Chapter 3

I opened Bella's private message. There was only one message, sent at 3 a.m.: [Winnie, this is the company's call, not mine. You know Henry is our top earner.

[Mr. Miller would never leave him without someone watching over him. So, take a break for now and lay low until things cool down.]

Then I called Liam Miller.

When he picked up, he sounded awkward. "Winnie, Henry says he doesn't want to work with you for now. You know he's our biggest star.

"We can't afford to upset him. Why don't you take some time off, and later I'll get you someone else to manage?"

"I'm the one who brought him in," I said.

"I know, but things are complicated right now. You two have personal issues, and it's not good for either of you to keep working together."

"What about my other artists?"

There was a pause. "Henry wants you out of the company."

My grip on the phone tightened. "Is that what he wants, or is it you?"

Liam sighed. "Winnie, don't make this harder for me."

I hung up. I checked social media. The top trending topic was still yesterday's mess, but now the whole narrative had flipped.

Henry had posted half an hour ago. [Thanks for all the concern. What happened yesterday was between Winnie and me.

[She's been dealing with some personal struggles, and I respect her decision. Please give her space and don't bother her.

[And please, don't read too much into my relationship with Nancy. We're just friends.]

All the comments were full of sympathy for him.

[Henry is so sweet. After getting dumped, he's still standing up for Winnie.]

[If Winnie was afraid of marriage, why didn't she say so earlier? She totally wasted Henry's time.]

[Nancy is so innocent. She didn't do anything and still got dragged into this.]

I stared at those comments, my nails digging into my palm.

Henry had pinned all the blame on me.

Fear of marriage. Mental health issues. Now I was the one who called off the wedding. And he got to play the poor, heartbroken guy.

My phone buzzed again. It was a message from Kelly Smith.

Kelly: [Winnie, what the hell is going on? The trending topic says you're afraid of marriage? That's total bullshit.

[You've been planning this wedding since last year and sent out over three hundred invitations. Has Henry lost his mind?]

I shot back a quick reply. [Don't ask.]

Kelly: [No way, you have to tell me what's really going on. I'm coming over right now.]

Twenty minutes later, Kelly showed up at my door.

As soon as she walked in, she took one look at me and her face fell. "Did you cry all night?"

I said, "No. I didn't sleep well."

She sat down across from me, staring at me for a bit. "Winnie, level with me. What really happened yesterday?"

I handed her my phone and let her see for herself.

She scrolled through Henry's message, the trending topic, and the company group chat, her face getting darker with every swipe.

"Damn it." Kelly slammed my phone down on the table. "What an asshole. He ditched you on your wedding day to hang out with Nancy, then made you take the fall? Winnie, why didn't you post these screenshots online?"

I said, "What's the point? He's the top star now, and I'm just his agent. His fans would call me a liar."

Kelly bit her lip, not saying a word for a long moment.

She knew I was right. In this business, the real power always belonged to the ones with the biggest following.

"So, what are you going to do?" she asked.

I stared out the window, not answering. I still didn't know.

*****

As Kelly was leaving, she paused at the door. "Winnie, remember. No matter what you decide, I've got your back."

I nodded.

After she left, I opened up my phone's gallery.

I scrolled down to the very end and found a photo from five years ago.

It was a golden trophy, with an inscription engraved on the base.

I stared at it for a long time, and then locked my phone.

Over the next three days, things got worse than I'd imagined.

Henry's fans launched a full-on attack against me.

They dug up all my social media accounts and picked apart every single post I'd ever made.

[Look at this post Winnie made three years ago. She's alone in a hotel room. Isn't this proof she never wanted to be with Henry?]

[See? She never posts pics of Henry. She never loved him.]