Chapter 2
In the end, he just said, "Stop messing around," and hung up on me.
He ended the call on his own, not even giving me the chance to reply.
He didn't even care to waste another second talking to me.
I could tell if he still loved me.
Our first year together—it was just the beginning of everything.
To carve out a spot for myself in showbiz and help him snag the best gigs, I threw myself into networking.
I was constantly bouncing between parties and events; one time, I drank so much trying to keep up that I ended up with a bleeding stomach.
When Brice heard I was hospitalized, he burst into the hospital like a man possessed.
When he saw me lying there, looking like a wreck, tears just streamed down his face.
I laughed at him. "Why are you crying? I'm not dead, you know."
He wiped his tears and scolded me, "You know you can't handle this—why were you drinking like that?"
I managed a weak grin. "At least all that drinking wasn't for nothing. You landed the third male lead in Axton Tyson's film because of it."
Hearing that, Brice just started sobbing even harder.
"Adelina, I don't care about being famous anymore. I don't want any of those roles," he said, choking up.
"All I want is you here with me," he said.
Turns out we really did have some great times.
Back then, I was all he ever saw.
He really did care about me.
But just now, when I called and told him I was in the hospital and asked him to come get me, it was a whole different story.
He was more worried about staying out of trouble than about me—coming to pick me up was the last thing on his mind.
He didn't even care enough to ask what put me in the hospital.
I stared at the crumpled calla lily petals in my hand.
It felt like I was looking straight at the ruins of my own love—dead and gone.
If he really didn't care anymore, then why was he still sending me flowers?
A message popped up on my phone.
It was from Brice's assistant.
[Hey, Adelina, did you get the flowers? They're your favorite—calla lilies!]
The assistant added: [I haven't seen Brice lately, but when he comes in for the interview tomorrow, I'll ask him what he really meant that day. Honestly, I think he still cares about you. Don't let those online rumors mess with your head.]
*****
I forced out a cold, mocking laugh.
Figures. Not even the flowers were really from him.
Brice, what did I even mean to you?
I loved him, respected him, and would've given up anything for his sake.
It didn't mean he got to walk all over my heart and toss my feelings aside like they were worthless.
This was it. We were really done this time.
Brice and I started dating in our first year after breaking into showbiz.
We were at the same company.
We'd bump into each other all the time at one event or another.
Back then, neither of us was making waves. We were both pretty much invisible—two kindred spirits just trying to survive in the industry.
That night, we were working late on press releases, and shooting a rain scene on top of that.
By the time we wrapped, both of us were freezing our asses off.
Back in my dressing room, Brice took my cold hands in his, held them tight, and quietly confessed. He told me he wanted to be by my side, holding my hand as we fought our way to the top together in this crazy industry.
Damn, he was born with the kind of looks that'd stop you in your tracks.
And when he locked eyes with someone, there was a wild, burning fire in them—hot enough to melt away your defenses.
Faced with those eyes, I couldn't help myself; it was like I was under a spell. I just said yes without even thinking.
We were together for five years.
I stood by his side through it all, from sharing a cramped basement apartment to moving into a luxury condo.
He started out as a nobody with tiny bit roles, but ended up walking away with the Best Actor trophy.
Now, he had finally carved out his place in the entertainment world.
But the person he wanted beside him on that journey—it wasn't me anymore.
Social media was flooded with endless posts hyping up Brice and Lexie as some kinda perfect, destined couple—the buzz just never died down.
That icy feeling in my heart came crawling right back.
It was funny, really. All those years with Brice, and I never had a clue he had a childhood friend like her.
But my assistant Katie has mentioned Lexie a couple of times before.
Word was, she spent a few years training in ballet over in Onaset, and now she was back in the country, looking to kick-start her career.
She was getting ready to dive into showbiz, too.
And she just signed with Starcrest Entertainment—the very same company Brice and I are with.
Katie leaned in all secretive, like she was about to spill some serious gossip.
"Lexie didn't just come back to make it big in showbiz—you know she's also here to inherit Starcrest Entertainment," she whispered.
"Everyone calls her the princess of Starcrest," Katie said, rolling her eyes like even she couldn't believe it.
"She's Joshua Powell's one and only kid," she added.
Brice was standing right there when Katie brought it up.
The look in his eyes made it obvious—he was thinking about something.
Could it be that Brice's flashy confession had something to do with all this?
But hey, I'd be finding out soon enough.
I honestly didn't expect to find Brice at home.
He was just lounging on the couch, phone in hand, clearly texting with someone—grinning so wide he couldn't even bother to hide it.
It had been forever since I saw him smile like that.
Honestly, things started to change after he landed that movie—the one that won him all those awards.
From then on, his eyes and that smile hardly ever found their way to me anymore.
I stood quietly in the doorway, just taking him in.