Escape from the Loveless Zone

For five years, Vivienne Waverly has lived in the shadows as Cassian Tucker's secret lover and agent. When the celebrated actor wins Best Actor and sends her a wedding gown with a card reading that she should wear it and be his bride, she believes he is finally ready to acknowledge her. But on the night of the awards, Cassian proposes to the young starlet Freya Hudson, walking past Vivienne as the world brands her a deluded, obsessed woman.

Humiliated before a live audience and mocked online, Vivienne endures the taunts of Cassian's fans, who pelt her with eggs and vegetables and demand she apologize to Freya. Cassian shows her no warmth, calling her pathetic and clingy, though only the night before his embrace had been possessive. As his agent, she knows the cruelty of the crowd all too well.

Once an orphan Cassian sponsored, Vivienne now resolves to leave the place barren of love. She accepts an offer to move to Norway, planning her escape in two weeks, determined to endure in silence until she is finally free of him.