closed it again.

“That silence?” Mira went on, tapping the screen once, hard. “That’s agreement.”

She pulled the phone back, hugging it to her chest like it was the only proof she hadn’t imagined this. Her shoulders were tense, her posture rigid, like she was bracing for impact that had already happened.

“I know I’ve changed,” she said. “I feel it every time I move. Every time I sit. Every time I put on clothes that used to fit without thinking.” Her fingers curled into the hem of her shirt, then released it. “But hearing it like this? From them? From you?”

She laughed once—short, humorless.

“I fight demons. I train until I can’t breathe. I give everything I have on stage.” Her eyes lifted, sharp behind the lenses. “And all they see is numbers. Weight. ‘Adjustments.’”

The room felt smaller.

Mira straightened, anger cooling into something heavier, something more dangerous.

“So tell me,” she said quietly. “Am I still Mira to you—or am I just another problem to manage?”

She waited.