Chapter 3
Alexander was right.
Three years ago, on a holiday, Alexander found me standing by Lily's grave.
His calm face carried a trace of sadness.
He asked, "You've been visiting Lily's grave every year for five years. Why?
"From what I know, you two barely even knew each other."
We'd been classmates for six years, but barely interacted at all.
Even in an international school, there were cliques and social hierarchies.
Alexander and Lily were way out of everyone else's league.
I gave him a faint smile. "We were classmates. That's all."
I figured that meeting him was already more than I could ever hope for.
But out of the blue, a month later, Richard called me.
Alexander was going to marry me.
At that time, Alexander was drowning in endless family-arranged marriage proposals.
From all the candidate photos they kept pushing his way, his gaze landed on me by chance.
After the initial wave of happiness faded, I found myself wondering about the reason behind all this.
That faint suspicion I'd had was finally confirmed right before our wedding.
Alexander looked at me calmly and said, "You were her classmate."
I nodded.
I assured him that I'd do my best to be the perfect Mrs. Grant.
Even when I saw Alexander painfully searching for traces of Lily in other girls, I kept telling myself that he just wasn't ready to let go yet.
Someday, I hoped he would finally notice me—the one right beside him.
I'd spent so many years admiring him from the shadows, never daring to step into the light.
A few more days wouldn't make any difference to me.
But now, Alexander had stripped me of the only thing in my life that ever mattered to me—besides him.
My job.
As if his previous words hadn't stung enough, Alexander kept pushing, determined to remind me of my place.
"Emma, don't think that just because you've won Grandpa over, you can do whatever you want," he said coldly.
For the first time in ten years, I felt that all that time I spent loving him wasn't worth it.
I didn't bother arguing with him anymore.
I hung up.
After a few seconds just sitting in silence, I picked up my phone and called Charles Grant.
He was my brother-in-law—the one who'd miscalculated and ended up losing to Alexander in their family's power game.
*****
"Replace the lead actress in Blossoms," I stated bluntly.
I made my demand clear, without any hesitation.
Charles chuckled lazily, a smirk on his face as he looked me up and down.
"Emma, if someone's giving you a hard time in this business, shouldn't you go cry to Alexander?" he said.
Then, his eyes went wide in fake surprise. "Wait, don't tell me he isn't backing you up."
Alexander didn't take me seriously. Charles'd been around the circle long enough to know this.
His grin widened. "If even Alexander won't help you, what makes you think I will?"
Ever since I met Charles, he'd always been like this.
He had that playboy vibe, always acting like rules were for someone else.
He looked like he came from money, but couldn't bother with even the basics of manners.
I met his gaze calmly. "From now on, I won't speak up for him in front of your grandpa."
Charles blinked, caught off guard.
He propped his chin with one hand, considering for a few seconds, and then reached out toward me.
"Deal," he said.
Dealing with someone smart was always straightforward.
He couldn't care less about what was happening between me and Alexander.
He never bothered to figure out if I was just saying stuff to get my way—he simply didn't care.
As long as I could deliver what he wanted, that was all that mattered.
I was exactly the same with him now.
I had no idea what kind of moves Charles pulled.
In the end, I wasn't cast as the lead in Blossoms, and neither was Sophie Lane, the substitute Alexander had picked.
The internet blew up with drama over all the constant changes to the movie's leading actress.
Inside the studio, Sophie and I had a serious fight.
The reality show director, not one to miss an opportunity for drama, invited both of us to crank up the buzz.
Back then, I always dodged reality shows like this—never agreed to any of them.
I figured actors should keep their emotional edge sharp and remain a little mysterious, so we could completely lose ourselves in roles.
But now, I understood how things really worked.
Only with more hype and visibility could I actually have a voice in this industry.
Otherwise, even after five years in the game, I was still just another artist anyone could replace whenever they wanted.
When I got home, the TV in the living room was showing me and Sophie going head-to-head in some ridiculous game.
During the game, Sophie didn't hold back. She dumped a whole bucket of ice water right over my head.
But in the next round, I came out on top.
I raised a bucket of ice water above her head, ready for payback.
Sophie just shut her eyes and braced herself, completely at my mercy.
But the water never came down.
"Director, it's way too cold out here. Girls can't handle freezing water like this. Could we swap out the punishment for something else?" I pleaded.
The director, a real sharp operator, immediately caught on—he knew this was drama gold for the show.
"So, what do you want instead?" he asked, totally vibing with my energy.
Everyone was watching me now, eyes glued and waiting to see my next move.
Letting my eyes sweep across the set, I said, "Well, it's really cold tonight, and everybody's busting their ass. How about we just make Sophie order some hot coffee for everyone—the crew and the guests alike?"
Playing it off like I'd just had a flash of inspiration, I casually dropped the name of a popular coffee shop.
The show's most talked-about celebrity instantly looked my way.
Of course, that coffee brand was the one he was repping.