Chapter 2Tainted Moonlight

I had a tumor in my brain.

The day I was diagnosed, I hunched alone in the hospital corridor for a long time.

Fear surged like a tide.

Almost instinctively, I called Emma, my hand trembling.

I wanted to tell her the doctor said I only had three months left.

I wanted to say I was so scared, that I was still so young, and I didn't want to die.

But before I could even speak, Emma's graver voice interrupted me.

"I'm doing a fake relationship with Xander Knight for a reality show."

"Julian, you've controlled my entire career for over a decade. Don't stop me this time, okay?"

Emma's calm insistence on the other end of the phone made my silence and despair feel utterly out of place.

I opened my mouth blankly, all my words crushed between my lips.

Control?

I understood her ideals and ambitions,

So I tried my best to protect her from potential exploitation.

She used to always cling to my arm, saying she was lucky to have me.

But now, all that had become "control"?

Two weeks ago, Emma and I had a huge fight about her fake relationship with Xander.

The public relationship I wanted, I'd waited over a decade for, because of her plea to protect her image.

But in the end, I was waiting for her to fake a relationship with another male celebrity.

In a fit of anger, I broke up with her.

I still remember the look in Emma's eyes that day.

It was angry, scrutinizing, and tinged with a coldness.

She had pushed hard against my chest, gritting her teeth and saying:

"Julian, have you thrown enough tantrums? How do you think you got everything you have now? Without me, what are you?"

"Do you actually see me as your girlfriend? Or just a piece of art to satisfy your vanity?"

That sentence was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing all my hopes.

I never knew that my desperate efforts to secure business deals and resources for her,

In her eyes, had become "control" and "vanity"!

And at this moment, Emma's voice rang out again from the phone,

"So, is there something you called for? If not, I'm hanging up. Xander is waiting for me to discuss the show."

What else could I say?

Congratulate her on going to "date" someone else, while her boyfriend was dying?

I silently hung up the phone.

That day, I sat alone in the hospital corridor for a long time.

Lonely and desperate.

I didn't want to spend my last days in a hospital.

So I bought a plane ticket to the Alps.

It was a place I'd always wanted to visit.

And a place Emma had promised countless times to visit with me.

Unfortunately, every time we planned a trip over the years, something always came up to disrupt it.

Later, I thought this was probably fate's way of telling me.

Emma and I were never meant to be.

It was pouring rain in Geneva.

Perhaps I got a little wet while out exploring, because the next day I developed a high fever.

I dragged my heavy body to a pharmacy to buy fever medicine.

By the counter, near me, were two young girls, squealing at their phones.

"Ah, Emma Warren is so beautiful! She and Xander Knight are perfect together!"

"Yeah, yeah, handsome guy and beautiful girl, they must be real! Just look at the way Emma looks at him!"

The sudden mention of Emma's name made me pause.

But then I instinctively pulled my cap lower, just wanting to pay and leave quickly.

Perhaps my overly deliberate avoidance drew attention, because the chattering behind me paused.

"...Hey, look at that guy. Doesn't he look like..."

My spine stiffened, my fingers clenching inside my sleeve.

Before I could walk away quickly, two student-aged girls had circled around to face me, their eyes astonishingly bright.

"It really is you!"

The short-haired girl exclaimed, excited, nudging her taller friend.

I took a breath, forcing a smile:

"I'm no longer Emma Warren's manager."

"We know! Our fan groups are all celebrating! Today's a holiday!"

The short-haired girl spoke quickly, her eyes glinting with an insistent gleam:

"Hey, perfect! There's a coffee shop nearby. The latest episode of 'Seven-Day Lovers' just aired. Emma and Xander's interactions are super sweet! Let's watch it together!"

The invitation was full of malice and a desire to see me squirm.

During my years as Emma's manager, the biggest rumor about me was that I was overly possessive,

Shamelessly treating Emma as my own girlfriend.

Looking at the smug, youthful faces, determined to stir up some drama, I let out an absurd laugh.

"Sure."

I also wanted to see what my girlfriend looked like when she was "dating" someone else.