The Actor's Failed Act

I've been with an award-winning actor for seven years. We've been secretly married for five of those seven years.

For the sake of his career, I drink so much that I get a stomach perforation. I also allow others to trample over my pride and dignity.

Yet he goes on lakeside dates with another woman and kisses her underneath the fireworks. He even has the nerve to tell me not to be unreasonable.

Later, I get caught in a landslide when I'm on a business trip. I make one last call to him in fear. All I hear is him singing his lover a birthday song.

I ask for a divorce after losing hope in him. That's when he suddenly begs me not to leave. He even announces our relationship to the world on the day he wins an award.

Our seven-year relationship is finally public, but I don't want it anymore.

It was our wedding anniversary when I ended up in the hospital with stomach bleeding.

"Wow! I'm rooting for them to be a couple!"

"A big-time actor and a rising star? Now that's a power couple! It's like something straight out of a novel!"

"Kissing by the lake with fireworks in the background is pure romance!"

"I heard they dated in school, but their backgrounds didn't really match. And it all ended after Vivian left the country…"

Two nurses were talking about tonight's hot gossip right outside my ward.

I'd say it was a romantic scene if the guy they were talking about wasn't my husband. I could barely recall the last time Clement Carter and I held hands, let alone kissed.

The voices outside kept going, each word stabbing at my heart.

Suddenly, my phone rang. Seeing "Babe" on the screen gave me a tiny flicker of hope.

But as soon as I picked up, Clement's furious voice hit me like a wave. "You can't even close a simple deal? If you couldn't do it, you should've just said so! How can you be this useless?"

My smile stiffened. I didn't even get the chance to say, "Happy anniversary."

There were so many nights I spent drinking with clients just to make sure Clement got every opportunity. I went too far tonight, and my stomach gave out, leaving me collapsed at their feet.

Before I fainted, I saw the clients across from me give me a look full of mockery.

The clients' and Clement's voices came through the line at once.

"Relax, Queen Vivi. We've got that fool jumping through hoops!"

"Thank goodness Vivi took care of the deal, or you'd have had me looking like a joke!"

I heard Vivian Fowler shouting on the other end before Clement quickly hung up.

The painkiller in my IV didn't seem to help at all. My stomach was churning, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the ache in my chest.

Clement texted me just a minute later. "Make sure you get the contract by tonight!"

When the nurse entered to change my IV, I closed my eyes and buried my face in the pillow so she wouldn't see my tears. "Could you help me with the discharge process, please?"

She hesitated when she saw how sick and pained I looked. "You're too ill to go unless a family member comes to take you home. Otherwise, I'll be held responsible if anything happens."

I smiled bitterly. A family member? Did I even have one?

Clement didn't care about my illness—or me. He took Vivian to the lake and kissed her, ignoring how I felt.

We'd been married for five years, but the way he treated me didn't even come close to how a nurse I just met treated me.

Clement's words echoed in my mind. I swallowed my pain and signed the discharge papers.

Just then, my phone rang. "Ms. Lundy, the fireworks are ready. When would you like us to deliver them to your home?"

Clement loved fireworks, and I had planned to set them off for him on our anniversary. But I doubted he'd want to see them again.

"Throw them out," I said.