Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
On the day cameras were set to roll, my screenwriter girlfriend promised we would announce our engagement to the press.
Instead, the pretty-boy pop idol who always gave her the cold shoulder showed up on set. Tearing up, he sighed with fabricated regret:
"I always thought I wasn’t good enough for you, so I kept running from your feelings. I guess... I was too late after all."
Angela broke down in tears on the spot. Right then and there, she announced she was stripping me of the lead role and handing it to him, vowing she’d turn him into an Oscar-winning star with her own two hands.
The room erupted into cheers and applause.
Julian threw me a smug, venomous smirk behind her back.
Angela turned a blind eye to his sneer and snapped at me instead, calling me petty.
"So what if you can act? Julian is the biggest idol in the country! Putting him in the lead is the only way this movie makes any money at the box office!"
I let out a bitter laugh, done arguing.
"Fine. If you think follower counts matter more than actual talent, then I have no reason to stick around."
I’d just love to see what happens without me.
Let’s see how much this talentless pretty face can actually bring in at the box office!
On the day of the production kickoff, I arrived ready to play the male lead, only to be cornered in the dressing room by two crew members.
"Are you guys blind? You don't know who I am?"
The press conference was starting in minutes. I took a deep breath, fighting down the rage simmering in my chest.
To secure funding for this project, I hadn’t slept a full night in two weeks. Nothing could go wrong at the finish line.
More importantly, Angela had promised that today, in front of all the cameras, we would announce our engagement.
The two crew guys exchanged awkward glances.
"Mr. Sterling, we're just following orders. Please don't make this hard on us..."
I froze.
"Whose orders?"
The answer was already painfully obvious.
Aside from me, Angela had the final say on this set.
Why? I needed to hear it from her face.
I shoved past the two guards and stormed straight toward the stage.
Before I even stepped out, Julian’s shaky, tear-choked voice echoed through the speakers:
"You're going public with him today... aren't you?"
"I worked so hard, but I guess I still didn't make it in time."
Angela sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown, grasping at his words like a lifeline. "What do you mean?"
Julian gave a self-deprecating sigh. "I always thought I wasn’t good enough for you, so I kept running from your feelings. I guess... I was too late after all."
Through the crowd, I watched my fiancée burst into tears, throwing her arms around Julian.
"Julian, I made the right bet."
With that, she grabbed his hand and declared directly into the microphones:
"Actually, this role was written specifically for Julian. In my eyes, no one else is worthy of playing him."
"My dream has finally come true. I am completely confident that this movie will turn Julian into a Best Actor winner and shatter box office records!"
The crowd went wild.
I stood there frozen, fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white, trying to process this madness.
So all my sleepless nights, all my running around begging for money... was just to set the stage for another man!
Cheers and clapping shook the hall.
Then, a few people spotted me standing in the shadows.
"Wait, wasn't Vincent Sterling supposed to be the lead? He got replaced just like that? God, that's humiliating!"
"Whatever, he's just an aging, D-list nobody. Trying to compete for a role against a superstar like Julian? Talk about delusional!"
"If I were him, I'd dig a hole and crawl into it right now!"
Julian noticed me too. He playfully pulled his hand away from Angela’s grasp.
"Angela, this isn't right. You promised this role to Vincent. I can't take it from him..."
His words sounded polite, but his eyes were dripping with pure triumph and spite.
Angela frowned the second she saw me, her expression souring.
"Did you seriously come out here just to humiliate yourself?"
Surrounded by reporters’ mocking whispers and Julian’s sneer, I couldn’t find my voice.
Angela lost her patience, her tone turning venomous. "It’s just one role! Do you really have to be this petty?"
"So what if you have talent? Julian has millions of fans! He's the only one who can guarantee this movie makes money!"
Seeing my silence, she feigned a compromise. "It's not like I'm kicking you out. The supporting role still has plenty of great scenes."
Julian tugged at her sleeve. "Angela, if Vincent doesn't want to give it up, give it back to him."
Angela scoffed, glaring at me with utter disgust. "Vincent, you better take what you can get. Keep acting like this, and you won't even have the supporting role!"
Looking at the woman I had loved for years—screaming at me to defend a plastic pretty boy—my heart turned to ice.
I gave a dry, bitter laugh and shrugged.
"Fine. If you think follower counts matter more than talent, then I don't need to be here to hold your hand."
I turned on my heel and walked away.
Angela shouted at my back, "Vincent! Don't you dare come crying back!"
I didn't turn around. Instead, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.
"Director Stone, I'm taking the lead in your movie."
I couldn't wait to see how she’d fare without me.
Let's see if her precious little eye candy can actually carry a movie on his own!Director Stone’s film was slated to hit theaters during the exact same holiday window as Angela’s.
Movie critics were already hyping up the direct head-to-head showdown between both productions.
Originally, Stone had practically begged me to star in his project.
He even claimed he would delay the entire movie for years if it meant waiting for me.
But I had promised my family that after one final acting gig, I’d step down and take over our multi-billion-dollar empire.
And with my backing, Angela’s movie was supposed to launch her into the A-list.
Now? None of that mattered anymore.
The moment I confirmed with Stone, the tension in my chest melted away.
Thinking back on everything I had done for Angela’s script, I realized I had thrown my heart to the dogs.
For years, Angela acted like she was too pure for Hollywood politics, pretending she despised people who used connections to climb the ladder.
So, I hid my real identity as the sole heir to the Sterling Group, living alongside her as a broke, struggling actor.
She genuinely believed she got this far entirely on her own brilliance.
Only I knew how many doors I had personally kicked open, how many green lights I had secured through my family’s network just to get her scripts read.
This latest project was an indie art-house film—notoriously hard to finance.
Everyone in the industry knows commercial blockbusters make money, while indie dramas bleed cash.
Angela wasn't anywhere near famous enough for studios to gamble millions on her.
Most investors laughed in our faces without even turning a page of the script.
I couldn’t stand watching her cry. So, keeping my family name hidden, I threw myself into endless dinner meetings, drinking myself sick with executives.
I promised them that with me in the lead, the performance would be flawless.
And as my trump card, I quietly guaranteed that the Sterling Group would come in with post-production backing—meaning even if the movie was a piece of junk, it would still turn a profit!
Only then did those executives agree to sign the checks, strictly doing me a personal favor.
And now, Angela had dumped me for Julian without even a warning text.
I was going to make sure she felt the burn.
I pulled out my phone and texted my executive assistant: Pull all funding from 'Reign'.
Let’s see if she and her boy toy can even afford to finish shooting without the Sterling family’s money!
Exhausted to the bone, I dragged myself back to the penthouse.
After what happened today, the breakup was already set in stone.
There was no way I was spending another night under the same roof with her.
I came back purely to pack my things and vanish.
But when I punched the code into the keypad, the door wouldn't open.
Just as my patience ran out and I was about to call a locksmith, frantic footsteps sounded from inside. The door clicked open.
"Vincent? I didn't think you were coming back tonight..."
Julian stood there, clapping a hand over his mouth in fake surprise.
"I'm so sorry! I couldn't remember the old passcode, so Angela changed it to my birthday. She must've forgotten to tell you."
I looked up. He was wearing my silk pajamas, and his neck was covered in fresh, red marks.
Even through the scent of designer body wash, I could tell exactly what had just gone down in that bedroom.
Even though I was completely done with Angela, seeing her bring this bum into our home hit me with a wave of raw disgust.
Fighting the urge to snap his neck, I shoved him hard with my shoulder. "Out of my way."
Julian suddenly lost all strength, collapsing onto the floor like a delicate flower.
"Vincent! What is wrong with you!"
Angela burst out of the bathroom, barely tying the belt of her bathrobe, and rushed over to help Julian up.
"Angela, I shouldn't be here," Julian whimpered. "It's normal for Vincent to be mad. I'll just leave..."
Angela pulled him tight. "Leave? It's pouring rain outside!"
"Besides, nothing even happened!"
She stepped between us, shielding him, glaring at me with contempt.
"Vincent, we just got caught in the rain! Stop putting your filthy thoughts onto us. Julian was literally just telling me to bring you an umbrella!"
"Apologize to him right now!"
I sneered. "To him? He's not worth the dirt on my shoes."
Julian shrank back, looking like a kicked puppy on the verge of tears.
Angela’s heart practically broke for him.
She raised her hand, aiming a slap straight for my face.
"I said, apologize!"
I caught her wrist mid-air, shoved her away, and snapped, "Keep dreaming!"
Angela stared at me in disbelief. "Did you just push me?"
She opened her mouth to yell, but I had zero energy left for her games.
"We're done. It's over."
The words hit the room like a bomb.
Angela froze, her mouth opening and closing before she swallowed her excuses. "Fine! Don't you dare regret this!"
"Since we're done, get the hell out of my apartment!"
I almost burst out laughing.
Her apartment? I was the one who bought this place in cash under her name.
The audacity was breathtaking.
I shot her a look of pure disgust, grabbed my bags without a word, and walked out the door right in front of them.Shortly after I left, news alerts started blowing up on my phone.
Angela and Julian had officially gone public.
Originally, this PR stunt was something she and I had planned to hype up our movie.
Only now, I had been replaced.
Except, it didn't go the way she wanted.
Julian was a boyband idol whose entire career relied on obsessive female fans.
Announcing a relationship out of nowhere triggered an absolute riot online.
Hordes of toxic fans directed all their rage onto Angela, spamming her accounts with death threats.
Angela didn't sleep a wink that night, frantically deleting hate comments until dawn.
I didn't sleep either. Early the next morning, I arrived at the studio.
"Wait, Vincent actually showed his face?"
"Didn't he act all tough yesterday and walk out? He couldn't even last twelve hours before crawling back!"
"Does he think Julian and Angela are pushovers? You don't just leave and come back whenever you feel like it!"
Most of the crew members were Julian’s diehard fanclub, and the rest were industry opportunists who knew whose boots to lick.
I ignored their snickers and walked straight toward Angela’s trailer.
"Vincent, so you finally came to your senses."
Julian stepped out of hair and makeup, draped in a custom-tailored designer suit.
"Where's Angela?"
He smiled smugly, dodging the question.
"You're here for the supporting role, right? Honestly, I’d love to help, but you really made Angela mad yesterday."
"So, you need to show some real sincerity before I can put in a good word for you!"
The crew members around him chimed in:
"Julian, you're way too nice! He won't appreciate it. Just throw him out!"
"Seriously! He’s a nobody! Giving him the supporting role is a waste anyway. You should give those parts to your bandmates so this movie actually blows up!"
"Yeah, Julian, don't let him walk all over you!"
I let out a cold laugh at how braindead they sounded.
Did they really think the box office audience was this stupid?
Julian was riding high on his pedestal. Crew members were massaging his shoulders, bringing him iced lattes.
He leaned back lazily on a director's chair the assistant director had dragged over, crossing his legs.
"Look, seeing as we're old acquaintances, I'm willing to give you a chance."
He smirked, pointing down at his feet. "How about this? Get on your knees and buff my dress shoes clean."
"Then maybe I'll think about asking Angela to toss you a bone."
A production assistant instantly chimed in like a loyal dog:
"What are you standing there for? Take the offer!"
I kept my hands in my pockets, looking down at him like a piece of trash. "You? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Julian rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers.
The assistant director and production assistant lunged forward, trying to force me to my knees.
Caught off guard, my knee hit the floor, their hands pinning my shoulders.
Julian laughed out loud, lifting his leather shoe and stomping it right onto my chest. "Oops, you missed your chance."
"Now, you only get to lick the sole."
Several crew members pulled out their phones, sneaking videos while whispering and snickering at my expense.
Veins bulged along my temples, my jaw clutched so tight my teeth nearly shattered.
Just as he lifted his foot to grind it into my face, I ripped free with every ounce of strength I had.
I grabbed Julian’s ankle and yanked with all my might.
Julian shrieked like a pig, tipping backward off the chair, sending hot coffee splashing all over himself.
"Fck! Do you know this suit costs over a hundred grand?!"
I didn't give him the chance to finish. I tackled him to the floor, my fist slamming squarely into the face he was so damn proud of.
Chaos erupted. People screamed, trying to pull me off.
Nobody could move me an inch.
Julian wept and begged beneath me, but I tuned it all out.
Fist after fist rained down until I caught the wind of something heavy swinging toward the back of my head.
I ducked instinctively.
The wooden chair Angela had swung came crashing down—smack into Julian’s stomach.
"Julian!"
Angela dropped the chair in horror, frantically kneeling beside Julian, whose face was swollen like a bruised peach.
"Vincent! What the hell is wrong with you?!" she shrieked like a banshee.
"Do you want this supporting role or not?!"
For the first time in years, I felt pure, unadulterated relief. I pulled out my termination contract and flashed it in her face.
"No, I don't."
"I came here to sign my release. You can sign it now, or we can go to court. You'll lose, and you'll owe me a massive payout."
Angela gritted her teeth. "I thought you’d use your brain after a night of cooling off, but you're completely hopeless!"
"You're older than Julian, you don't have his fame! Once you leave my production, who the hell in this town will ever hire you?!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Don't lose any sleep over it."
Julian groaned from her arms, begging her to kick me out.
After a beat of hesitation, Angela scribbled her name onto the paper.
"Have it your way! Don't you dare come crying to me when you're blacklisted from the entire industry!"
Snatching the contract, I sneered, "Let's see who ends up begging whom."
As I turned to leave, two voices rang out simultaneously from the hallway:
"Vincent! Finally! The entire crew is waiting on you to start shooting!"
"Angela, we have a disaster! The investors found out you replaced the male lead—they're pulling all their money!"
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Watch & Promotions
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