My college boyfriend, Ethan Vance, became a pop idol in some new boy band. I went to LAX to meet his flight, like a fan. He took the flowers I brought and tossed them straight into the nearest trash can. A year later, I became the president of the entertainment company he was signed to. "I want the lead role in Director King's new movie," he begged, kneeling on the floor, starting to pull off his shirt, his eyes pleading. I let out a small laugh, pushing his face away dismissively with the toe of my high heel. "Go shovel manure for six months, then we'll talk." 1. My ex-boyfriend, Ethan Vance, made his debut. I found out from Sophia, my roommate. Sophia is obsessed with celebrities, a total fangirl. This morning at ten, she spent a solid ten minutes screaming in our dorm about her latest obsession. Finally, out of breath, she just kept repeating like a broken record: "Aiden, oh my god, he's so hot, so hot!!" "Wait, I thought you were into boy bands? When did you start following European stars?" I teased casually from the side. "He's not European!" Sophia instantly shot up. "He's American! His real name is Ethan Vance!" Ethan Vance… seriously? The same name as my college ex? Turns out, it wasn't just the same name. It was him. Later, grabbing dinner, I walked past Sophia's laptop and glanced over. She was watching a live stream. The guy on screen, with bleached hair, holding a mic, singing and dancing his heart out. Wasn't that my ex-boyfriend, Ethan Vance? 2. We dated for a year in college. He was gorgeous, tall, athletic. When he played basketball, his white t-shirt would sometimes ride up, showing a sliver of his waist, making girls on the sidelines swoon. I never dreamed someone like him would date me. My style was pretty basic, my grades were average, nothing special about me, really. But somehow, we ended up together. He'd bring me coffee and a bagel on cold winter mornings before my 8 AM class. He’d buy me iced tea to cool down during the scorching heat of club recruitment week. He'd run laps with me, rain or shine, when I was struggling to meet the required campus miles for PE. But we still broke up eventually. It was Valentine's Day. I gave him a gift that cost me about a hundred dollars. He squinted, holding the watch I gave him between his fingers like it was something disgusting. He didn't even bother with a polite thank you. He broke up with me right after he got back to his dorm. His reason? I was too cheap. He couldn't accept such an inexpensive gift. But the truth was, that watch cost me nearly a month's worth of my food budget. My family wasn't well off; he was always decked out in designer labels. Our financial situations were worlds apart. Looking back, the breakup wasn't surprising. I calmly agreed to it at the time. But even two years later, I realized I still wasn't completely over him. Maybe because he was my first love, maybe because he was just that good-looking, maybe because no guy had ever treated me that well before. Whatever the reason, I definitely still had feelings for him. 3. When he came to LA to film a show, I went to the airport to meet him, pretending to be just another fan. It was July, brutally hot. As soon as he walked out of the gate, the crowd surged forward. I was crammed in with a bunch of other fans, my t-shirt soaked with sweat, sticking completely to my back. Security guards formed a circle around him, pushing back the fans who got too close. He was wearing a suit, gold-rimmed glasses, looking polished and polite as he accepted gifts awkwardly handed to him by fans. Including the bouquet of flowers I brought. The entertainment industry's packaging had made him even more elegant and handsome than he was in college. For a fleeting moment, I even thought about trying to get back together with him. Until I saw a bouquet of flowers in an airport trash can. I knew it was mine because the note I'd written was still tucked inside. Written from the perspective of a devoted fan, not an ex-girlfriend. July, nearly a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, but I suddenly felt ice-cold, right down to my bones. I felt like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing onto a nearby bench, wondering why I had even come. To see him, just for a second, I'd taken time off work, endured the blazing sun, paid for an expensive cab ride rushed to the airport. All to give him a bouquet of flowers. And he couldn't even be bothered to take them with him, just tossed them in the trash. 4. I was bummed out for days. My work performance tanked. Sophia thought I'd had a bad breakup. I could only laugh bitterly, "Who'd even be interested in me?" Yeah, who? The Ethan Vance of today certainly wouldn't look twice at me. What were flowers I bought for a hundred bucks to him? Probably no different than scrap metal. To try and cheer myself up, I decided to go out for some late-night BBQ. It was hot out, but the food truck scene was lively. I picked a popular spot near my apartment. I hadn't taken more than a few bites when some guy dressed kind of weird asked if he could share my small table. The owner apologized profusely, saying they were packed and there were no other spots, asking if I minded. I'm pretty introverted, but looking around, the place was jammed. The only empty stool was across from me. Since the owner had already asked, it felt rude to refuse, so I agreed, and the guy sat down. That single agreement turned out to be a huge mistake. 5. Paparazzi snapped photos of me and the guy from the BBQ truck, and suddenly, I was splashed across gossip sites as his girlfriend. Yes, the weirdly dressed guy turned out to be an idol. Even more absurdly, he was Jax Colton, a member of Momentum. Momentum – the very same boy band Ethan was in. A hot idol supposedly having a girlfriend, whether there was proof or not, is always a major blow to their image. I watched in horror as the hashtag #JaxColtonBBQGirlfriend climbed the trending charts. The comments section was already filling up with angry fans ditching him. Panicked, I quickly made a new burner social media account to set the record straight. My denial actually seemed to work. The paparazzi only had pictures of us eating near each other, nothing even remotely romantic. Jax's management team quickly provided solid evidence debunking the rumors. The online narrative shifted rapidly. Relieved, I closed my laptop… 6. Nobody expected the curveball that came next. Jax Colton did have a real girlfriend. Worse, she believed the paparazzi's flimsy story. I watched, stunned, as she started leaking scandalous, intimate photos of Jax. She also threw shade online, vaguely warning me not to pick up someone else's trash. My blood pressure skyrocketed. This situation was spiraling way beyond my control. My DMs filled up with messages from strangers trying to pry information out of me. Whispers and weird looks followed me at the office. Within a week, I was drowning in an endless flood of online drama and real-world gossip. Feeling overwhelmed, I chose to quit my job. Quitting a job in LA without another lined up takes guts. But I got lucky. Just two days after I resigned, Someone contacted me, saying they wanted to offer me a position. Seeing the familiar number on my phone screen, I hesitated. Ethan Vance… 7. Ultimately, I answered the call. He said he wanted to offer me a job. "How did you know I quit?" I asked, suspicious. "Heh," a dismissive, contemptuous sound came through the phone. "You caused such a huge scandal, your whole life story is practically online now thanks to the fans digging." "I didn't cause anything!" I shot back angrily. "It was the paparazzi taking things out of context! Besides, with all this stuff about me out there, you think you're totally safe?" "Are you threatening me?" His voice turned cold instantly. "My PR team isn't incompetent." "I could leak stuff about you too… just like your bandmate's girlfriend did." "Go ahead," his voice was so dark it made me shiver. "You leak anything, and I'll make sure you find out what it feels like to be ripped apart by the entire internet." Even though it was scorching hot outside, a sudden chill ran down my spine. "What kind of job are you offering me?" I steered the conversation back to the point. "Personal assistant to an artist… interested?" "You want me to wait on you?" My voice jumped an octave. "So you can torture me more conveniently?" "Like I need you to wait on me?" The mockery in his voice was barely disguised. "It's for a different idol, a rising star. Interested or not?" I had zero experience as a PA, let alone for a job offered by Ethan, which sounded suspiciously like a trap. But I needed to make a living. So, I tentatively agreed. I'd go interview at Apex Entertainment in a few days.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "392271", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel