Chapter 1: The Kiss on Camera

When the top celebrity helped me adjust my headset, he subconsciously kissed my hair. The faint scent of his cologne mixed with the sharp tang of studio disinfectant. My heart stuttered, but I kept my eyes on the blinking red camera light, refusing to let my hands shake.

I felt the brush of his lips, warm and achingly familiar against the crown of my head. For a heartbeat, time froze for both of us—caught between a thousand memories and the relentless eyes of a watching world.

Because this was all happening on a reality show about divorce. The studio lights glared down, capturing every stuttered breath. I wondered how many millions were watching, waiting for me to break.

We came from different married couples.

1

After divorcing Ethan Grant, everyone assumed I’d be the one who couldn’t let go.

He’d announced our marriage at the peak of his career. Flashbulbs popped, headlines screamed, and suddenly my face was everywhere his was.

After we tied the knot, his image changed, and every time he finally won an award, someone would drag me into the conversation.

Why her? She’s so lucky.

But I was the one who asked for the divorce.

He’d been waiting for it, honestly.

The actress Lauren Fields, filming his new series, wore his jacket, used his phone case, played his on-screen wife…

Meanwhile, I was flipping through my planner, waiting for him to come home, getting sent to voicemail again and again—always the excuse that he was busy.

Until one day, I ran into Lauren in first class.

Lauren flashed that perfect, Hollywood smile and leaned in, her voice all sugar and venom. "Used his card for my seat. First class, of course." She wanted me to know.

She did it on purpose. She wanted to force me to divorce.

As she wished, I went home and moved out in just half an hour.

I don’t want anything that’s been tainted by someone else.

Luckily, there were no kids yet.

Ethan leaned against the door, just watching me.

He barely reacted, only asking one question: “What else do you want?”

“My phone.”

He looked stunned for a second, but handed it over without hesitation.

In the years he loved me most—when I stood by him as he climbed from nobody to superstar—I was always his only pinned chat.

Now, I’d been replaced.

His chat list used to light up with my name. Now, just a gray bubble—Do Not Disturb. I felt invisible.

We had a divorce agreement.

He gave me everything he’d earned over the years, only asking that I let him go as soon as possible.

He said he truly loved Lauren.

We signed a confidentiality agreement. On the day I left, I thought I’d never see him again.

Until he called me.

“Let’s meet.”

In the first month after the divorce.

“We can’t let the fans think you cheated. The show still needs to air.”

I arrived early.

In the lounge, Ethan’s agent was talking to him, all casual and American: “Just tell her you want to do the show together. She’ll eat it up—think it means something.”

“After the divorce, you’re still a star. Her? She’ll just be a punchline, some regular girl for the world to laugh at.”

“She definitely can’t let go.”

“Let her think there’s still hope, so she’ll try to please you.”

“In the end, with a little editing, the audience will think she’s annoying, and you keep your deep, affectionate image.”

The agent nudged him. “You even listening?”

Ethan had his legs propped up on the low table, lazily playing a game on his phone. “Yeah.”

“Believe it or not, just a snap of your fingers and she’ll come running like a grateful puppy.”

In the meeting room, Ethan scrolled his phone one-handed. He only said a few words.

I agreed.

“I’ll go on the show.”

He stared into my eyes, pausing: “Are you really… so fixated on me?”

For a split second, I remembered the night he proposed—on a rooftop, hands trembling. Now, he couldn’t even meet my eyes.

I lowered my lashes. “Yes.”

“Ethan, is there still a chance for us?”

His gaze was ice-cold. He turned away, muttered softly,

“We’ll see how you do.”

“But,” he added, “the script for this show isn’t what you think.”

This divorce reality show would air at the same time as his and Lauren’s new series. It was all about hyping up his on-screen chemistry with Lauren.

The show’s theme: “Try a different way of living, see the problems between couples.”

Lauren and he would share a room.

And I would share a room with Lauren’s husband.

That was Ryan Carter, who shot to fame at nineteen with a single series, swept every major award, then quickly retired to get married.

Ethan was just picking up his leftovers. He became famous with a face that looked seventy percent like his.

Rumor had it that after marriage, Lauren and Ryan lived in different cities. She loved him but couldn’t have him.