Chapter 3

3

I blocked Serena's account immediately. I hadn't even had a chance to breathe before Xander finally called me two days later.

Before I could say a word, he whispered a soft "I'm sorry."

"Xander, you changed the leading lady of your own proposal," I said coldly. "A sorry doesn't fix that."

Despite his apology, his tone quickly turned defensive.

"I already said I was sorry. Why are you still holding onto this?"

The sheer audacity of his words made my blood boil. He acted as if I was the one being unreasonable.

"Let's be clear," I said. "You were the one who sent me to get a tie. You were the one who promised me a perfect proposal!"

I reached into my pocket and felt the purple tie I was still carrying. Tears started to blur my vision.

"Sutton, you took way too long," he snapped. "I could wait for you, but do you expect thousands of fans to just sit there and wait?"

"Serena just happened to be at the show. She stepped in to help me finish the ceremony so the fans wouldn't be disappointed."

If Serena hadn't already sent me those mocking messages, I might have actually believed his lies.

"Xander, do you really think I don't know about your history with her?" I asked.

Serena was his college sweetheart. They were the golden couple of the acting department back then.

Xander had joined my agency because of his looks, while Serena tried to make it as an actress.

The agency had strict rules against trainees dating. They told him to break up with her repeatedly, but he refused.

When I moved back to the city, I saw potential in him and promised him the best resources.

My only condition was that he had to handle his personal drama.

Xander told me he was single. He said he wanted to focus entirely on his career.

That was why I fought for him and pushed for his early debut.

Now that his wings were strong enough, the first thing he did was betray me.

He thought I didn't know about his past because I had been away for a few years.

But his story of "eternal love" for Serena was a well-known secret at the office.

I just never imagined he would hide that love while sleeping in my bed for seven years.

"Xander, I'll make it easy for you," I said. "Go public with Serena. Tell the world you're together."

With his current status as a heartthrob, revealing a relationship with someone like Serena would ruin his image.

Xander went quiet for a moment. Then he tried to sound comforting.

"Sutton, don't be like that. You're the only one I'm going to marry. This was just about fulfilling a childhood dream."

"Serena wore a veil. No one even recognized her!"

I almost laughed out loud. I had never heard anything so ridiculous in my twenty-odd years of life.

He proposed to her, but he wanted me to pay for the wedding?

He really thought he was such a prize that I couldn't live without him.

"Sutton, why aren't you at the apartment?" he asked. "I came back and the place was empty."

I had been in the hospital because his fans beat me until I couldn't walk, and he hadn't even checked his messages.

"I'm in the hospital," I said flatly.

There was no concern in his voice. Instead, he just gave me an order.

"Oh. Well, listen, some fans are saying negative things online since the news broke. When you're better, make sure you fix my PR."

He wanted me to clean up the mess from his fake proposal?

He wanted me to wait until the public accepted him, and then he'd probably ditch me for good.

"Xander, don't you want to know why I'm in the hospital?" I asked.

Realizing he sounded too cold, he quickly pivoted to a fake tone of care.

"Right, sorry. What happened? Are you just stressed? You need to rest so you can get back to work soon."

He hung up before I could answer. I finally realized that Xander was nothing more than a selfish egoist.