our: The

ne's

ashes were th

ht, attention, admiration. N

h married director," the headlines scr

, on gossip blogs, plastered across timelines wit

part? None o

are about the truth. T

, my lipstick faded. The studio that once felt like a second home now

ila, was paci

paign with LuxeWear. And t

t even

of t

hey're saying you need to take a break. St

n't even funny, just a br

ere, Lila?

ustry works. People love you, then they destroy you. It'

ide I was boiling

ything go wr

getting calls from luxury brands. People wanted me. I nee

kly you stop being human. You become a story. A rumor.

yes were swollen, my skin pale. The w

," I said under my brea

ame cl

make people talk about something else. A ch

to her

Wh

shru

PR works. Sometimes, you need a

I hated that everything in t

ctures. Red carpets. Magazine covers. Smiles that felt so far away now.

y the window. The city lights blinked like distant stars. It was funny, how

Maybe they're right. Maybe you deserved t

a teenager trying to make it in an industry that only valued perfec

d wiped my face with

pered to myself. "You've fall

said it, I did

ning, Lila c

ch industry, high-profile gue

row

an H

ou show up with him, even just a few photos together, and people

sita

t me to

" she said carefully. "He gets

hose story everyone was obsessed with, the poor boy turned genius billionair

o be torn apart by people who didn't kno

was running

my mind replaying everything, the flash of cameras, the cruel commen

e it on magazine covers. She'd call me her "star girl." She st

side and let ou

ne," I whispered to mys

e fame anymore. It

dressed in a black gown that fit like armor. The gala invitation sat on my table. L

ady see the cameras flashing. Reporters shouting nam

d myself. "Eve

me like a wave. Flashes, questio

rue you were fir

ou wearing

ts about th

nding the questions didn't stab.

I saw

ck suit that looked like it was ta

something about him that demanded attention, c

ond, our

was something familiar in his gaze, not attraction, but recogn

But I knew, right then, that someho

e, that collision was

e mirror again. My lipstick had faded, my hair was a mess,

e who was st

thought whispered, this