Chapter 2

Only now did I realize how laughable my confidence was in the face of the contrast he deliberately created.

My assistant sighed.

"Stop reading that. I signed you up for a weight loss program."

I took a deep breath, staring out at the rainy weather.

"Don't bother. Doesn't the company want me to go international? Director Andrew's project—let's take it."

My assistant looked at me in shock.

"If you take that project, you'll be working in Europe for two years. What about you and Cameron?"

I cut her off calmly.

"It doesn't matter. From now on, my business has nothing to do with him."

When my manager found out I'd agreed to change my development path, he was thrilled.

To build momentum for me, he didn't pull down the online rumors.

At least I wasn't as psychologically fragile as I used to be.

But as I was filling out the overseas assignment form, Cameron stormed into the office in a rage.

"I told you when I got here not to create rumors about Natasha. Now the internet is full of people calling her manipulative..."

He hadn't expected me to be there. His anger stopped abruptly, replaced by a trace of embarrassment.

Rumor had it that after he and Natasha broke up, the company spent a fortune to poach him and agreed to many unfair terms.

I just hadn't expected one of those terms to be about Natasha.

Looking back, when he was supposedly trying to make me famous, he ignored positive PR about my professionalism and kindness.

Instead, he churned out rumors about me for free—about my looks, my body, my personality, one after another, sometimes trending all day.

When crazed fans stalked me, he never showed an ounce of concern or anger.

Just like now—both situations involved rumors, but his eyes only held Natasha.

I let out an inexplicable laugh. His expression turned ugly.

"I knew it. The manager promised me he wouldn't go after her, so it was you, wasn't it?"

"You're upset that I lied to you and gave her the role, so you got your fans to call her manipulative, to say she's using me to suppress and smear you and your roles?"

I frowned slightly, about to explain, when Cameron's phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID labeled "Natasha," he answered in seconds.

It was treatment I'd never received in five years—not even when stalker fans chased my car and I called him for help.

"Cameron, someone leaked photos of you and Priscilla on a date. Now everyone's saying Natasha is a homewrecker who came between you two."

"She's crying uncontrollably, threatening to jump off a building to prove her innocence!"

In that moment, he panicked so badly his legs went weak. The look he gave me was full of resentment.

"You're ruthless. To destroy her, you'll even flip over your own meal ticket!"

He didn't give me a chance to speak. He stumbled away.

The manager looked at me helplessly.

"We didn't buy those photos. Should I..."

I forced a smile.

"Don't bother. Let him think whatever he wants. I'm leaving anyway."

The manager sighed and took the form from my hands.

Not even three minutes after I left the office, my phone buzzed with a special notification from social media.

I opened it to see Cameron had reposted the most-viewed dating photo.

[Not in a relationship. Just colleagues. Natasha and I never broke up. All marketing involving Priscilla was work-related. There is no homewrecking situation.]

My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand.

When he was first poached by the company to manage me, Natasha's fans said I'd stolen him away, that I was the catalyst for their breakup.

After paparazzi photos of us together surfaced, it confirmed everything.

I endured a full year of cyberbullying. At its worst, the company suggested we officially announce our relationship to clear things up.