Billionaire's Placeholder: Now Watch Me Shine

Chapter 3 No.3

Word Count: 593 | Released on: 20/01/2026

and smelling of roasted beans. Cara sat in a booth with

. Hali Moody walked in. She wasn't alone. She had two of her minions w

iPad onto the table. The screen was

s," Hali said. "Since you c

as a photo. High resol

said JFK Intern

ng his signature charcoal coat. But he wasn't looking

n Ne

of her back. It was a protective gesture. A possessive gesture. It was the way a man touches something precious

d. It felt like she h

pired," Hali sneered. "The plac

o stand up. "H

ingers were cold. She kept her face completely b

. Her voice was steady, boring even. "Sa

e wanted a scene. When she didn't

" she spat, and t

Her shoulders slumped. She grabbed her water glass,

her text thread with Brittain. The

uesday

d her. He just let her find out thr

was coming. It was the erasure. To him, she was

of water. It ta

ow. "Launch Plan B. I want the rumors a

vous. "The cont

e Brittain,

coffee shop into the biting wind.

g. Ring.

her to v

. The final

Austin Media Tower,"

ps. She took out a tube of lipstick. Not the nude shade Brittain like

to beg. She was going t

of the glass monolith. She

els clicked against the

Chapter End

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Billionaire's Placeholder: Now Watch Me Shine

HOLLY HUNT Billionaires

“For two years, I was the perfect shadow of another woman. I wore the silk robes Brittain Austin bought, styled my hair exactly how he liked, and spoke in a voice pitched half an octave higher than my own. I was a placeholder, a living statue in a minimalist Manhattan penthouse, waiting for a man who looked at me but never actually saw me. Everything shattered when a news alert flashed on my phone: "Caryn Newman Spotted at JFK." The original was back. The woman I was hired to mimic had returned to claim her throne, and my secret two-year contract as her stand-in was set to expire in three days. Brittain didn't even give me the courtesy of a phone call. While he was supposed to be on a business trip, photos surfaced of him shielding Caryn from the paparazzi, his hand on her waist with a tenderness he never showed me. When I walked into his office to return his keys, he didn't look guilty; he just looked annoyed. He pulled out a checkbook and asked, "How much for the hurt feelings?" When I refused his money, he coldly ordered his assistant to freeze every one of my accounts before I even reached the elevator. I stood on the sidewalk with zero dollars, realizing that to him, I wasn't a partner-I was just an expired lease. I had spent two years erasing my soul to fit into his world, only to be tossed out like trash the moment the real thing came home. But Brittain forgot one thing: before I was his doll, I was an actress. I pulled my secret weapon from under the bed-a notebook and a raw film cut he never knew existed. I called my agent and launched a high-profile "showmance" with my co-star that set the internet on fire. As I blocked Brittain's number and moved into a dusty apartment in Queens, I realized the show wasn't over. For the first time, I was the leading lady.”