Chapter 2

I flipped to the budget page.

Only for Alex's post-marriage support, the first phase alone was going to cost three or two-million dollars. And that was not counting the S-tier thriller I landed for him.

Mia glanced at the trending topics and spoke up cautiously. "Ethan's been calling me nonstop."

"Answer it," I said.

Mia put the call on speaker right in front of me.

Ethan's voice burst out, tense and urgent. "Mia, what exactly is Ms. Grant playing at? The marketing team says the official announcement is paused, and the platform's promo slot is up for review.

"They're getting married tomorrow morning. If everything gets put on hold now, how do you think people are going to start speculating?"

Mia looked to me for direction.

I gestured for her to set the phone down. "Ethan."

There was a brief silence on the other end, and then Ethan's voice softened. "Ms. Grant, please, let me explain. Alex really had too much to drink tonight. You know how he is.

"He's always been a bit of a romantic, and with everyone egging him on at the wrap party, he got caught up in the moment and said something he shouldn't have."

"So, he got caught up in the moment and made his fiancée look like a consolation prize?"

Ethan was caught off guard for a second, but quickly switched gears. "Don't let it get to you, Ms. Grant. Alex really cares about you, I promise.

"Everything's still on for tomorrow. We've got the photographer ready. Once the official announcement goes out, all this drama from tonight will fade away."

I flipped through the agreement in my hand. "So, how exactly are you planning to spin this?"

"We'll say Alex was talking about his character. He just wrapped up filming and hasn't snapped out of the role yet."

I closed the file. "So, is he going to be 'in character' for the marriage registration tomorrow too?"

There was some background noise on Ethan's end, like someone was whispering to him.

When he spoke again, his voice was much lower. "Ms. Grant, suspending Alex's resources right now isn't good for either of us. He's got three endorsement deals and two platform projects at stake.

"You're too closely linked to him. If you cut him off, it'll impact your projects as well."

Now that was what I called real talk. They weren't worried about my feelings. They were worried I'd pull the plug on the money.

I handed Mia the file on top, the "Post-Marriage Image Upgrade Plan."

"Send this to legal," I told her.

Mia took the file. "Right now?"

"Right now."

On the phone, Ethan was getting anxious. "Ms. Grant, let's talk this through. There's no need to bring legal into this, is there?"

I watched Alex's pale face on the screen.

The livestream had ended, and the platform automatically switched to a replay highlight reel.

His line, "The one I'm marrying isn't the person I truly love," had been edited by promo accounts with slow-motion and sad music, and it had already been shared over a hundred thousand times.

I said, "Tonight, Alex sabotaged the impact of our marriage announcement on a public livestream and put the entire project at risk. Per our agreement, I have every right to suspend all further support."

Ethan's voice dropped. "Ms. Grant, you're using the contract to strong-arm us."

"Exactly."

There was silence on the other end.

I hung up and took Alex off my speed dial.

Mia stood there with the file in her arms, not asking any questions. "The platform's video call is in half an hour."

"I'll take it myself," I said.

"What about the marriage registration appointment?"

I glanced at the file bag sitting on the table. Inside were all the legal documents: driver's license, paperwork, everything Alex's assistant had dropped off earlier today.

Every piece was there. Shame, the only thing missing was the groom.

I pushed the file bag aside. "Cancel it."

Mia paused for a second as she wrote, and then looked up at me.

I knew what she was worried about.

Alex was the company's biggest cash cow, and the star I'd personally built up over the past three years.

Pulling the plug on him would sting more than him. It'd bleed me dry too. But in business, the worst thing I could do was keep throwing money at a sinking ship.

At 11:40 PM, the production manager for Falling Stars dropped a message in the project group chat. [Ms. Grant, Mr. Whitman's team wants to know if tomorrow's table read is still happening.]

I replied: [To be confirmed.]

Three minutes later, the chat went completely quiet.

At midnight, the platform yanked down the poster hyping Alex's first big drama after marriage. Instead, they slapped up a solo promo shot of the female lead from the same show.

Alex's name, once in the spotlight, was now shoved all the way to the bottom of the project list, grayed out as "pending confirmation."

I stared at that line, and whatever warmth was left in my heart finally turned cold.

The first cut had landed, and the wound was already bleeding.