At the recording studio of a divorce reality show, when Logan Barnes, the superstar, catches a fallen headset for me, he subconsciously takes my hand and kisses it.

The thing is, the livestreaming camera is still rolling.

The kiss leaves the entire Internet in chaos. After all, I'm not Logan's ex-wife in this reality show.

Everyone can't wait to see me break down and get jealous to the point that I'll keep pestering my actual ex-husband, Eddie Hancock.

But right after the reality show is over, Logan and I become the most envied Internet couple.

After my divorce from Eddie Hancock, everyone expected me to cling to him.

Back when Eddie was at the peak of his career, he publicly announced our marriage. Afterward, he shifted into serious acting roles. Every time he won an award, people would ask, "Why does she deserve him? She's so lucky."

I was the one who asked for the divorce.

I used to sit at home every day, flipping through the calendar, waiting for him to come back. Whenever I called, he'd brush me off with work excuses and hang up.

Until a few months ago, when I ran into Bella Mason, the actress from Eddie's new drama, in first class.

She greeted me warmly, smiling the whole time.

"You know what?" she whispered in my ear. "This flight was paid for with his card."

She did it on purpose.

That was when I finally realized that Bella had been wearing his clothes, using matching phone cases with him, and playing his wife on set the whole time.

Just as she wanted, I packed my things and moved out within half an hour of getting home.

I didn't want something another woman had already touched.

Eddie leaned against the doorway and watched me. His reaction was calm. He only asked one thing. "Do you need anything else?"

"Your phone."

He froze for a second, then handed it over.

During the years he loved me most, I stayed by his side as he climbed from nobody to an award-winning actor. Back then, I was always pinned at the top of his messages.

Now, my chat was muted.

He told me he truly loved Bella. He gave me all the money he'd earned over the years, and all he wanted was for me to let him go as soon as possible.

After signing the divorce NDA, I thought we'd never cross paths again.

But last month, someone contacted me about joining a reality show.

I stopped outside the lounge and overheard Eddie's manager, Tyler Grant, talking to him.

"The fans can't find out you cheated. Your drama's about to air. Even though you're divorced, you're still the nation's top actor. She's just some nobody people can laugh at.

"So just lie to her. Tell her it's a divorce reality show and act like there's still a chance to fix things. She'll do everything to please you.

"Then once the editing's done, the audience will think she's clingy and annoying, while you keep your devoted-man image. Everybody wins."

Eddie had his legs stretched across the coffee table. He was lazily gaming on his phone.

"Okay," he casually replied.

Tyler nudged him. "Trust me. The second you crook your finger, she'll come crawling back and thank you for it."

The divorce reality show would air during the promotion period for Eddie and Bella's new drama, all to hype up their onscreen chemistry.

The theme of the show was "changing lifestyles to uncover problems in marriage".

Bella would share a room with Eddie.

And I would share a room with Bella's husband, Logan Barnes.

He was a former superstar who became famous at 19 from a single drama and swept every major acting award. But one day, he suddenly retired at the height of his fame to get married.

Eddie's rise to fame came from his near 70% resemblance to Logan.

Rumor had it that Bella and Logan barely lived together after marriage.

She loved him but never had him.

…

At the hot spring resort, two rooms were separated by a wall. The entire show was livestreamed.

There was a studio panel inside, and comments from the live audience flooded in online.

"Eddie and Bella are actually on a divorce reality show together? Sharing a room, too? This is insane!"

"Their chemistry is unreal. They look so good together."

"I told you Eddie and his wife had no real feelings left. Nobody likes being stuck with dead weight forever."

"I've been waiting for them to divorce for ages!"

"Was he blind? He used to love her so much…"

"Bella's so polite. She doesn't even dare get too close to him."

"Eddie, stop holding back. We support you!"

The staff fastened affection meter watches onto Eddie's and Bella's wrists.

"You can leave the room once your affection levels reach 80," the staff member explained.

Everyone thought it would spike instantly. But both of their readings stayed stuck at 68.

Behind closed doors, Eddie and Bella had done everything there was to do. On camera, they were suddenly perfectly restrained.

Bella sat by the doorway.

Eddie stood out on the balcony, breathing in the night air. Through the edge of the glass, he could see my room.

Logan still hadn't arrived. I was alone, sitting on the edge of the bed with the affection meter watch on my wrist.

Then came a knock at the door.

I looked up.

A baseball cap shadowed half his face. Damp strands of hair carried the mist from the thermal spring.

He smelled like late rain.

The livestream chat exploded instantly.

"My first love is back!"

"Logan is so hot! There's no comparison."

"You need to wear this," I said, handing him the other affection meter watch.

Eddie hated being told he looked like Logan.

In our first year of marriage, we were walking at dawn when I stopped in front of a giant luxury billboard of Logan. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Eddie had pulled his cap down over my head, blocking my view, and said jealously, "I knew that's the type you like."

Now, in the other room, Eddie stood on the balcony and clearly saw Logan enter mine and close the door behind him.

But he didn't care.

He knew that Logan, the man he could never surpass and secretly envied, had only married Bella because of a contract.

Logan didn't even like the beautiful actress. There was no way he would ever fall for me, a plain, divorced nobody that even Eddie despised.

Eddie let out a soft scoff, looking completely unconcerned. Yet, he carefully observed my reaction.

"Nice to meet you, Alisson."

My affection rate stayed at 50 as I extended my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Logan."

He shook it.

A few seconds later, the watch suddenly let out a sharp, piercing alarm.

Logan's affection level jumped straight to 100, but he himself stayed completely calm.

"It's broken," he said flatly.

After switching watches, everything returned to normal.

On Eddie and Bella's side, after a few rounds of couple games, their affection level climbed past 80, and they left the room early.

On my side, Logan's affection level stayed at 25 the entire time. It was almost nonexistent.

I asked the staff, "If it never goes above the limit, do we have to stay here overnight?"

Logan heard me. He stood tall and quiet in a thin black hoodie, his gaze distant.

"It counts as a failed mission. You can leave after an hour," the staff replied.

We were the last to come out.

"This is such a flop."

"They have zero chemistry."

"Get her out of here. Can we stop showing her? I only want Eddie and Bella."

The chat was overwhelmingly negative until the live stream ended.

In the interview rooms afterward, cameras and lights filled the space.

Eddie stood in a corner, watching Bella being interviewed. His eyes briefly landed on me.

"Feeling excited?" he asked me out of nowhere. "Was there a moment you thought that Logan might fall for you?"

I ignored him and turned away, but he stepped in front of me.

"My gosh, Alisson," he said casually, hands in his pockets and head tilted. "The more I think about it, the more I realize divorcing you was the right choice."

Someone passed by, and he immediately straightened up again.

He was back to that warm, gentle, slightly broken image as if I was the one who had hurt him the most.

Bella finished her interview and walked over under everyone's gaze. She took my hand. "Alisson, treasure Eddie. He really does love you."

A red string bracelet hung from her wrist.

I had seen that bracelet.

Last year on our anniversary, Eddie had something like it in his pocket.

I thought Eddie was going to give the bracelet back to me, but he said it belonged to someone else.

Now it was on Bella's wrist.

"Don't argue with him," Bella said in front of the camera. "I want you two to be happy more than anyone."

I said nothing.

Eddie didn't know.

There was another reason I agreed to join this show, something I could never say out loud.

In truth, I wasn't here for Eddie at all.

Filming took place over the weekend.

On Monday at work, my former boss told me, "Logan and Bella are already divorced. He was on a ten-year contract with her father's company, and it finally ended. He's rebuilding his studio, and I recommended you to him."

I used to work as an agent in an entertainment group.

Following the address she gave me, I went to the studio and saw Logan.

Set against the light, his sharp features were highlighted. It was indeed a face made for the screen, and he looked far more distant than I had imagined.

I waited outside for a long time.

In the end, it was his assistant, Conrad Lowe, who came out. "Sorry, Ms. Stout. We probably can't proceed today."

At 11:00 pm, on the way back, my car broke down. It was raining in the middle of nowhere. I held my umbrella and waited for a tow truck.

Suddenly, a black MPV pulled up, and the window rolled down. Conrad said, "Ms. Stout, please get in first."

Logan was in the back seat with a baseball cap covering his face. He seemed to be asleep.

His breathing was light, and his long legs were slightly bent. The clean scent of pine lingered in the air.

"Ms. Stout, I'm going to the gas station up ahead to grab a bottle of water. I'll be right back," Conrad said softly.

As soon as the door closed, only Logan and I were left in the car.

There were no cameras or staff; only dim light flickered through the dashboard.

Even though we were a seat apart, his breathing felt as if it were right beside my ear.

Outside, faint blue light came from a convenience store where Conrad was browsing the shelves.

Just then, someone in the car kicked my calf.

The long leg stretching from the backseat wasn’t an accident but an intentional, petty, almost childish, rhythmic prodding.

I pulled my legs back, well out of his reach.

I didn't say a single word, nor did I turn around. I just stayed exactly as I was, pretending that nothing had happened.

"Alisson Stout." Logan finally spoke.

Maybe because he had just woken up, he carried that reckless streak of his. "Long time no see."

It had been many years.

Why did he still insist on saying my name like that?

Just like he used to in that cramped, humid apartment, where I drowned in his warmth over and over again, yielding to his gentle yet restless, unbridled movements.

…

After that day, Logan and I didn't speak again.

Not until the next weekend rolled around.

The reality show's live stream operated on a rotation system. This weekend, we were supposed to switch back to the original married couples.

"Mr. Jackson," Bella said, her tone dripping with sweet professionalism, as if she only had the show's best interests at heart.

"Eddie and I have so much hype right now. If you switch us back now, the audience is going to roast you."

The director, Louie Jackson, hesitated. "But—"

"Eddie." Bella turned around. "What do you think?"

Right in front of me, she asked him, "Who are you choosing tonight?"

She had been waiting for this exact moment.

The more scandalous a thing was, the more desperately it craved public validation.

Eddie knew exactly what Bella was playing at.

He cast a deliberate glance my way, then leaned back into his chair. "Is that even a question? No one wants to see her anyway."

Having secured the answer she wanted, Bella turned her gaze back to me.

"Alisson, you don't mind, do you? Then again, you've been a housewife for a long time. You probably don't understand how this works. Audience preference is everything. You should think about the bigger pict—"

"Okay." My response was sharp and immediate.