My novel about a secret crush became a bestseller and sold its film rights. Ethan James, the award-winning actor who retired years ago, suddenly reappeared on social media, announcing he would play the male lead. The internet exploded. Netizens dug up old rumors about Ethan's high school sweetheart, the "one that got away." Coincidentally, the rising starlet cast as the female lead also graduated from Ocean High. Fans went wild, shipping them hard, hoping the "second chance romance" plot would become reality. At the press conference, a reporter asked a loaded question: "Mr. James, could you pick a word to describe the female lead? Maybe 'moonlight' or 'jasmine'?" Ethan suddenly looked up at me, his gaze cold. "Liar." "Excuse me?" The reporter froze. Ethan calmly looked away. "I said, she's a liar." 1 Script Reading. "In the book, they were clearly so in love. Why did they break up?" someone whispered. Ethan's finger traced heavily across the page. He spoke coldly: "I'm also curious about that." I looked up in shock, then quickly lowered my head. Ethan didn't press further, his eyes returning to the script. I shifted toward the corner, staring intently at my phone, trying to make myself invisible. Twitter was blowing up. Under the hashtags #EthanJamesReturns and #SecondChanceCast, a blurry graduation photo was being retweeted thousands of times. In the photo, seventeen-year-old Ethan ignored the camera, his gaze fixed on a distant point. And in the blurred corner of the shot was the slender back of a girl. "This is no coincidence! Ethan and our Bella both graduated from Ocean High!" "I remember Bella had short hair in high school! That girl must be her." "Fiction becoming reality! I'm crying, this is perfect." Next to me, the assistant director nudged my elbow and winked. "Are you shipping 'Ethanella' too?" "No, just scrolling..." "Hey, I just remembered you went to Ocean High too. Tell me, did Ethan really have a crush back then?" I silently locked my screen and looked up. "I don't know him well." Just then, the director yelled "Cut!" and Ethan lifted his eyelids. He met my gaze across the crowd. The director hesitated. "Ethan, the emotion isn't quite right. This is a reunion scene. You need to look at her with a mix of love and hate... Jane, don't you agree?" I quickly looked away. "Yes." "Jane, I think this part feels off." Ethan smirked, but his eyes were cold. "Why don't you teach me?" Everyone's eyes landed on me. The director chimed in: "Bella's flight is delayed. Jane, why don't you stand in for a bit?" "I don't think that's appropriate. I can't act." I waved my hands, forcing a smile. Ethan said flatly, "I have an interview tonight. I'm in a hurry." The director practically shoved me forward. I was forced to stand up. Ethan took a step closer. The script said the male lead grabs the female lead's wrist. Instead, he grabbed the back of my neck, whispering in my ear: "When you dumped me back then, you didn't look like this." "I remember you were smiling." My breath hitched. The script fell from my hands. Maybe the AC was too strong; I was shivering. "Why did you leave?" He pulled back, completely off-script. "Speak!" Ethan pinned me against the wall, hands on either side of me, knuckles white. His chest heaved as if a fire was burning inside. My heart skipped a beat, eyelashes trembling. "I'm sorry..." Ethan's Adam's apple bobbed, swallowing emotions that threatened to explode. "I'll only ask you once." "Did you ever love me?" His eyes were red, teeth clenched. Everyone held their breath. The director shouted from outside: "That's it! Hold that emotion, Ethan!" I opened my mouth, voice dry. "I..." The monitor light turned red. Bella and her assistant burst in. "Sorry I'm late!" "Bubble tea on me today!" The director took off his headphones. "Let's take a break. That take was perfect!" Everyone cheered and swarmed Bella. I stood frozen, my heart hollow. Ethan smiled suddenly, his thumb brushing a small red mole on my neck. In high school, he used to say he'd find me in the next life by this mark. Now, his breath hit the same spot. "Screenwriter Jane." "It feels more real this way, doesn't it?" I snapped back to reality, stepping back clumsily. "You? You look familiar." Bella paused as she glanced at me. "Have we met?" I looked at her. "A long time ago." "Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten." Bella shrugged, unbothered. "Want some tea? It's hot." She handed me a cup. I flinched, face paling. "Are you okay?" "Fine. Just stood too long." "Rest up. If you need meds, ask my assistant. My trailer is stocked." She turned and pulled a separate insulated bag from her stash, smiling as she walked to Ethan. "Your coffee. Cold brew, no ice, just how you like it." Intimate. "Thanks." As Ethan stepped back, I saw the diamond ring on Bella's finger. It matched the one in the paparazzi photos of Ethan at a jewelry store last week. The assistant director gasped beside me, shaking my shoulder. "That coffee shop is downtown, hours away! She bought it even though she was late because she knows he hates bubble tea. Oh my god, my ship is sailing!" "Jane! Tell me the truth, are they the prototypes for the story? Ethan admitted he's the male lead at the press conference." I looked down, whispering. "If I said the prototype for the female lead is me, would you believe it?" "What?" The assistant director gasped. "Jane, I didn't know you were such a fangirl. No wonder you don't ship them." I watched the perfect couple in the spotlight, glad I didn't say more. The gap was too wide. Even the truth sounded like a joke. "Well, you got to work with him. By the way, what did he mean by 'liar' at the press conference? Was it just for hype?" I took a deep breath to hide the tremor in my voice. "He... wasn't lying." Ten years ago, I was the one who lied first. 2 Bella needed to reshoot a scene where she falls into water. "Stunt double?" The director frowned. "This is a key bullying scene..." Bella's agent's face changed. "Director, Bella's period is coming. Cold water will kill her." "But we didn't prepare a double. Finding one now will delay the schedule." Bella held her assistant's hand and turned to the director. "Director, ignore my agent, she just worries too much." "How about this? I'll do the close-ups." Bella looked me up and down. "For the wide shots of falling in, let Screenwriter Jane do it. She's the only one here with my build." Her agent chimed in. "Director, Ethan only joined this project for Bella. If she gets sick, who's responsible?" Good cop, bad cop. The director looked conflicted. "We need Jane's consent." Bella beamed at me. "Jane, please? Pretty please?" "I heard you helped Ethan rehearse the other day. Why won't you help me? Are you trying to isolate me?" "Sorry, I'm not a pro. It wouldn't look right." "It's fine, just wide shots. I'll teach you." Bella got up from her chair. She approached with a smile, then suddenly shoved me. I lost my balance and fell straight into the pool. The deep autumn water felt like a thousand needles. As I sank, the memory merged with being pushed into the deep end at seventeen. Panic surged. I struggled, but my limbs felt bound. Water rushed in from all sides, filling my nose, ears, throat. Bella's laughter grew muffled. The director realized something was wrong and signaled the lifeguard, but Bella stopped him. "Wow, Jane is such a good actor." "It looks so real." My vision blurred. The light from the surface shattered like a broken mirror. Just as I was about to suffocate. Bella grabbed my hair and pulled me up. She leaned close, smiling, her breath smelling sweet and venomous. "Don't think I don't know what you sluts are thinking." "Stay away from Ethan." "Or next time, I really will kill you." My lungs burned. I coughed violently, unable to speak. "Jane, you okay?" Bella dunked me again, giggling. "Director, don't cut! Don't ruin Jane's performance. Let's get another take." I gathered my strength, grabbed her wrists, and yanked her down with me. "Help—" Bella tried to scream but only blew bubbles. "Quick, life preserver!" "Bella can't swim!" "Help! Bella is drowning!" Chaos on the shore. I hugged Bella tight, refusing to let go. Amidst the noise, I heard a surprised crew member: "Why is Ethan back early..." "Hey, Ethan, you can't jump!" Bella kicked me hard. "Ethan! I'm here—" Her heel dug into my stomach. Agonizing pain. I sank, consciousness fading. 3 The smell of disinfectant. I opened my eyes to champagne-gold curtains. Ethan's dressing room. "Awake?" He touched my forehead. "Still feverish. I'll call the doctor again." "No need." I tried to sit up but realized he was holding my right hand—where an old burn scar from a cigarette remained. Bella's handiwork. "The doctor said you have old scars everywhere. Not just this one." He spoke suddenly. "What happened back then?" Breath hitched. Memory rewound to that humid afternoon. Hiding in a locker, counting light beams through the slats, listening to Bella and her clique discuss "teaching me a lesson" in the deep end. Ethan's audition was two days later. So I hid my soaked uniform at the bottom of my bag. "You're overthinking it." My voice shook. The air froze. Ethan grabbed my chin, force enough to crush bone. Dark tides surged in his eyes, his calm mask shattering. "Jane, what am I to you?" I looked at the fresh ring mark on his finger and laughed. Tears mixed with the salt on my lips. "What right do you have to ask? Ex-boyfriend? Someone else's fiancé? Or a pitying celebrity?" His pupils shrank. "What are you saying?" As he let go, the door burst open. "Ethan!" Bella rushed in wrapped in a fluffy blanket, tears clinging to her lashes. "I thought I'd never see you again..." Her diamond ring flashed, blinding me. "Why did Jane pull me in?" She showed bruises on her skin. "Did I do something wrong to upset her..." "Cameras." I cut her off. "The set has cameras everywhere." Bella stopped sobbing. She looked at me, then grabbed a fruit knife, holding it to her wrist as she looked at Ethan with teary eyes. "The cameras there were broken! Jane knew that! That's why she did it!" "Ethan, if you believe her, I'll die right now to prove my innocence!" "Enough." Ethan took the knife, voice low. He turned to me. "Starting tomorrow, you're off the project." A ringing in my ears. I gripped the sheets. "Why?" "This is my story." "Because I'm the biggest investor." He turned his back, voice cold. "You'll be paid in full." Bella smirked at me, mouthing: You lose. Heartache. I stumbled out of bed, knocking over a photo frame. Glass shattered. In the photo, seventeen-year-old Ethan stared at a corner. The blurry figure wasn't Bella. It was me. Cropped out. He really hated me. Taking my project just to kick me out. Revenge. I rubbed my eyes. "I understand." "Wait." Bella blocked my path. She whispered in my ear, laughing: "Jane." "I remember now. You're the pathetic crybaby from the locker room." My blood ran cold. After all this time, I still feared her. Funny how she just remembered. Memories are shallow for the abuser, etched in bone for the victim. She stroked her ring like a trophy. "You leaving the set looks just like when you ran away hugging your backpack back then." She beamed. "No transferring schools this time." "Bella." I heard my numb voice. "Do you know how long it takes to die from a cut carotid artery?" She froze. "Three minutes." I picked up a shard of glass. "Want to try?" Bella stumbled back. Ethan stared at me. "Jane, calm down." The glass cut my palm. The pain cleared my head. Blood dripped down my wrist. I stepped back. "Relax." I looked at Ethan, forcing a smile. I had decided to accept reality, so why did it hurt so much? "Just scaring her." I walked out. At the door, I turned to Bella. "But next time, who knows." 4 Downstairs, I heard suppressed sobbing in the stairwell. I hesitated, then approached. A small girl was crying while applying ointment to bruises on her arm. I knew her. Bella's assistant. I softened my voice. "Need help?" She jumped, hiding her arm. I sighed and reached out. "Doing it like that hurts more." "Let me." She hesitated, then shyly extended her arm. "Thank you, Ms. Jane." I took the swab. "I know a good scar cream. I'll send you the link later." "Um..." "Did you really... do this to yourself?" "You sure?" "Yes, I was clumsy." I smiled, didn't push. "I wasn't. I was bullied." "What?" She looked surprised, then pained. "Do you know the fastest way to heal?" I blew gently on her wound. She blushed. "What?" I winked. "Hit back." Her brow smoothed out, eyes glistening. "Thank you, Ms. Jane." I patted her head. "By the way, my studio needs help." "I recall you were a lit major. Want to work for me?" "But Ms. Bella..." "I'll talk to the director." Her eyes lit up. "I'd love to!" "See you tomorrow." "See you, Ms. Jane."
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