My Birthday, His Cruel Betrayal

up. He had to comfort his co-star, Kisha. A few hours later, I

s arm wrapped around a tear-streak

onted him. He insisted it

ng a hand through his hair. "Confess

way seven years over a "stupid photo." It was the same gaslighting he'd used for

n't cry. I felt a su

I wasted loving you," I

pte

yna

on my phone, from the dizzying, draining demands of Jarrett' s rapidly expanding universe. Now, it was just heavy. It pressed down on me, a physical weight I carried on my che

rectors and wait tables just to chase a dream. The next, he was everywhere. His face was on billboards, his voice was in every podcast. And his on-screen c

ust holding him back." I felt my face grow hot. Old hag? I was twenty-eight. It wasn't the words themselves, not really. It was the sheer volume, the venom, the relentless tide of publi

wasn't the life I signed up for. This wasn't the man I fell in love with. He was supposed to be mine. He

sofa before heading to the fridge. "What's wrong now, Alayna?" he asked, his voice laced with an exhaustion that felt more like irr

, my voice thin, almost a whisper. "They're

rence. "It's just fans, babe," he said, his tone dismissive. "They're just invested in the show. It' s method acting. Kisha and I are just really g

at was his excuse for everything. For the lingering touches, the intense gazes, the w

ed her into a hug, stroking her hair, whispering comforting words. The cameras had flashed, the journalists had scribbled. He' d defended her from "online hate," his voi

, darting towards Jarrett. The subtext hung in the air, thick and suffocating. _If only we'd met at a dif

d to make it up to me. I clung to that promise, foolishly. But then, a few hours later, I saw the photo. A blurry paparazzi shot, but unmistakable. Jarrett, in a dimly lit bar, his arm around a tear-streaked Kisha, her head on his shoulder. Her mouth was

e looked genuinely surprised, then quickly defensive. "It's not what you thin

flat, devoid of emotion. I kne

gh his hair, a typical Jarrett move when he was cornered. "I was just bei

ed, the words tasting lik

I wasn't listening anymore. It was over. The love, the trust, the fu

strange feeling, this sudden lightness after so much weight

ge. "Done? What are you talking about? Are you seriously throwing away seven y

feeling like I'm constantly competing with a ghost, with a character, with an entire fandom. I'm tired of you

g ridiculous. We're actors. We blur lines. That's what we do. You've alway

d used countless times to control

ade me that way. Because you nurtured every single one of my abandonment issues until they became

mask finally slipping a little. "What are

mfort of having me here, waiting in the wings while you chase your dreams. Bu

unwavering. The silence stretched between us again, but this tim

ving you," I said, the words cutti