All Chapters of DEAR EX, THE VERSION OF ME YOU LOST.: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Vivian’s POV“Your mom looks so ordinary. Her dress is cheap and simple. Someone might think she’s your maid.”One of Ashley’s friends said it loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. I was busy fixing the decorations on Ashley’s birthday cake, trying to make it perfect so they could take pictures. I didn’t look up at first.The girl who spoke was only a year older than Ashley, but she already had that mean, nasty attitude. I glanced at Ashley. Her eyes were glassy, and her lower lip was trembling. She looked like she was about to cry any second.“Looks like your family isn’t as rich as they say,” another one of Ashley’s friends added with a smirk. “Your mom can’t even afford a nice dress for your fifth birthday.”Ashley’s face twisted. Before I could stop her, she shoved the huge cake with both hands. It slid off the table and crashed onto the grass.“Ashley!” I yelled, shocked. The sound made everyone in the garden turn and stare at us.“Shut up!” she screamed back at me. Tears wer

Vivian’s POV“Daddy, you didn’t say that she was a supermodel,” Ashley gushed. I stood there and watched her. She looked at Jessica with so much love in her eyes. Like Jessica was the most important person in the world. Everyone in the room looked at Jessica the same way. Even Lyon, he stared at her like he would do anything for her. Like he would pull the moon out of the sky if she asked.Jessica bent down and pulled Ashley into a tight hug. She had fake tears in her eyes. Lyon put his hand on Jessica’s back and led both of them into the living room. Like they were already a family. “Welcome, Jessica,” Lyon said. His voice was soft. I had never heard him talk like that before. “I organized this little welcome party for you. Welcome home. I am so happy you are finally back for good.”This is how they welcome her. This is how they celebrate a woman who left her daughter at the front door when Ashley was barely a month old. She left to chase her career, she never looked back. And now

Vivian’s POV“You ruined this robe,” I said, holding it up so the damage was clear. The fabric was torn at the sleeve, and dark stains of dried blood spread across the front. “This belongs to the hotel. It’s not just damaged—it’s completely unusable.”The blonde woman in front of me barely reacted. Her badge read CASEY – WARDROBE. She looked tired, like this wasn’t the first complaint she had heard today.Casey let out a small sigh. “We’re filming. Things get rough sometimes,” she said casually. “Just file a report. The production team will cover the cost.”I was the one responsible for every robe, every towel, every item they borrowed from the hotel.I didn’t even want to be here but Maria, my supervisor, had insisted I take charge of the production’s laundry and wardrobe requests. I had tried to refuse but she didn’t listen. “Wait, isn’t that Vivian Stark?”The sound of that voice made my stomach tighten instantly. I turned slowly, Jessica had been sitting on one of the beds, but

Vivian's POVI left before the sun came up.I didn’t plan it that way. But I lay in that bed staring at the ceiling at four in the morning with my bag already packed on the floor and I knew I couldn’t wait for daylight. I couldn’t sit through another morning in that kitchen. I couldn’t walk past Ashley’s room and hear her breathing behind the door and pretend I wasn’t leaving her behind.So I got up. I picked up my bag. I walked out.The house was dark and completely still. I moved through the hallways quietly, past the dining room, past the living room where I had signed my name on a piece of paper yesterday and handed six years of my life back to people who never wanted it.At the front door I stopped.My hand sat on the handle and I just stood there. Breathing.Don’t, I told myself. Just go.I opened the door and stepped out into the cold.*****My aunt’s house looked smaller than I remembered.It always did when I came back to it after time away. Like the years I had spent inside

Vivian's POV(6 MONTHS AFTER :THE PRESENT DAY) The room was still looking at me.I had said it. Out loud. To a room full of professionals who had been doing this for years. I can do it. And now every single person in that suite was waiting to see what came next.The director Mr.Carver turned around slowly.He was tall with silver hair and a face that had stopped being surprised by things a long time ago. He looked at me the way you look at something that has walked through the wrong door.“You work here,” he said.“Yes,” I said.“In the hotel?”“Wardrobe liaison,” I said. “But yes.”Someone behind him laughed. Short and quiet but I heard it. A few others exchanged looks. The kind that said this ought to be interesting.Mr. Carver didn’t turn around. He kept his eyes on me. “Have you acted before?”“Not professionally,” I said.“At all?”I thought about the cracked mirror in my aunt’s hallway when I was young. Running lines from movies to nobody. The school productions. The drama tea