Everyone in the elite entertainment circle knew that behind Best Actress Violet Henson stood an extraordinarily low-profile ace screenwriter named Tristram Pruitt.

He had custom-written five scripts for her, each one carrying her higher until she stood on a pedestal.

Violet Henson had once promised him that the moment she claimed her fifth Best Actress trophy, she would propose to him right there in the Golden Dragon Awards hall.

But on the night of the ceremony, she thanked everyone. Especially Seth Harding, her first love, who was staging a comeback.

She never once mentioned Tristram Pruitt's name.

She even went backstage and personally rejected the proposal plan her manager had prepared.

"Violet, you've been putting off this promise for five years. Aren't you afraid that if you break it, Tristram will actually leave you?"

Violet Henson lit a cigarette, her expression hidden behind a veil of smoke.

"Seth is making his comeback right now. He needs the buzz. I can't announce a relationship at a time like this and crush his confidence."

"And what about Tristram? He's waited for you all this time."

"He doesn't need a title. He loves me that much. Even if I never propose, he'll always be right behind me."

What she didn't know was that I'd always been the kind of person who could love hard and walk away clean.

The moment I watched her tear that proposal draft to shreds with her own hands, I quietly blocked her on every platform.

Besides, the invitation from that internationally renowned director couldn't be put off any longer.

From now on, Best Actress Henson could find someone else to write her scripts.

......

The air conditioning in the Golden Dragon Awards hall was blasting. I sat in the front row, all the way to the side.

This seat was Violet Henson's specific arrangement.

She had told me:

"Tristram, tonight I'm going to win my fifth Best Actress trophy. I want you sitting in the brightest spotlight when I propose to you in front of everyone, so you can accept their blessings and become the happiest man in the world."

For this, I'd gone to a top designer and commissioned the most expensive suit of my entire career. I'd also brought a hidden camera and a pair of matching rings I'd had custom-made.

Onstage, the presenter tore open the envelope.

"And the winner of this year's Golden Dragon Award for Best Actress is... Violet Henson! Congratulations!"

Applause surged like a tidal wave.

I watched Violet Henson rise from her seat.

She looked radiant tonight. Breathtaking.

The blue crystal-studded couture gown I had personally chosen for her complemented her cool, regal aura to perfection.

I instinctively tightened my grip on the ring box in my palm and pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady my racing heart.

Five years. One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days.

Any moment now, I would become her fiancé.

Onstage, Violet Henson accepted the trophy and stepped toward the microphone, her proud gaze sweeping across the entire hall.

I straightened in my seat, waiting for her eyes to find mine.

But her gaze only flickered past my corner, quick and careless.

As if she had never known me at all.

Then it landed.

On Seth Harding, seated dead center in the front row, right where the lights were brightest.

By some coincidence, he was wearing a blue crystal-studded suit that matched Violet Henson's gown almost exactly.

My stomach dropped.

Back in school, Violet Henson had always treated him as the one that got away.

After graduation, she had even given up a stable career just to be closer to him, throwing herself into the entertainment industry.

If he hadn't married into a wealthy family, I never would have had the chance to get close to her in the first place.

And now, after five years, he was back.

Violet Henson hadn't breathed a single word of it to me.

"Thank you to the director, the judges, and my entire team."

Violet Henson's voice pulled me back from my thoughts.

"And lastly, I want to give a special thanks to one person who stood by me through the hardest times. Someone who means more to me than anyone."

The way she drew out those words sent my heart slamming into my throat.

I quietly straightened my tie, even leaned forward slightly, bracing for the spotlight that was about to swing my way.

But her next words plunged me into ice.

"This person is Seth Harding!"

"Thank you for coming into my life. Every time I felt lost and hopeless, you gave me the courage to keep going."

The spotlight swung onto Seth.

He clapped a hand over his mouth in exaggerated surprise.

Violet's smile was tender, her voice even more so.

"Welcome back."

The auditorium erupted. A deafening chant of "Get together! Get together!" rolled through the crowd like a wave threatening to capsize the hall.

Online, fans lost their minds, flooding comment sections with "They're perfect for each other" and "When's the wedding?"

I glanced at the comments, then down at the ring box in my hand, the one I'd spent a year choosing. The bridge of my nose stung.

Five years. For five years, I'd turned down invitation after invitation from Chris, one of the top directors in Hollywood, locking myself inside an eighty-square-foot study to tailor every word, every line, every role to fit her like a second skin.

I'd once gone three days without sleep just to rework the emotional arc of a single crying scene so it would hit harder.

Everyone in the industry said Violet Henson was born lucky, that she'd landed scripts perfectly suited to her image from the very start of her career. What they didn't know was that every soul-stirring performance that made audiences fall to their knees had been carved out of my own flesh and blood, piece by painstaking piece.

And now, at the crowning moment of her ascent, she'd wiped my name clean off the monument.

Why?

She was the one who'd reached for my hand first, who told me to forget the past and start a new life together.

She was the one who'd promised to propose to me tonight, to make me the happiest man alive.

I couldn't make sense of it.

When Violet and her manager Savannah slipped away to the greenroom during the intermission, I dodged everyone and followed.

My hand had just touched the door handle.

But the voices inside reached me first.

"Violet, have you lost your mind?"

Savannah's voice was tight with barely contained fury.

"Three months ago, you said the moment you won the Golden Dragon Award, you'd marry Tristram. It took us a full month to convince the agency. We had the entire PR rollout mapped out for you."

"The proposal sequence, the ring, everything was ready to go."

"But up on that stage just now, you didn't mention Tristram once. Instead you brought up Seth. How do you think that makes him feel?"

A brief silence filled the room.

Violet took a drag of her cigarette, her expression half-hidden in shadow, distant and unreadable.

"Seth just went through a divorce. He's having a rough time."

"He overthinks things. If his comeback doesn't go well, he'll spiral."

"He came to me for help. All I did was throw him a bone, a little buzz to ride. That's it."

Savannah stamped her foot in frustration.

"And what about Tristram? Do you have any idea how much that man has sacrificed for you over the years?"

"His latest script, Chasing the Wind, he spent a whole year on it. Every ounce of his heart went into that, and all of it was for you!"

"If you push him away, if he actually leaves, what are you going to do then?"

Silence swallowed the room.

I stood outside the crack in the door, holding my breath, waiting for her answer.

Waiting for one reason. Just one reason to stay.

"He won't mind."

Violet's voice carried a certainty that chilled me to the bone.

"He loves me. Even if I never marry him, he'll stay by my side."

My fingertips curled tighter, one knuckle at a time. My chest couldn't find air.

"Besides, he's not like Seth. He's got a big heart. He'll understand."

As she spoke, she tore the proposal plan from Savannah's hands and ripped it to shreds.

Then tossed the pieces into the trash like garbage.

"The proposal can wait. Bringing it up now would steal Seth's thunder."

Those scraps of paper gleamed under the light, bright enough to sting.

I stood in the dim corridor.

For the first time, the five years I'd spent with her felt like a joke.

But she was right about one thing. I did have a strong heart.

Strong enough for this moment.

I didn't push the door open. Didn't storm in screaming for answers.

Even though my eyes stung and my nose burned, I refused to let a single tear fall.

I just stood there, quiet, and took out my phone.

Block.

Delete.

Clear all.

Over three thousand photos together, vanishing one by one before my eyes.

Just like my five years with Violet.

Fading from memory, bit by bit.

Only when there was nothing left on my phone connected to the name "Violet Henson" did I put it away and turn to leave.

I was at the door when Chris's overseas call came through again.

"Pruitt, have you thought about my offer? The screenwriter seat on Riptide has your name on it. But you'd need to leave tonight. We've got an emergency workshop in London tomorrow."

Every time before, I'd said no.

This time, I said yes.

By the time I took my coat from the attendant at the door, I'd already booked a three a.m. red-eye to London.

When I sent Chris the confirmation, he let out an excited shriek.

"Fantastic, Pruitt! You're finally willing to leave that insufferable Best Actress girlfriend of yours. I'll arrange everything you need."

"Including London's finest eligible women."

That got a laugh out of me.

I was about to reply when the phone was snatched from my hand.

Violet's voice came from behind me.

"What's this about London?"

I didn't answer. I just grabbed my phone back.

Violet's attention shifted instantly. She reached up and smoothed my short hair.

"What's the matter? Still upset I didn't propose at the Golden Dragon Awards?"

"There were reasons for that."

She pulled me into the dim hallway, resting her head against my shoulder, trying to explain.

"Seth and I aren't just classmates. When we were kids, he actually saved my—"

Before she could finish, a shrill ringtone cut through.

The name on her screen: Seth Harding.

After she picked up, her tone changed immediately, tense and urgent.

"Okay. Stay where you are. I'm on my way."

She hung up and pressed a hurried kiss to my cheek.

"Tristram, some idiots are harassing Seth. I'll be right back. Wait for me at home and I'll explain everything."

If she'd cared about me even a little, she would have seen the London flight confirmation on my phone screen.

But she didn't.

I watched her figure shrink into the distance and pressed a hand against my chest, where my heart clenched in sharp, stuttering beats.

Home?

Since when did we have a home?

I took out my phone and booked a moving company.

Once my things were out of her place and back in my own apartment, I could leave for London with nothing holding me back.

I was about to lock the screen when a flood of trending headlines about Violet and Seth popped up.

[BREAKING: Possible romance exposed! Best Actress spotted escorting Seth Harding from venue late at night]

[TRENDING: Pair seen sharing a car, intimate gestures, possible kiss]

My thumb froze.

I tapped in.

The video was dimly lit.

Violet was shielding Seth, hurrying him through the crowd. He was pressed against her, fingers clutching the front of her dress. And she was leaning down, her lips about to brush his forehead.

Like a lady knight protecting her prince.

The comments had already exploded.

"This must be the person she thanked onstage, right? They look gorgeous together."

"They haven't even made it official and I'm already obsessed with this ship."

"Where's Tristram Pruitt? Wasn't there a rumor he's the actual boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend? Please. The guy's a nobody. If our girl hadn't starred in his scripts, he'd still be wandering around in obscurity. As if he's anywhere near her league."