Chapter 2
After five years together, Celine was in every corner of my world.
Then what was I?
A chill spread through me as I finally realized I was nothing but a joke.
I followed Kelvin everywhere, unable to take a single step away from him.
It felt like I'd committed some huge crime, and my punishment was being tethered to his side, completely unable to break free.
Hours passed, and he didn't give a damn whether I lived or died.
Meanwhile, Kelvin looked pleased as he scrolled through the promo teaser on his phone.
His friends was all around him, hyping him up and laying on the praise thick.
"I heard Tanya went all out with her outfit because she thought you were gonna propose to her."
"She really doesn't know her place. Even if Celine never came back, doesn't Tanya know she only matters because her blood type matches Celine's?"
Kelvin checked our chat and saw I'd left him on read for three or four hours.
He finally bothered to text me himself.
Kelvin: [Reply, or we're done.]
He said to his friends, "I'm not gonna marry her. I only went after her because the Garner Group has power. How else was I supposed to bail out the Lambert family? And besides, it wasn't our first time. She didn't even bleed. So what's with the whole innocent act?"
I just stood there, dumbfounded. People's bodies weren't all the same, after all.
Why did they have to judge a girl's purity just because of something like that?
One of his friends joked, "But Kelvin, it worked out anyway, right? Weren't you always trying to find a portable blood donor for Celine? Honestly, you treat her like she's the most precious thing in the world, afraid she'd shatter if you held her too tight."
It turned out I was nothing but a tool to his friends.
Everyone knew I was just a substitute. And I was the only idiot who didn't know.
Everyone was hyping Kelvin up about his big moment, but right then, Celine burst in, crying her eyes out.
"Kelvin!" she called out.
She held up her phone for everyone to see, and there was a threatening message with my avatar front and center.
"What if she's really dead? I don't want to end up in jail," Celine said.
Kelvin playfully flicked her nose, doting on her. "Silly girl, if she were dead, how could she still be texting you? Relax. She signed a waiver before entering the secret room."
Celine threw herself into his arms, her tears quickly turning into laughter as she snuggled up to his neck.
She pouted. "Is Tanya really that desperate for money? Why would she try to blackmail me?"
Kelvin rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. "Come on, isn't Tanya the kind of woman who'd do anything for money?"
But Celine kept clinging to him, playing the victim, like she was scared my barely ten thousand followers would mob her online.
She had just enough tears clinging to her lashes to make her look heartbreakingly fragile.
"Just destroy her showbiz career. Stop crying," Kelvin said.
With a few careless words, Kelvin crushed all my hard work in an instant.
He knew exactly how much blood, sweat, and tears I'd poured into it. But he just didn't care. Not one bit.
Celine jumped up, all smiles, and gave Kelvin a quick peck on the cheek.
She said, "Tonight's bill is on me! Let me get some fruit for everyone."
Watching Celine looking so cheerful, I couldn't help but feel a wave of suspicion rise inside me.
I followed her slowly, keeping my distance, and saw her answer a call around the corner. She tried to keep her voice low, but I caught every word. She said, "Celine's dead. What did you do with the body?"
The voice replied, "Tanya missed the best chance to save her. She's still locked in the secret room."
Celine just gave a quiet hum.
She added a few more words, telling them to keep their mouths shut, no matter what.
So Celine had known the truth all along.
But she still went ahead and badmouthed me in front of everyone.
She humiliated me. She even dragged my name through the mud after I was gone.
Back in the private room, Kelvin was already drunk. He gripped his phone tightly, listening to the endless beeping of the call waiting tone.
Furious, he hurled his phone to the floor.
"Tanya, now you even dare to ignore my calls?" Kelvin shouted.
"With women like her, she's probably already hooked up with some new sponsor. Chill out, man," one of his buddies tried to reassure him.
However, Kelvin lost it and knocked him to the ground.
"Who the hell said you could talk about her like that?" Kelvin barked.
Kelvin had this twisted, possessive obsession with me.
He'd tear me down himself, but if anyone else tried to talk shit about me, he'd totally lose it.
Still, right in front of Kelvin, Celine started a livestream, showing the secret room video and shamelessly using my tragedy to boost her own fame.
Suddenly, hashtags like [Tanya the attention seeker] and [Tanya the drama queen] were blowing up online, staying at the top of the trending list.
And Kelvin's company was the main one fanning the flames.
Back when I asked him to come with me to an interview taping, he turned me down, saying he hated crowds.
But now, he was front and center in Celine's livestream, playing the supportive boyfriend and giving her all the face.
People even started calling me the homewrecker who tried to break them up.
[Mr. Lambert and Celine are such a perfect couple! Didn't Tanya keep going on about how they were together? So why has Mr. Lambert never shown up on any of her shows?]
[Clearly, you don't understand. Tanya's just desperate for clout and always trying to ride on someone else's fame. She can't hold a candle to our precious Celine!]
[Tanya's such a drama queen. Can she stop fishing for attention already? Even the CEO and the heiress aren't as over the top as she is...]