Chapter 1A Seven-Year Illusion

At the Film Guild Awards, my girlfriend, the newly crowned Actress of the Year, announced her engagement.

My heart hammering against my ribs, I started towards the stage, but she held up a hand, stopping me cold.

“Could you please step aside? You’re blocking the shot of my fiancé.”

I froze. In that moment of stunned silence, another actor, Aidan, slid past me, effortlessly taking my place at her side.

Seven years. Seven years of devotion, of being the man in the shadows. I was done being invisible.

As I watched them kiss for the cameras, a storm of applause erupting around them, I turned and walked out of the auditorium without a word.

I went home, packed a bag, and sent her one last text.

“Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness.”

* * *

It was two in the morning when Isla finally drifted through the door.

She saw me packing and, without a word, picked up the glass of honey water I’d left on the table, downing it in one go.

“Richard, what was that text supposed to mean? My engagement to Aidan is just a publicity stunt, the studio set it all up. He’s been drowning in scandals lately, and if we don’t clean up his image, it’s going to kill the box office for our new movie.”

She sighed, a picture of weary frustration. “It’s all an act for the fans. You can’t seriously believe it, can you? God, can you just make my life a little easier for once?”

As her former manager, I knew all about the dirty games of the entertainment industry. Of course I knew.

Tonight was supposed to be the biggest night of her life. She’d won Best Actress for a blockbuster drama that had taken the world by storm.

It was also our seventh anniversary.

She had promised me. She promised that tonight, she would finally tell the world about us. That after seven long years of being the secret boyfriend, the “personal assistant,” I would finally get to stand by her side.

Toward the end of the ceremony, she did it. Standing before a sea of reporters, Isla finally revealed the secret she’d kept for so long—that she was in a long-term relationship.

The room exploded. I was the only one silent, my palms sweating with a nervous excitement.

“All these years,” she began, her voice thick with emotion, tears welling in her eyes, “my boyfriend has been my silent rock. Without his support, his sacrifice… I wouldn’t be the woman I am today.”

Clutching the bouquet of flowers I had prepared, I walked towards the stage, my whole body trembling.

But when Isla took the flowers from me, she pushed me aside with a flash of impatience.

“Richard, what are you still doing here?” Her voice was a sharp whisper. “Could you please step aside? You’re blocking the shot of my fiancé.”

In a daze, I stumbled back.

I watched as Aidan moved in, wrapping his arm around her waist, their fingers lacing together. He shot me a triumphant smirk as he deliberately shouldered me off the stage.

Then, for the world to see, they shared a deep, passionate kiss.

Seeing that, a switch flipped inside me. I turned and left.

Seven years of waiting, all for a beautiful, hollow dream.

And now, I was done waiting.

As I zipped my suitcase shut, the displeasure on Isla’s face finally softened. She wrapped her arms around me from behind, her voice a husky, tired whisper.

“Richard, I know you’re upset. But my hands are tied, you know that.”

“I’ve already cleared my schedule for next week. You said you wanted to go to the Maldives, right? I bought the tickets. It’ll be just the two of us…”

This was her way. A grand gesture to smooth over a deep wound. She’d done it a hundred times before.

I gently broke free from her embrace, reached into my pocket, and pulled out a small, velvet box. I opened it and pressed the simple, elegant engagement ring into her palm.

“If you’re getting engaged,” I said, my voice flat, “you’re going to need this, aren’t you?”