Chapter 5

Danielle's POV

Reading through the comments, it was obvious that some of Robert's fans had already accepted his sudden relationship announcement.

However, there were still some more extreme fans who weren't happy and began photoshopping photos to smear Hayley. Some even snuck onto the film set and dropped thumbtacks into her thermos.

I'd merely glanced through these bits of information before I put my phone away and went back to packing.

There were only two days left before I was going home, and there was still a lot of old stuff in the apartment that needed to be cleared out properly.

But just as I tossed the last bag of rubbish into the community dumpster downstairs, a bucket of pungent crimson paint came splashing right at me.

"Go to hell, you bitch!"

Before I could even react, someone kicked me hard, sending me crashing to the ground. Blows and kicks came raining down from every direction. I couldn't even open my eyes, and the overpowering chemical smell of the paint was so suffocating I could barely breathe.

When I opened my mouth to scream for help, paint flooded into it instead.

Filled with despair, I curled into myself. Just when I thought I was going to die there, the security guards finally arrived.

…

When I woke up again, I was lying in a VIP hospital room. The first thing I saw was Robert's bloodshot eyes.

In that instant, I understood right away that the sudden, undeserved disaster had everything to do with him.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, but when he met my icy gaze, all he managed to say was, "I'm sorry. They caught the people responsible. Once you're feeling better, I'll go with you to handle everything."

I ignored him. I just grabbed my phone and scrolled through the trending topics right in front of him. Sure enough, the top trending topic was about me.

The articles claimed that I'd abused my position as Robert's manager to harass him, and that I'd leveraged industry connections and career opportunities to force him into being with me. They went on to claim that it was because of my abuse that Robert spiraled into severe depression, and it was only after he met Hayley—his little ball of sunshine—that he was finally healed and saved.

They even included screenshots and photos as "proof", and the accusations and blame were successfully directed at me.

"It was Noah who did all this," Robert explained. "The recent online backlash has started affecting production. The director actually wanted to replace Hayley."

"But you know how promising this movie is. After how much Noah invested in promoting it, there's no way he'd allow his agency's lead actress to be replaced."

My whole body trembled. Ignoring the raw pain in my throat, I asked in a hoarse voice, "So, you're not going to explain anything either?"

"He had people take control of all my social media accounts. And the moment I try to start a live stream, the stream gets shut down."

He lowered his eyes and gently took my hand, now red and covered in an allergic rash. A look of heartache flashed across his face.

"But I promise you, I'll make this right. I won't let anything like this happen again."

I pulled my hand back, not saying a word.

Right then, his phone rang. It was Hayley calling. He glanced at me and, perhaps out of guilt, chose not to answer it.

Still, he got to his feet.

"I have to take care of something. You get some rest. It's very safe here. I'll be back soon to keep you company."

With that, he tucked the edges of the blanket around me and turned to leave. But as I watched him disappear through the door, a laugh escaped me.

"Do you really think I'm that easy to fool, Robert?"

I looked at the trending topics again. Among them was a screenshot of a chat log. It wasn't photoshopped; it was real.

It was from the year when things had been at their most difficult. He'd been in low spirits, so I jokingly mimicked the tone of a wealthy CEO from romance novels to cheer him up.

"Quit your acting career, Robert Lopez. Be with me. I'll take good care of you."

I'd thought we'd be able to part ways amicably. But as it turned out, that was only my own wishful thinking.

I threw back the covers and quietly slipped out of the hospital. I went back to my apartment, grabbed my passport and other documents, then hailed a cab and headed straight for the airport.

Right before boarding my flight, I did one final thing.