All Chapters of Rising From the Ashes: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Opening my eyes, I found myself staring at a stark-white ceiling and could smell the pungent scent of medicine.I moved my fingers and saw an IV line inserted into the back of my hand."You're finally awake," a voice growled beside my bed.It was my manager, Tim Johnson, who was scowling as he swiped his phone."Tim…" I said, feeling my throat burning."Nope. Don't even start," he snorted, dropping his phone on the bedside drawer with a clatter. "You really had to put me through the grinder, didn't you? Stalking Stan Herbert?! Only your mind is capable of such brilliance!"I tried to push myself up as I quickly said, "No, I wasn't. I was looking for a friend who was living in the same block…"Tim rolled his eyes and chuckled coolly. "Do you even know who lives in that block?! It's just Stan and a handful of billionaires! You're a C-lister who can't even afford rent, but you're saying you have a friend living there!"Realizing I couldn't argue my way out of this, I could only bi

Still, I needed stronger evidence to prove that Stan was Breaker…Meanwhile, filming continued.As Stan strode to the trailer, taking off his jacket, I saw the red handwoven string wristband on his right wrist.I had weaved it personally as a gift to Breaker last year, to celebrate our first anniversary.On it were beads with the letters 'C' and 'B', the first letter of our respective pseudonyms.He really was Breaker…Even before I could recover from my shock, Kelly arrived and dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over my face."Wake up, girl," she said and laughed.I was shuddering from the chill that cut into the bone.The production staff had been watching, with no one stepping in to stop her.Stan remained seated, even shooting a cool look at me as he growled, "Don't even play victim. That's just disgusting."He turned away in disdain, while the phone in my pocket rang repeatedly.I took it out to see multiple trending notifications.#Miathecheater#TheTruthBehindStanAn

Stan rushed down the riverbank, his clothes soaked through before long and his hair disheveled—hardly the look of a showbiz elite.As he waded through the water, he reached out to grab my wrist. "Curvy… Don't…"I shook his hand off and moved a couple feet away. "Curvy is dead, Mr. Herbert."All color drained out of his face right then. "I-I didn't know it was you. Honest. If I did, then I wouldn't—""Wouldn't what?" I looked him squarely in the eyes as I cut him short. "Wouldn't have kicked me out, canceled me, or called me names in front of everyone?"Stan's lips trembled, but he couldn't say a word.Kelly was left stunned as she watched from the side. "S-Stan? What are you doing?! Why would you apologize to her?!"Stan wheeled on her with a glare right then. "Shut up!"Kelly shuddered from his bellow and promptly kept quiet.Stan then turned toward me, his voice hoarse. "Just give me a chance to make things right, Curvy…"I stared at his crestfallen face, finding all of i

Just a week after life returned to normal, I moved to Block C, where managers and employees lived, as assigned by my agency.The room wasn't big, but it was clean and facing south.I picked up the s I'd previously set aside, I tried auditioning again, with producers willing to give me a chance now that I wasn't being canceled by the internet.I picked a single mother role for a drama series and did good work despite the modest rewards.During the beginning of filming, I saw Stan at the studio, sitting next to the director.Wearing a subtle black T-shirt and jeans, he actually looked like a production staff member.The director beckoned at me excitedly. "Hurry, Mia! Stan here has just agreed to a cameo as your ex-husband! Just one appearance!"I did a double take and turned to Stan, as he stood up and approached me but stopped three feet away."I don't have any ulterior motives," he said very quietly. "The writer is a friend, and he was saying they were short of a male actor, so

At exactly eight in the morning the next day, Stan's studio released the complete surveillance footage, showing the woman in red rushing in.Stan stood in her way, while she snapped, "You're a skank just like your mom!"The video was sharp, and the audio was perfectly synchronized with the lip movements, while Eve's outburst was clearly shown to be all her, and Kelly's edits were completely disproved.It blew up before long, with the hashtag #Kellyseviledit topping searches, followed by #Kellylibel.My lawyer also put out a statement that we would be suing Kelly for fabricating libel, causing distress to the bereaved, violating image rights, and disseminating sensitive private information, demanding three million in damages.The replies to Kelly's pinned post went crazy.[Liar! More evidence? More like malicious edits!][The whole internet had to deal with your drama for three days, but it was all secret recordings and manipulated clips! Have some shame!][Get Kelly Smith out o