Chapter 2

2.

For three years, I watched him climb to the top. I watched him surround himself with all kinds of celebrities. I watched the media and his fans pair him up with different starlets.

I was an invisible woman.

Or rather, a dirty little secret.

Every time a new rumor broke, he would come home late, smelling of alcohol or another woman’s perfume, hold me in his arms, and whisper it over and over: "Joan, don't believe any of it. It's all PR, it's all for the contract, you know that. You're my wife. The only one."

In the beginning, I believed him.

Then, my heart grew colder, sinking like a stone to the bottom of the ocean.

I told myself I had signed the agreement, I had taken the money, so I had to play by the rules. He was a star. His marriage, his relationships, even he himself, didn't fully belong to him. They belonged to the industry.

But this time was different.

He had made an official announcement.

Publicly, proudly, lovingly.

And it wasn't about me.

It was about Summer, the girl he starred with in the rom-com, the girl his fans were crazy about.

He was holding another woman, declaring to the world that she was his person.

Then what the hell was I?

What was that piece of paper from the state of Nevada, locked in my drawer?

What were the last three years of waiting and loneliness?

My phone was still buzzing.

It was my agent, Brenda.

I took a deep breath and answered.

"Joan! Oh my god! Have you seen what's trending?! Everything's on fire! It's a total shitshow!" Brenda's voice was shrill and frantic. "Why haven't you been answering your phone?! I've been losing my mind!"

"I just woke up," I said, my voice raspy.

"Okay, listen to me, right now! Immediately! Change the passwords to all your social media accounts! Give them to me or your assistant! Do not read the comments! Do not post a single word! Do you hear me!" Brenda was practically screaming. "Chase's PR team just contacted me. They said this is an emergency crisis management situation and that you need to stay completely silent! They'll handle it!"

"Handle it?" I forced a laugh. "How are they going to handle it? Release a statement saying Chase and Summer are just friends? Or that I'm a stalker?"

"Girl! This is not the time for a tantrum!" Brenda sounded like she was about to cry. "Do you have any idea how insane Chase's fans are? And Summer's fans aren't exactly saints either! Anything you say right now is just pouring gasoline on the fire! His team has connections, they can bury this, trust me! Just suck it up for a bit, it'll blow over!"

"Suck it up?" I repeated the words.

The rage that had been building inside me for three years, ignited by that photo and those vicious comments, exploded in my head.

Why?

Why should I always be the one to suck it up?

Why does he get to embrace his new love in the spotlight while I have to hide in the shadows, branded as "thirsty" and a "gold digger"?

Because I'm not famous enough? Because I signed that agreement? Because I was stupid enough to believe that "temporary" had an end date?

"Brenda," I cut her off, my voice eerily calm. "The agreement only states that I can't proactively disclose our marriage. Right?"

Brenda paused. "Yeah… right! So that's even more reason you can't―"

"So what if," I paused, my fingertips cold, but my voice filled with a new resolve, "he was the one who broke the agreement first? He publicly announced a 'relationship.' And it wasn't with me. Isn't that, in essence, declaring to the entire world that our marriage doesn't exist?"