Chapter One: Limits of Love

Anastasia Greene Johnson

  Charlotte leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with a mischievous curiosity.

“And what about your love-life, Alexander? It seems the world has yet to see you in the company of a significant other, we never saw you ever dating someone.” She inquired, her voice laced with playful intrigue.

  Alexander shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable, his polished British accent carrying a hint of restraint.

“Ah, well, that is. . . rather personal, I’m afraid. Something I’d rather keep to myself.” He replied, his fingers rhythmically drumming the arm of the chair as if to betray his eagerness to escape.

  It was plain to see that Alexander found the setting unnerving; talk shows were not his preferred milieu, and his presence there was somewhat unusual. Rumours swirled online and in tabloids, chronicling how he consistently declined invitations unless his co-stars accompanied him. This appearance was a rare concession, perhaps encouraged by the monumental success of his recent blockbuster, ‘Kill or Die’.

  Despite the film’s overwhelming success, Alexander had seldom needed to promote his work publicly; his mere association with a project was enough to draw audiences in droves. The moment he emerged on the screen, even in minor roles, he seemed to captivate the audience, ensuring the film’s success. Some people would go watch those movies only to see Alexander.

  Crazy, right?

  He had been a sensation since his debut as the protagonist in ‘Ajax: The Almighty’, a performance that had mesmerised me along with countless others. Although whispers abounded of his earlier career as a model and child actor, it was ‘Ajax’ that had solidified his place in the public eye and cemented his standing as an undeniable talent.

  Though his ascent had been swift and his fame immense as a child actor and a famous runway model, he maintained an air of reticence, often shying away from the spotlight. From his conduct, he seemed to be a very private person. . .shy and introverted. The lack of his interviews on the internet proved his disdain of being among so many people.

  I’m pretty sure not many people notice that about him though ’cause he’s pretty good at hiding it. I wonder how he handled being a hotshot celebrity this whole time.

  For all those reasons, even his hardcore fans didn’t know much about his private life, knowing about his love-life was out of the question.

  Articles abounded, hinting at his privileged background — a rumoured legacy of wealth, as his father was a multi-millionaire magnate presiding over an international chain of luxury hotels. Unsurprisingly, some critics were quick to label him a ‘nepo-baby’, attributing his success to his family’s influence. But, as his performances grew increasingly lauded — capped by an Academy Award win for his role in ‘Damon : How Deep the Rabbit Hole Goes’ — the murmurs of scepticism had faded.

  But the negative rumors might’ve been the reason why he felt uncomfortable to appear for interviews alone.

  May be he doesn’t wanna face those controversies head-on even though it has already been a long time since they stopped talking about it. Poor guy.

  I felt sympathy for him whenever I thought about it.

  Charlotte pressed on, undeterred by Alexander’s reluctance. “Oh, come now! Surely you could offer us a glimpse, if only for your adoring, eager fans.” She implored, her smile brimming with flirtatious charm.

  I felt a pang of disappointment; Charlotte, typically poised and graceful, seemed rather enchanted by Alexander, her gestures bordering on coquettishness — a marked departure from her usual conduct with other guests. This was the same Charlotte I had watched faithfully since the debut of ‘Chit-Chat With Charlotte’.

  And yet tonight, her demeanor is irksome.

  Her behaviors on the show that night led me to believe the usual things people said about talk-show hosts. . .about how they always criticized celebrities with questions they did not want to answer. Especially, with Alexander! It was like the whole media was after him particularly!

  Why harassing such a nice and decent guy?

  With another gracious smile, Alexander replied, “I do apologise to my fans, truly, but certain matters I must hold close.” The composure in his tone revealed a steadfast resolve beneath the genial veneer.

“Alright, alright. We can excuse you for that charming smile of yours.” Charlotte responded, eyes glinting. Aexander didn’t comment on that, probably feeling uneasy inwardly. “Okay. So, I can surely say you blew everyone’s mind away with ‘Kill Or Die’. But can you tell us if there’s anymore blockbuster of yours of this calibre coming out next year?”

“Ah. . .well, I’m not sure if it’ll become a blockbuster, one never knows how things will fare, but yes, another project is in the works.” He smiled cryptically.

“Is that a yes, then?”

“Patience often brings its own reward, no?”

  Charlotte laughed lightly. “I see you’ve got a flair for suspense both on and off the screen. Anyway, here’s the final question of today’s interview, Alex.” Charlotte said what made Alexander look relaxed a bit. “While you’ve graced us with gripping tales of heroics, your fans seem to have a tiny complaint.”

“Oh, they do? About what?” His eyebrows arched with a mixture of intrigue and amusement.

“Well. . .you see, we’ve never seen you in a romantic movie before. After that romantic ballroom scene in ‘Kill or Die’, there’s a clamour for you to play the dashing prince in a romance, even if it’s a side-character.”

  Alexander chuckled, a soft, infectious sound. “I see. I see. That seems to be a problem, huh? Ah, a prince in a romance, is it? I cannot choose the roles I’m offered, though action and thrillers do seem to find their way to me. But who knows? My journey has only just begun, and I have much more to share. I can only promise to give my utmost to meet everyone’s expectations. So. . .just wait and watch.”

  Charlotte sighed with theatrical enthusiasm. “Aww. . . that was so sweet. We’ll be eagerly waiting, then! But! ”

  That made Alexander flinch a bit and visibly tense up and even me.

  Why emphasizing the ‘but’ so much? Don’t tell me. . . she’s going to bring up criticism again?!

  I already started shaking my head disappointedly but thankfully, Charlotte didn’t ask anything embarassing.

“You see, you seem to have a lot of delusional admirers. And the question that they asked is — ‘How far can you go for love?’ ”

  He paused, considering thoughtfully, and for a moment, I was struck by the intensity in his handsome expression, even in contemplation.

“To be perfectly honest,” he said slowly. “I’m not entirely certain.”

  A collective sigh of disappointment escaped the audience, but I couldn’t help but sympathise. I didn’t know why these people always expected so much from him.

  He’s literally just a kid! I mean. . . not literally, but he’s only twenty years old, for God’s sake! He hasn’t even had much to experience in his life yet! How’s he supposed to answer that kind of question?

  At just twenty, Alexander had already endured the relentless scrutiny of fame, being a public figure from a very young age — a journey few could truly comprehend. Yet, he bore this burden with such grace, displaying maturity well beyond his years.

“It’s normal to be delusional when you just see someone act nicely on the screen but here’s the thing — you see, there’s a huge difference between when an actor is on screen and when he’s off screen. Sometimes fans might forget that what they see on screen is the product of direction, stunts, and often some clever effects, but real life is completely different. Some things only happen in movies, not in real life. So if you see a guy in a movie jumping off of a helicopter or a mountain for the love of his life, you should know that he has green-screen and CGI to back it up,” Alexander said with a bit of sarcasm, making the audience and Charlotte erupt into fits of laughter. “Now, I’m not saying that someone absolutely wouldn’t do that. . .unless they have many bills due that they can never pay off.” He quipped, eliciting further mirth.

  He himself laughed a little and it almost melted me.

  Aww. . . that’s so cute!

  No, because he was cute laughing like that, no woman could ever not find that cute. As the laughter settled, he cast a glance over the audience, his voice softened, “Oh, mate, I can’t keep talking like this, the young girls in the audience would get angry at me and stop being fans. I still gotta keep my image.” He said mockingly, making another noisy round of laughter.

  Alexander could really be the most humourous person sometimes even though he was mostly quiet at gatherings.

  Honestly, is there any talent that he doesn’t possess?!

“See, my point is, having a loving partner in life is wonderful, true, but what’s more wonderful and important is you yourself. You can love yourself, too, and go as far as you can to treat yourself right before thinking about how you treat others. Because you can treat them right only when you treat yourself right,” Alexander explained properly. “Well, nonetheless, I love you, guys, really. Thank you so much for your love and support.” He gave flying kisses to the audience and the girls screamed like crazy.

  Goodness! He really has a huge number of fangirls. Why wouldn’t he? Just look at that face! That’s literally one in a million!

  He had some god-gifted features that almost seemed unreal sometimes. But apparently, that was not the only thing about him like I said before because he had the wits, too, he talked way mature beyond his age. His words hung in the air, drawing sighs from the fans in attendance. I found myself nodding in quiet admiration, taken aback by the wisdom he so eloquently conveyed. Alexander had an uncanny ability to captivate with his insight, leaving his admirers as deeply enchanted as by his looks.

  Once again, there’s probably no talent in this world that he doesn’t posses.

“Anyway, what I was talking about. Well, people do crazy stuffs in love but. . .I think that has limits, too. So. . .yeah, I don’t know how far I, personally, can go for love in real life because I haven’t faced such situations yet. As you know. . .” he turned to the audience and winked flirtatiously, saying, “I’m always available whenever you need me.” He made a gesture of a phone-call.

  With that, the audience erupted in a rapture of cheers, proving once more the magnetic charm that Alexander held over his fans. No doubt, many would carry that memory for years, recalling it as the night they fell even further under his spell. Even I almost had a heart-attack watching it indirectly!

  No wonder his fans are so delusional, he keeps feeding into their delusions at this point.

  But what he said about people doing crazy stuffs in love was reasonable. His explanation had a point and made sense, even though most probably his manager had already prepared those answers for him from beforehand. . . but it was also understandable.

  I yawned lazily, watching Charlotte nod and face the camera.

“Alright. So it was Alexander Robertson with us tonight, interviewed by Charlotte Evans. Thanks, everyone for joining us. See ya next Sunday at 11:00 P.M. sharp. Till then, stay tuned.”

  I turned the TV off, feeling sleepy at last. I brought the cup of coffee to my mouth from the coffee-table but immediately realized it was already empty. It obviously made me feel disgusted. So I almost sleep-walked towards the kitchen to get myself some more coffee. I made myself a cup of coffee again and settled down for the night, though I couldn’t resist a final peek into the next room, where my dear Ruslan lay sleeping, blissfully unaware of the world outside.

  Aww. . . this cute little creature — an image of perfect serenity. How does he look cute even while sleeping?

  It was the one thing I would conclude every night before I went to sleep. Smiling, pessed a soft kiss on his brow and went to my bedroom to sleep.

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