Chapter 2

Kevin didn't take Sarah's polite decline well. "She's threatened," he told me later that night, pacing my small apartment. "She doesn't want you to outshine her. She wants to keep you small." "That's not true, Kevin. Sarah's my best friend. We built this together." "Chloe, baby, you're naive. This is business. She sees your potential, and with me guiding you, you'd be the star. She can't handle that." His words, so certain, so passionate, started to seep in. Maybe Sarah was a little protective of the podcast, of her role. The next week, we had a live-streamed Q&A session, a big event for us. We were answering listener questions, the vibe was great. Suddenly, Kevin was there, walking onto our makeshift stage in the co-working space we used for bigger events. He grabbed a spare microphone. "Hey everyone! Kevin, Chloe's boyfriend. Just wanted to say, Chloe is the real talent here, and some people are trying to hold her back." The chat window exploded. I stared, horrified. Sarah stood up, her face pale but composed. "Kevin, this is highly inappropriate. This is a professional event." "Inappropriate? Or are you just scared of the truth, Sarah? Scared of someone else recognizing Chloe's star power? Trying to gatekeep her success?" He was playing to the online audience, a smirk on his face. I wanted the ground to swallow me. "Kevin, please," I whispered. He ignored me, his eyes locked on Sarah. "This podcast could be so much bigger if it wasn't for your limited vision." Security eventually escorted him out, but the damage was done. The stream ended abruptly. The comments were a mess. After, I was sobbing. "He humiliated us, Sarah. He humiliated me." Sarah was quiet for a long moment, her jaw tight. "He knew exactly what he was doing, Chloe." Later, Kevin was full of apologies, but they were laced with accusations. "I just get so passionate about you, about your future. She provokes me. She's trying to come between us." He held me close. "A real partner supports her man's ambition, Chloe. Don't you want us to build an empire together? She's jealous, can't you see?" Tears streamed down my face. I felt torn. I loved Kevin, his confidence, the future he painted for us. But Sarah... "I can't lose him, Sarah," I cried to her on the phone the next day. "He's my future." Sarah's silence on the other end was heavy. "Chloe," she finally said, her voice tired. "He's manipulating you." "No, he's not! You just don't understand him!" I hung up, my heart aching. I was choosing Kevin. I had to.