My encounter with him had probably been a mistake from the start.
For five years, we had been together. In the eyes of the world, I was his companion; behind closed doors, I was merely his bed partner.
He never once acknowledged our relationship.
Then, on my birthday, photos surfaced of him embracing his fiancée at the airport.
That was when the truth hit me like a slap in the face: I had never truly mattered.
"Daniel, now that you and Delilah are together, what about that little girl who was always by your side?"
"I was just playing around with her. I’m not going to marry her. My mom doesn’t control me."
It didn’t take long before I found solace in the arms of his best friend.
Yet, despite everything, Daniel knelt before me, confessing he had been wrong.
….
Today was supposed to be my day.
Usually, I’d fill the table with my favorite dishes, eagerly waiting for him to return with a cake and a gift, something he always picked with such care.
But today, I waited and waited. The food grew cold, yet he never came.
Just as I was about to give up, my phone buzzed with a message from my assistant, Lyla Wood.
[Eliana, you need to see this.]
Curious, I clicked on the link she had sent.
A bold headline greeted me:
[Top actress Delilah Watson returns today, and Innovex Group’s heir personally picks her up at the airport.]
I clicked through the photos, each one more damning than the last.
There he was, grinning from ear to ear, running towards Delilah with open arms.
So, this was it.
I had been lying to myself all along.
The comment section was flooded with well-wishes and congratulatory messages, but they all felt like daggers to my heart.
[They’re a perfect match, the Watson family and Evans family, a flawless pair.]
[Yeah, I heard they’ve known each other since childhood. Childhood sweethearts, even!]
Someone had tagged me in the comments.
[Then what about Eliana Lewis?]
[She’s got nothing, no power, no status. She only climbed up because of Daniel. Now that the real deal is back, I bet she’ll be out in the blink of an eye.]
…
I let out a bitter chuckle. I knew it was time to walk away.
We were never meant to be in the same world, not from the start.
If I hadn’t let impulse lead me to Bloomington for that art school entrance exam, I wouldn’t have been left stranded with empty pockets, wandering the streets aimlessly.
I probably never would have met Daniel, leaning casually against a Maybach, cigarette dangling from his lips.
Back then, he had the look of a carefree Playboy while I was just a wreck, sitting on the curb like a stray dog, gazing at the shimmering city lights.
The coat he handed me felt like warmth from another world.
"Thank you!"
He stood there beside me for a while, his gaze softening. "Aren’t you going home?"
"I don’t have a home anymore."
His expression faltered for a moment, and I knew then that my mother was gone; my father had remarried and had another son, leaving me as if I were invisible.
I tilted my head to the sky, staring at the broken moon, feeling like my heart was just as fragmented.
And then, out of the blue, he asked, "Do you want to come with me?"
As if I had no control over myself, I said yes. Without a second thought, I slipped into his car.
From then on, I became Eliana, the girl at his side.
Five years had passed in a blink, and I had carved out my place in the entertainment world.
But now, it felt like it was time to wake up from this dream.
I glanced around the villa, each detail hitting me like a memory.
I could almost feel his presence on the couch, working away while I lay beside him, reading my script.
In the kitchen, I could almost sense his arms wrapping around me from behind, his voice asking when dinner would be ready.
He had stomach issues, so I always cooked light but thoughtful meals just for him.
I remembered the moment when our intimacy reached its peak when he looked into my eyes and whispered.
"Don’t fall in love with me."
Only now did I understand. We were never meant to be together.
I pulled out the suitcase I had brought with me that first day, about to open it, when the door swung open.
"Eliana, I’m back."
