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nAs she came out of Cage’s house, a flock of people with cameras approached her. She slowed her pace and acted like she was bothered, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the flashing lights, but what the camera caught was the pristine diamond ring on her finger. It was definitely a wedding ring and combined with the image of her coming out of his house in a leisurely fashion, the news spread across the media that they had secretly gotten married.

nIn reality, all this was Keira and her publicists trick to entangle Cage in an affair he couldn’t deny if he wanted his film to do well. It was the perfect trap laid out for any celebrity who wanted to make a living in a genre they had never attempted before.

n“Get him to admit we are married,” she said in a scathing voice to her publicist. Her team had prepared well for this day and would never let this opportunity go. It was their plan to reignite rumors about their relationship so that it would show that the two had made up and the cheating scandal was insignificant. That would ensure that the fire Keira was receiving from the press would go down and everything would settle in a couple of days. She had been losing quite a few brand deals since the incident and didn’t want to lose any more business. It didn’t hurt that Cage was an extremely sexy man on whose hands she looked fabulous. She had been caught by surprise by the photographer who had caught her with the director. She had been discreet before that, making sure her girl-next-door vibe was not hurt.

n– – –

n“What do you mean they are reporting that we are married?” He was confused. How did the media come to that conclusion? He had been on the phone with his manager and team for the past hour and all they could do was scramble and tell him that it was okay if gossip went out, his movie would just skyrocket. But he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to base his career on stupid relationships that never happened and ruin what little chance he had at happiness in the end.

n“She flashed a wedding ring.” Stephen’s deadpan came. Cage plopped down on the bed, astounded by the news, not knowing what to do.

n“What should we do?” he groaned, knowing the answer very well.

n“I need you to calm down and think about it. The sales for the movie are rising and the Twitter and Instagram mentions have skyrocketed. We can make this into a good thing,” Stephen consoled.

n“We aren’t going to deny the allegations?” Astounded. That was what he was. “What if they confirm it from their side?”

n“They wouldn’t make such a rooky mistake, considering that it is easily disprovable,” Stephen said in a calm voice.

n“Am I the only one who is panicking?” he squeaked.

n“Yes. No one else is even looking at this with fear and here you are going ballistic about something so basic. It really doesn’t suit your superstar personality.”

nBut he was a human before he was a star. How did working in the entertainment equate to his time and life becoming dedicated to the whims of other people who could play him like a puppet and do with him what they wanted? When had he become so pliable in others’ hands?

n“I don’t think it is going to be easy. That’s all,” he said in a low voice, resolute in his belief.

n“We’ll see it as it comes.”

nThe phone clicked off and he was in a daze. That was all? That was all the consolation he got?

nIt was about six at night and there was no way he could go back to the game and do nothing about it.

nYou there? He texted after a while of contemplation. Should he send her a text after he had bailed out on their plans? He would just have to be shameless, then.

nYou’re finally back! She replied after a short while. Emergency averted, I hope.

nNot even close. I am in a bad mood and really want to contemplate the meaning of life. I desperately need someone to talk to. He felt vulnerable as he typed those words out. Though he could not consider her a stranger after all they had shared, he was sharing with her something that he had not even told his own family members.

nWhat’s the matter? I’ll lend you the ear you need. Her reply was sweet and simple. It made him warm inside, presenting in him a feeling of comfort and not loneliness.

nRayKon53: An associate of mine is spreading rumors about me that are not exactly detrimental to my career, but definitely bad for my mental health.

nHe was tired of the industry and just needed someone to hear him out.

nRinten: And why are you affected by these rumors? I just want to be objective here and try to figure out what exactly is happening for you to be so distressed.

nReally, why was he so affected by this rumor? It was not the first time this had happened to him, neither would it be the last. He had been so cool about it in the past… something had changed. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out what. He was relieved that he could talk to her, though. Someone would listen to him.

nRayKon53: I feel like I have no right to decide what to do with my life!

n‘I feel like nobody cares about what I think.’

nRinten: I understand. You feel powerless. Tell me more about the situation so that I can understand.

n‘Do you understand, dear rin. I would hope so. I have no one but you to lean on.’

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