Chapter 4
To prove his commitment, Wyatt deleted all of Chloe's contact information right in front of me.
He assigned her to another agent at the company to take care of her from now on.
After a week of Wyatt staying home and handling the chores, I thought it over and finally let him take on the new project.
I knew he'd put in just as much heart and effort into this script as I had.
We both got back to work on prepping the script.
We were getting along much better now.
I didn't go out of my way to hold Chloe back.
She was just a bit part, not worth my time or energy.
But in this business, everyone had street smarts. They knew how to read between the lines, even if I didn't spell things out. And without Wyatt's backing, Chloe couldn't get anywhere. Soon enough, her name stopped popping up.
I threw myself back into filming the new show.
A few months later, we wrapped up shooting.
The wrap party and press conference were held at a five-star hotel.
As the main creative leads, Wyatt and I naturally had to attend together.
But just as Wyatt and I were about to step into the event hall, his phone suddenly started ringing.
It was an unknown number.
Wyatt frowned, declined the call, but whoever it was just kept ringing, again and again.
After he'd rejected the call a dozen times and was about to block the number, a message popped up from that number, with a photo attached.
Wyatt's face turned grim as he tapped open the message.
In the next instant, his whole expression shifted; he looked completely stunned.
Wyatt said, "I need to step out for a bit. Go on ahead without me."
Before I could ask what was up, he was already hurrying off, disappearing around the corner of the hallway.
After Wyatt took off, I just had to suck it up and handle the press event on my own.
With all those cameras pointed at me, I put on a brave face and did my best to answer every question they threw at me about the movie.
I was in the middle of sharing some behind-the-scenes stories about working with the director when suddenly, the whole place erupted; there was a commotion in the press section.
An entertainment reporter in the front row waved his phone in the air, eager to ask a question.
He called out, "Ms. Gallagher, your husband just posted on social media, publicly supported Chloe, and called out someone for trying to sabotage her career.
"Do you have any comments? And did his sudden exit have anything to do with this?"
Suddenly, chaos erupted in the room.
All the cameras swung toward me at once, the flashes so blinding that they made my eyes water.
"Ms. Gallagher, rumor has it Chloe was not only benched by the company, but even driven to attempt suicide. Is that true?"
"Ms. Gallagher, is it true your company mistreats its artists or cheats them out of their earnings?"
"Ms. Gallagher, are things rocky between you and Mr. Fletcher?"
The barrage of questions from the crowd was deafening; everyone was shouting at me all at once.
Completely confused, all I could do was wrap up the press conference in a hurry and get off the stage.
Backstage, I pulled out my phone and saw that Wyatt had just posted a statement on his official account.
It read: [Effective immediately, I am withdrawing from all business with Gallagher Group and will be setting up my own independent studio.]
In the statement, he wrote at length, harshly criticizing the company for exploiting and pressuring Chloe.
He detailed all the hardships Chloe had endured and her remarkable talent, his words overflowing with sympathy and wholehearted support for her.
He said he simply couldn't stand by and watch such a gifted young actress have her career destroyed.
So, he made up his mind to pull out all the stops for Chloe, determined to help her shine no matter what.
Chloe, now at the heart of all the buzz, shared Wyatt's post and added her own words: [After every storm, there's always a rainbow waiting. With you by my side, no matter how tough things get, I'll keep moving forward.]
She included a photo of herself and Wyatt together beneath the post.
The comments section exploded, and my heart turned cold.
Three years of hard work, and just as my passion project was finally ready to see the light of day, the husband I'd supported from the very beginning had dragged everything I built into a media firestorm just to stand up for another woman.
I bit back my anger, grabbed my phone, and dialed Wyatt in a flash.
"Explain yourself," I snapped.
Wyatt's voice on the other end was cold and distant. "Rose, Chloe nearly died. If I hadn't shown up when I did, she would've jumped into the river.
"She's been busting her ass, but the company's been out to get her, just because you can't stand her. I'm not gonna just sit back and watch her get ruined. I have to help her."
"Help her?" I shot back, my tone full of disbelief.
Hearing that, I let out a bitter laugh, tears pricking at my eyes. "So this is your way of helping her, by throwing me under the bus?
"You didn't even bother to find out the truth before posting all that stuff, dragging me and the company through the mud. Did you ever think about the consequences?"
"I don't care what happens now. You started this. You used your power to crush her. You're the one who ruined her. I have to protect her," Wyatt snapped.
Then he hung up on me.
Listening to the busy signal on the phone, I felt the last bit of warmth in my heart snuffed out, replaced by ice-cold emptiness.
Without thinking, I hurled my phone onto the floor; the screen shattered instantly.
The wedding photo of us in our formal attire, once my screensaver, splintered, shards scattering on the ground, just like the pieces of my broken heart.
Just perfect.
Wyatt would ruin me and drag my name through the mud for that newcomer.
Since he had chosen to stand against me, he had to pay.