Chapter 2

That video instantly went viral.

Declan didn't come to argue with me until midnight like he used to.

Instead, he immediately stepped forward, shouldering all the blame himself.

"This is our job. Willow's a newcomer in the entertainment industry; if you have a problem, direct it at me."

The director quickly clarified.

"This was just a screen test we filmed. It was accidentally leaked. They're completely innocent."

Every time Willow appeared in public, her eyes were teary-red.

Netizens, heartbroken, insisted they'd misunderstood the two.

Before I knew it, the blame was being squarely placed on me.

"It's all Skylar Harper's fault, throwing a jealous fit, completely disregarding Declan's livelihood."

"A public figure spreading rumors? So a celebrity's wife gets to slander people, huh?"

They flooded my social media, attacked my endorsement brands.

All my partnerships were canceled. My negotiations for a supporting role were scrapped, and I was downgraded to an extra.

Declan immediately released another statement that very night, hiring lawyers to sue those harassing me.

"My darling wife can be a little spoiled and willful; it's not her fault."

"Let's put this behind us; I don't want to talk about it anymore."

The topic instantly trended again.

My Nana Eleanor, who lived in Miami for retirement, heard the news. She had a severe asthma attack and was rushed to the emergency room.

"Declan, Nana's in the hospital!"

I cried, banging on his apartment door.

The one who opened it was Willow, wrapped in just a towel, practically half-naked.

"What's with all the noise? If someone dies, just ship 'em off to the mortuary..."

Water droplets from her freshly washed hair splashed onto my arm, and a bone-chilling cold instantly spread through me.

"What are you talking about?!"

Declan roughly pulled her aside.

"Wife, we were just discussing the script..."

He looked strangely flustered, then stepped aside, letting me see the director and screenwriter inside.

"Don't cry. I'll go with you."

He wiped away my tears, pulled on his coat, and was about to head out.

I was too frantic to speak, just nodding wildly.

But the director inside called out to him.

"Declan, Willow just threw up blood!"

Declan immediately froze.

"If you hadn't picked a fight with her this afternoon, she wouldn't have been so upset she skipped dinner."

The director grumbled, then scooped Willow up and rushed out of the room.

As they passed us, Willow looked over, her eyes glistening.

"Declan, it hurts so much..."

Declan didn't move.

I was so enraged I lost all composure.

"Declan Reid, Nana's in the emergency room!"

"If she hadn't covered the ninety-million-dollar shortfall for your company, you'd be behind bars right now!"

Declan gritted his teeth, then suddenly dropped to his knees, bowing his head in a profound gesture of pleading towards the distance.

"Wife, Nana Eleanor still has your parents by her side."

"But Willow came to this city alone to make a name for herself; I'm the only one she can rely on."

Declan started out as a struggling extra; he said no one understood that kind of pain better than him.

But he'd forgotten that I, too, had only him to rely on in this city.

I couldn't hail a cab, couldn't book a flight, and stood crying desperately by the roadside.

My parents called at five AM, tearing into me with a torrent of accusations.

"You ungrateful wretch, your grandma raised you for nothing!"

"You sacrificed seeing her one last time for a man? From this moment forward, you're no longer a part of the Hayes family!"

I choked back a sob, trying to explain, but the line was already dead.

Just then, the jumbo screen on the building across the street flashed the morning's entertainment news.

Declan was slumped by Willow's hospital bed, his hand tightly clasped around hers as he slept.

I stared at the screen, calling Declan.

It rang once, then he picked up.

"Wife, did you make it to Miami?"

"How's Nana?"

His voice on the other end sounded tired and weary.

I wiped away my tears, my voice flat.

"Meet me at the courthouse."