Chapter 8
She pressed play on the recording, and it was full of curses. “Rylee, you ruined me! The audience is boycotting me. My career is over because of you!”
Even a movie she’d already finished–set to premiere soon–got scrapped.
Every day, the director and screenwriter hunted her down, demanding she pay for their losses.
However, she was just a rookie actress fresh out of school, and she had only ever had resources because of Kevin. How could she possibly afford those huge breach–of–contract fees?
She ended up hiding like a rat, clinging to some old rich guy in his eighties to help cover her mess.
However, it did not take long before that rich man got sick of her and tossed her out like trash.
Rylee tried to crawl back to Kevin, only to be kicked away and slapped with a public breakup statement.
Kevin’s hard–earned Best Actor award went down the drain. Fans who used to worship him started unfollowing him in droves.
They were even digging up dirt and posting every nasty thing he had done online.
Back then, they forgave him for anything. Now, the whole internet was out for blood.
He finally got a taste of what Aubree felt when the world turned on her,
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Chapter 8
and the guilt ate him alive.
He had shed so much sweat and blood to climb up from a nameless stand- in to where he was, but somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of what really mattered.
And the one person he owed it all to was gone for good.
He locked himself in a dark room, drowning himself in alcohol and self- hatred.
Aubree jumping again and
On loop, he forced himself to watch the clip again, reading the hateful comments over and over.
TE F
If he had messed up his health like this back then, Aubree would nag him to take his meds.
Now, he grabbed the pill bottle, shook two more out, and washed them down with whiskey.
That was the sixth time that day he had tried to numb himself, but the memories just got sharper.
Especially that day seven years ago when he was nothing but a stunt double, forgotten in a burning set.
The drugs made the ceiling twist and blur.
He saw himself at 23, wearing cheap costumes while filming a diving scene in the freezing cold.
The director yelled at him to reshoot it eight times, but when the day wrapped, he still squatted in a corner studying his lines.
He did not feel any of that pain back then because Aubree was always there, supporting him without complaint.
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Chapter 8
But now, those bright eyes would only ever look at him with cold indifference.
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Kevin called Aubree for what felt like the hundredth time, but all he got was that same cold automated message.
He scrolled through his gallery and found a picture he’d secretly snapped of her sleeping face. His fingertip traced the little scar on her collarbone in the photo.
She got it when she ran into the fire to save him and got cut by the iron frame.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“1
His tears splashed onto the phone screen, blurring her face.
Then, he wiped it dry with his sleeve before pressing a shaky kiss against it.
He grabbed a fruit knife and held it to his wrist, but in the end, he could not bring himself to do it.
So, he got back up. He told himself he had to apologize to Aubree in person–just once.
The next time I saw Kevin again, I was standing in a bridal shop, trying on wedding dresses with Jeremy.
