Chapter 1

1.

The night the rumors about Liam and that actress started trending on Twitter again, I was sitting on the couch, munching on a bag of chips.

I opened a fan-edited video on social media. I stuffed my face while crying over their "sweet love story."

Beside me, Liam sighed, lifting his head from his script. "Babe, it's all acting. It’s not real. Don't be mad."

I looked up at him, tears swimming in my eyes. "No, I’m crying because I genuinely think you two look great together."

The background music was perfect. Every shot of them kissing looked so magical.

The caption on the video was a top comment from a fan:

“Timing is everything. If only that boring ex-girlfriend had never existed.”

I took a deep breath and brushed the crumbs off my hands.

"Liam, let's break up."

I looked into his stunned blue eyes.

I thought about the seven years Liam and I had spent together.

He had finally become a household name, a superstar. And I had become the "ordinary woman" the public said wasn't good enough for him.

When his female co-star faced cyberbullying, Liam protected her like a knight, never hiding his concern.

But when I was attacked by his crazy fans, called a "redundant old woman" just for dating him, he only calmly advised me, "The audience is just too immersed in the screen couple image of me and Bella. Don't overthink it."

But now that I truly didn't care anymore, why did he look so panicked?

...

Liam seemed like he hadn't heard me clearly.

After a moment of silence, he looked up, his voice calm and restrained. "Tell me the real reason."

I shrugged. "That is the reason."

He stared into my eyes, thinking he could see right through me.

"Chloe, it’s because of the filming, isn't it? You're feeling insecure again, right?"

Liam emphasized the word "again."

It was true. In the years we’d lived in New York, I had become increasingly insecure.

Especially in the last two years, as Liam’s career skyrocketed.

Once he joined a production, I couldn't reach him at all.

Most of the time, I had to rely on scrolling through Twitter, looking for behind-the-scenes photos just to know how he was doing.

In those videos, hugging and kissing were routine.

Maybe I was just too selfish.

A few times, I couldn't resist calling him, only for Liam to coldly hang up. When we met next, the first thing he did was criticize me.

"I've told you many times, I need to get into character. I need to be completely immersed in the script and can't be disturbed by outside people and things."

"As a professional actor's girlfriend, you must understand me and support me, not cause trouble. Do you understand?"