Andrea sat quietly in the backseat, her hands locked tightly together. She couldn't even trust herself to drive because her fingers wouldn't stop shaking and the alcohol was kicking in again. She was grateful when they offered a driver. At least she didn't have to pretend she was fine.
The journey was quiet. The driver didn't speak, and the car moved smoothly for the first ten minutes.
Then suddenly… everything froze.
Cars stopped with their headlights flashing across the dark road. People were stepping out of their vehicles, peeking ahead, stretching their necks, trying to see what was going on. The car crept forward slowly, then stopped again… and again.
Andrea leaned weakly toward the window. Her head was heavy. She just wanted to go home, wash off the sweat, take off her wig and sleep. That was all.
Five minutes later, still stuck in the exact same spot, the driver rolled down his window to ask a passing motorcyclist.
"Boss, why is the road blocked?" he asked.
The rider shook his head. "Meet-and-greet."
"Oh," the driver nodded. "Probably some celebrity."
"Yes," a second rider said from behind. "It's Ethan Darksire." She called the name so passionately that you could tell immediately she was a fan. Even her voice lifted like she was saying the name of a god.
The driver nodded again, then turned slightly to inform Andrea about the inconvenience…
But Andrea had already heard it.
The moment Ethan's name slipped into the air, she sat up straight like she hadn't been half-asleep a second ago. Her tired eyes widened. Her whole body woke up.
She pressed closer to the window, peeping left and right through the tinted glass as he might just appear beside the car.
Then she couldn't help herself.
She rolled the window down in desperation. The cool night air hit her face at once, brushing through her wig and cooling the sweat trapped under her heavy makeup. She leaned out a little, scanning the huge crowd gathering at the front view of the hotel… the entrance glowing with bright lights and fans pushing forward with their phones high.
Her heart raced in her chest…She wanted just once… just one more time… to get a glimpse of Ethan….Even a shadow would be enough.
Could the meet-and-greet be the reason Ethan was in L.A.?
It didn't make sense. He was never that type of person. He had lived his whole life in Canada. A Canadian boy through and through. Andrea remembered asking him years ago if they would ever move out of Canada. His answer was always the same:"No. I love it here. Nothing will make me leave."
Yet four years later, here they both were… in L.A.
She wondered what had changed….
Luckily, when their car finally moved, it took a slow left turn that brought them directly in front of the hotel where the event was taking place. The traffic was terrible, but for Andrea, this was the first time all night she felt awake.
The driver tried to weave through the cars, but everything came to a slow crawl. Andrea sat up taller when she saw another black SUV rolling up near the entrance.
Which, by the way people behaved, looked like Ethan's… People recognized it right away. Screams filled the air as fans rushed toward the vehicle, circling it and pressing their phones against the tinted windows, shouting his name at the top of their lungs.
Their car slowed… and then stopped completely, trapped in the same wave of chaos.
"I'll be back," she whispered hoarsely, not even giving the driver time to react.
She pushed the door open and stepped out. The cool night air hit her full on, mixing with the leftover alcohol in her system and making her head spin. Still, she forced her legs to move. She rushed forward and joined the crowd, slipping between people, blending in like she wasn't Andrea Winter, one of the most rising stars of the decade.
This should have been everything for her.
She looked around at the screaming people, the flashing lights, the excitement. All of it… all of it could have been hers if he hadn't betrayed her. Ethan was enjoying the dream they had once shared together.
Andrea steadied herself, breathing deeply through the dizziness and the heat of the bodies around her. She managed to move close enough to peek through the crowd as Ethan's driver opened the door.
A scream rose with his name"ETHAN DARKSIRE!"
People lifted their phones high as the crowd went wild.
He stepped out slowly, wearing the exact confidence she remembered that made the whole world look at him like he was untouchable.
Andrea stood there like a fool. From where she stood, she could see his face clearly.
The face that betrayed her.
The face that took her for granted and the face that broke her.
She stared at him soberly and painfully while the crowd around her chanted his name like a prayer.
"ETHAN! ETHAN! ETHAN!"
Andrea didn't chant.
She didn't scream….She just stood there… watching the man who once promised to never hurt her, now shining under the lights she once helped him reach.
There were questions being thrown at Ethan from every direction, marriage rumors, personal life, who he was seeing now but he didn't stop to answer a single one. He didn't even slow down. His guards pushed forward, creating space as he walked through the crowd with cold confidence.
He ignored everything..Until someone shouted:
"ETHAN! Is Andrea Winter still alive? Are you two still dating behind closed doors?"
Andrea's head snapped up instantly…Someone… actually said her real name.
Andrea Winter, a name the world buried and forgot. A name she buried herself in. Hearing it again felt like someone ripped the ground from under her feet.
Ethan, who had ignored every question about his love life and every rumor had actually stopped walking.
Andrea saw it clearly from where she stood. His shoulder shifted and his step halted. His head turned slightly toward the direction of the question.
For one foolish second, a small smile crept onto her lips…Maybe… maybe he was finally going to tell the truth…Maybe he was going to admit he hurt her.
Maybe he would finally tell the world he wished he hadn't thrown her away.
That he hoped she forgave him… wherever she was.
But when Ethan spoke…The words were nothing close to regret.
He lifted his chin, loud enough for the cameras.
"Well," Ethan said, standing tall, staring in the direction of the voice. , "I don't know how you expect me to still be involved with someone who probably died or disappeared years ago….Last time we spoke was… what? Four years ago? She blocked me everywhere" He shrugged casually. "So how would I know if she's alive? I've moved on."
Andrea's mouth parted slightly. Blocked him?
She couldn't believe it…He was still the same Ethan the liar.
The selfish, heartless man who only cared about his image.
How dare he say she blocked him?
She remembered everything clearly…After the stage incident, she had logged into her account, typed a long paragraph, poured her heart out, every feeling and pain she had felt on that stage…She saw the double-tick which showed he had read it….and then he blocked her…..Without a single reply.
And now he stood here lying like she was the one who walked away.
Damn….This nigga was really an asshole.
Andrea felt her eyes burn. A tear pushed dangerously close but she snatched it away with the back of her hand. She refused to let that man drag even one more emotion out of her…
Without looking back again, she pushed through the crowd, ignoring the elbows, the whispers, the crushing noise and headed straight toward the waiting car.
She didn't want to see or hear anything else….Everything inside her was done…
**
The same night — 11:47 p.m.
Sebastian had already handled whatever the call was about.
He stepped out of his car and walked toward the house
As soon as he walked through the gates, one of the house helps rushed out so fast she almost tripped. Sebastian paused. For a moment, he wondered why she was still awake at this hour. It was almost midnight...But he didn't ask..
She opened her mouth to speak, but Sebastian already guessed it.
"Is it about my uncle?" he asked flatly.
She shook her head quickly...."He was here… He left about an hour ago. He waited for you for hours, sir."
Sebastian clenched his jaw but didn't reply. He already knew why his uncle came. Marriage. Again. And he wasn't ready to hear one word about it.....The idea about marriage irritated him...He turned away and headed straight for the stairs leading to the private elevator...He wanted nothing to do with whatever desperate speech his Uncle had prepared for him.
But the house help hurried after him.
"Mr Sebastian ...Mr. Pierce...Wait."
He stopped mid-step and looked at her over his shoulder...
"You need to see this first," she said, pointing toward the living room. "Before anything else."
Sebastian didn't speak, but she understood the silent instruction to move..She hurried to the TV, switched channels with shaking hands, then stepped back.
The screen lit up with a live entertainment news broadcast.
A reporter stood in front of a glowing hotel entrance.
"and this entire event tonight was approved and sponsored by Mr Alexander Pierce, co-owner of Titan Hotels, as a special partnership with superstar Ethan Darksire…"
Sebastian only watched, he was careless if his Uncle wanted to gain any type of favor
. "Sir… they said Mr Alexander is planning to use this to his advantage at the board meeting. And… and they also announced something else."
Sebastian turned his head slightly.
"The voting meeting…" she whispered, "…has been moved. It's now in one week."
Sebastian repeated the words, "One week." They've got to be kidding him..
He simply turned away from the TV.
Then he walked to the elevator, pressed the button, and stepped inside as the doors slid open.
He rode up to the third floor without saying a single word, his expression carved from stone.
And when he reached his room, he shut the door behind him as the whole world could wait.