Chapter 8

After holing up at home for days, my fridge was empty. I was forced to drag myself out to the supermarket and buy some groceries.

I hadn't checked my phone in days, so I had no idea the internet had already started cyberbullying me.

I underestimated how much Olivia hated me.

With James backing her up, she kept twisting the fact that I was no longer in Mason's film.

She made up a bunch of other stuff to smear my name, saying I was a total fake, had no self-respect, and only won my award by playing dirty.

Since I hadn't checked my phone in days and had stayed silent, it was said that I was feeling guilty and didn't dare to show up again.

A large group of paid online commenters hired by Olivia, along with a crowd of netizens who were misled and manipulated, began clamoring to doxx me. They said they would dig up my past, my family background, and all of my experiences.

I was completely clueless and assumed all that online drama from a few days ago had already blown over.

When I went out to the supermarket, I didn't bother wearing a mask.

But the moment I walked through the entrance, I could feel someone watching me from behind.

Before I could turn around, James materialized beside me and yanked me by the arm.

Before I knew what was happening, he'd already dragged me into the fire escape stairwell.

Peeking out through the crack in the door, I saw a pack of reporters rushing past.

Their anxious voices floated in. "She ran this way. Where'd she go?"

I looked, somewhat confused and puzzled, at the reporter hurrying past. Then I tilted my head and looked at James beside me.

James probably understood me fairly well. So with one glance at my reaction, he could tell that I still had no idea about anything.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through all the news, holding it out for me to see.

That's when it hit me that I was getting cyberbullied.

James slipped his phone back and stared at me in the shadowy stairwell.

His eyes were so sharp, it felt like he was grilling me for answers. "Emily, you know what's waiting for you if I open this door."

I didn't get it. Was he trying to threaten me?

But what could he threaten me with now? There was nothing left for him to use against me.

James saw I was still silent and clenched his jaw, keeping at it. "So, you're not going to say a single word to me?"

I looked at him, confused. "What do you want me to say?"

James suddenly stepped closer, practically right up against me.

His voice was low, but there was an urgency he couldn't hide. "Why did you cry when I crashed my car? If you cried, why didn't you ever say anything?"

I stared at him in silence.

He was losing his patience. "Emily, are you going to keep playing dumb with me? Did you ever care about me? Did you ever love me?"

My hand hanging at my side clenched silently. I said softly, "It's all in the past."

James's eyes suddenly reddened. It was as if my words struck him right in the heart.

He spoke through gritted teeth, filled with hatred and unwillingness, "There is no past. With me, it's never over. It will never be over."

My head started pounding, pain coming in waves.

I looked at him, and for a second, sadness washed over me. "So what if I loved you? James, we're done. It's been over for ages. Do you really think we can go back and start again?"

Maybe it was my imagination, but for a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes.

He locked his gaze on me, his voice trembling. "So what if we start over? What's stopping us?"