My Husband Helps Me Fight Back Against Vicious Women

Clearly, I was trending on social media again, but thanks to Bruce, our names were firmly at the top of the trending list.

Bruce sent me messages: [Baby, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were live.]

[Sweetheart, come on, talk to me.]

[Cecilia, let me explain. Don't be mad!]

I blocked his number with a swipe, and my world became a lot quieter. But then my manager, Emily Queen, said her phone was blowing up with calls all morning.

"Can you explain what's going on? Our PR team is at a loss!"

"Emily, I'm really sorry," I said, rubbing my temples. This situation had escalated beyond my wildest expectations.

"Hold on a second," Emily paused. "Check Twitter."

I opened Twitter and saw: [#Best Actor Admits to Dating#]

Bruce said: [I'm pursuing Cecilia!]

My face went from annoyed to furious. I thought, What is this, a soap opera script? Isn't anyone at his company going to rein him in? Could Bruce just do whatever he wants?

The comments on Twitter were a mix of outrage and confusion. Oh great, Twitter is crashing, too.

"Care to explain?" Emily's voice came through the phone again.

"If I say he pestered me until I agreed, do you believe it?"

Bruce had a crush back in school—someone beautiful and leggy, like a campus queen. And it was me. But I didn't have any special skills; I just had a face that made people hesitate to approach me.

To be honest, Bruce was a senior of mine. I was studying musical theater; he was into acting. We didn't have much overlap.

"Hey, is anyone around?"

"Nope," I mumbled, not bothering to look up as I continued eating.

The guy opposite me took the chance to sit down and silently joined me.

"Bruce, I like you!" I looked up and found myself buried in a huge bouquet of roses.

"Ugh, what is this?" The roses smelled like some overpowering perfume. I rubbed my nose and looked up. Everyone was staring at me. "What's your problem?" A nearby girl was trembling with anger.

I frowned, not sure why I was involved. "Why are you yelling at me? Ugh." The girl threw down the flowers and ran away, sobbing.

"You're my only one!" The guy opposite me looked at me with admiration. Just like that, I ended up with a new fan after lunch.

"Cecilia, open up! You need to explain your relationship with Bruce!"

Before I could even recall our first meeting, Jennifer was banging on my door. I peered through the peephole and sighed. Our leading lady was nothing like her on-screen persona. Normally, I'd ignore her, but she was now the top star at the company. I sighed again, thinking, Who can argue with money?

"Jennifer, what brings you here?" I forced a weak smile.

"What's with the attitude?" As soon as I opened the door, she started yelling. I dropped the smile and put on a poker face. "…Liar!"

Jennifer was taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor. "You... you did this on purpose to embarrass me!"

"Last night's live stream was an accident. I'm really sorry," I admitted. I knew Jennifer had been thoroughly roasted after the stream ended.

"Do you even realize Bruce is someone I had my eye on? What makes you think you're good enough for him? Just you? You'll never be the lead!" Jennifer, seeing me back down, took the opportunity to lounge on my couch, crossing her legs. I gritted my teeth. She was pushing it too far.

"Jennifer, I have a bit of a quirk. I've got a camera in my room. Maybe I should just release this recording for you?"

I pointed to the TV, where a small black box was aimed directly at us. "Go ahead, keep going. Say what you need to about Bruce being yours—I'm all ears." Leaning against the wall with my arms crossed and a half-smile on my face, I watched her.

"Are you threatening me?" Jennifer, ever the drama queen, only had a flicker of panic in her eyes before she settled into a sneer. "Do you have any idea what happens to people who cross me?"

"I'm all ears," I said, playing along.

"Right now, I call shots at the company, and you're about to be sidelined!"

I pointed to the camera. "Everything's already recorded."

Jennifer, fuming and tottering on her high heels, stormed out with her bag swinging.

After that, Emily asked, "You really do have a camera in here?"

"Not really. Just bluffing her."

"And how are things with Bruce?"

"Not great."

Since Bruce made his feelings known, I'd been avoiding him to dodge any further complications. With Jennifer's exaggerations and the company's growing issues, I was feeling pretty cornered.

"Cecilia, the company's lined up a variety show for you. It'll be a good way to lay low for a while."

"What variety show, Emily?"

"You'll find out when you get there."