Chapter 4: Old Flames, New Scars

“Lillian.”

I turned. It was Caleb Martin—my ex-boyfriend, and a college classmate of both me and Lillian Brooks.

He looked different now—hair styled with too much gel, shirt half-untucked, that forced confidence some guys wear when they’re trying to look important.

After Lillian became popular, Caleb dumped me and went to be her assistant manager.

The timing was brutal—two days after Valentine’s, right before finals.

He paused when he saw me. “Natalie Chen?”

Lillian took the coffee from his hand. “Caleb, that was fast!”

“Yeah, I had to go to three different places before I found it.”

He was always a little too eager to please when there was something in it for him.

“Thanks for your trouble.”

Lillian smiled, then turned to me, her eyes mocking. “You always used to say Caleb didn’t know how to take care of people, that he was cold to you. What now? He’s very attentive to me.”

“Oh.”

Are you done?

I looked at her and spoke slowly. “Anything else, Ms. Brooks? I recorded everything you just said.”

My voice was flat, but there was steel in it. The years had taught me how to defend myself, quietly.

Lillian froze. “What did you say?”

Her image was that of a sweet, silly beauty, and all her fans were male dreamers. If this footage got out, she’d be ruined.

She always played the innocent—like she’d never had a bad thought in her life. But cameras don’t lie.

“Natalie, delete it!”

She lunged for my camera in a panic.

Her nails scratched at my wrist, but I tightened my grip, heart pounding with adrenaline.

I held on tightly, refusing to let go.

“Ms. Brooks, this is a friend’s camera. I don’t even know how to delete things.”

“Don’t play dumb! Delete it now, or I’ll make sure you regret it!”

She yanked at the camera desperately.

Her voice hit a shrill pitch, the kind that could shatter glass—or at least reputations.

Caleb realized things were going south and rushed to intervene. The commotion drew the attention of the whole crew.

A ripple of whispers went up. Someone in the back started filming on their phone, smelling drama.

The team leader hurried over. “What’s going on?”

He looked tired, like he’d seen it all before. I guess you do, in this job.

I put on a teary face. “Ms. Brooks insisted I filmed her and demanded I delete the footage, but I really didn’t film her.”

My eyes burned, but I wasn’t sure if it was from the bright lights or the humiliation. Still, the tears helped my case.

Lillian glared. “Stop pretending! Give me the camera! Or I’ll sue you for violating my image rights!”

The team leader quickly tried to smooth things over, taking my camera and turning it on. “Ms. Brooks, she really didn’t film you. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. This must be a misunderstanding.”

He scrolled through, showing the empty memory card to everyone. A few tech guys snickered.

Lillian checked it over and over in disbelief.

Of course she found nothing—I hadn’t even turned the camera on.

She wanted to say more, but Caleb quickly pulled her away. “It’s just a misunderstanding. Ms. Brooks was worried about her styling getting leaked and causing trouble for everyone.”

His voice was slick as oil. I could see the ambition burning behind his apologetic smile.

He hurriedly led Lillian off.

I looked apologetically at the team leader. “Sorry, I don’t know why she’s so sensitive. I just touched the camera and she insisted I filmed her.”

“I know.”

The team leader waved it off. “These little celebs are the most troublesome—always putting on airs. There’ll be plenty of people to deal with her in the future. Everyone get in position, half an hour until we go live.”

He gave me a reassuring wink, like this was just another Tuesday.

I nodded and pulled out my mask to put on.

I pulled my KN95 up, the elastic snapping against my ear. These days, everyone wore masks for work—but for me, it was also armor.

Just as I put it on, a shout came from behind.

“Natalie Chen!”

I turned. It was a staff member—and Ryan Carter.

His shadow stretched across the floor, long and familiar.