Conquering Fears in Love

I grew up with Owen Hayes. We were childhood sweethearts for seven years. Later, we both ventured into the entertainment industry. Luckily, we both became famous.

He shot to stardom.

I became infamous.

He stirred up rumors with the popular starlet Renee Vega. Their fake relationship set the entertainment world on fire.

I was caught on camera hugging him in an underground parking lot. The incident went viral, and I was viciously attacked online.

Overnight, I went from being a D-list actress to the most notorious person in showbiz.

A group of hardcore fans cornered me. They threw eggs at me and shouted, "Lucia Henderson, you homewrecker! Have you no shame? People like you should just die."

I was a mess, covered in smelly egg yolk from head to toe.

No one in the crowd stepped up to help me. Everyone was just filming and cursing at me.

The insults bombarded my ears. I trembled with fear as tears streamed down my face. "I didn't do it. I didn't wreck anyone's relationship."

Finally, the police came and dispersed the crowd. They just shook their heads and said, "Miss, couldn't you find something better to do with your life?"

Even the police didn't believe me.

I collapsed on the couch, my mind in a fog. I couldn't even muster the strength to lift a finger.

That evening, Owen rushed over. "Lucia, I'm so sorry I'm late. Don't worry, I've had all those videos taken down from the internet."

"Don't go out for a while," he added. "Just stay at home."

I grabbed his hand and pleaded softly, "Owen, can we go public with our relationship?"

His fingers noticeably stiffened. "Lucia, if we reveal our relationship, I'll lose tons of fans. My career will be over.

"Don't you remember how hard these years have been for me? I've been chewed out by the directors countless times. I've had to keep quiet even when I was injured. No one on set ever cared about me.

"The internet has a short memory. They'll forget about this soon. Lucia, please bear with it a little longer, for my sake. Okay?"

Every word he said stabbed at my heart. But seeing his reddened eyes, I nodded.

"Okay."

After I fell asleep, I had a dream.

In the dream, I was the ill-fated first love who died young in a romance novel. Owen and Renee were the main characters. They supported each other, rising from nobodies to top celebrities, hailed as the model couple.

The novel just summed me up in one brief sentence. Unable to bear the online abuse, Lucia committed suicide, becoming the cherished memory in Owen's heart that made Renee jealous.

The words were cold, but I felt the pain, helplessness, and despair of my dream self so vividly.

I woke up with a start and touched my tear-stained cheeks.

So, my existence was just a catalyst for the main couple's relationship.

I felt the bed beside me. It was cold.

He was long gone.

On TV, there was an interview from some event. When asked about their relationship status, Owen and Renee exchanged smiles. They blushed amid the crowd's teasing, looking every bit like a couple in love.

When asked about me, Owen just said I was a classmate with no sense of boundaries. His amber eyes showed no emotion.

Owen and Renee signed up for a live dating show. I accepted the offer too.

Before the show was even announced, eagle-eyed netizens had already dug up the list of guests.

In just a few hours, my Twitter page was completely overrun by countless haters.