Day Five is supposed to be easy.
That's what everyone says when they've never had millions of strangers sitting on their chest, asking them to breathe on command.
10:12 a.m. – The Weight of Watching
🔴 LIVE
Viewers: 4.2 MILLION
I wake up already tired.
Not the sleepy kind.
The bone-deep kind—like I've been carrying other people's opinions in my pockets and forgot how heavy they were.
Darian notices immediately.
"You don't look well," he says softly.
"I'm fine," I reply automatically.
The chat reacts faster than my lie can settle.
@SheLooksOff: IS SHE OKAY
@ProtectLyra: SHE NEEDS A BREAK
@TooMuchPressure: THIS IS GETTING DARK
I force a smile. "See? Perfectly fine. Emotionally thriving. Five stars."
Darian doesn't smile back.
1:40 p.m. – The Comments Turn Sharp
By afternoon, the tone shifts.
Not loud hate.
Worse.
Disappointment.
@OnceAFan: I believed in you.
@FakeOrNot: Still feels staged.
@WhyStay: If he lied once, he'll lie again.
Each comment feels like a pin pushed gently into skin—small, precise, relentless.
I stop talking.
The silence stretches.
"Lyra," Darian murmurs, barely audible. "We can pause."
"No," I say too quickly. "I'm okay."
But my hands are shaking.
The chat sees it.
4:18 p.m. – The Question That Breaks Me
It's a superchat. Highlighted. Impossible to miss.
@UnfilteredTruth: Lyra, be honest.
Are you staying because you love him…
or because you're scared to leave?
The room goes very quiet.
My mouth opens.
Nothing comes out.
I look at Darian.
For once, he doesn't look like a CEO.
He looks like a man bracing for impact.
"You don't have to answer that," he says quickly.
But it's too late.
Something inside me cracks—softly at first, then all at once.
4:21 p.m. – The Breakdown (LIVE)
"I'm tired," I whisper.
The chat explodes.
@OhNo: SHE'S CRYING
@EndTheLive: TURN IT OFF NOW
"I'm tired of being strong," I continue, voice trembling.
"I'm tired of explaining myself to people who only know me in fifteen-second clips."
My eyes burn. Tears spill anyway.
"I didn't plan any of this," I say. "I didn't plan the photo. I didn't plan the marriage. I didn't plan to fall apart in front of strangers."
Darian steps closer. "Lyra—"
"I stayed," I choke, "because I thought if I stayed, maybe the noise would stop. Maybe I'd stop feeling like everything I touch turns into content."
My shoulders shake now.
"I don't even know who I'm allowed to be when the camera is off."
The chat is silent.
No jokes.
No memes.
Just thousands of messages appearing all at once.
@PleaseBeKind: THIS IS TOO REAL
@WeDidThis: I'M SO SORRY
@LetHerBreathe: END THE STREAM
4:23 p.m. – The Rule Is Broken
Darian doesn't hesitate.
He reaches for the phone.
🔴 LIVE ENDED
The screen goes black.
The world disappears.
After the Camera
I'm crying openly now—no performance, no filters.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I ruined it."
He pulls me into his arms.
Not careful.
Not staged.
Real.
"You didn't ruin anything," he says, voice rough. "I did."
I cling to his shirt like I might fall otherwise.
"I can't do this anymore," I sob. "I can't be brave every day."
"You don't have to," he says fiercely. "Not with me."
I feel his hand at the back of my head, steady, grounding.
For the first time in days, I breathe.
Outside, the internet is exploding again.
But inside this quiet, camera-less space, something else happens.
The pretending finally stops.