Everyone in the elite entertainment circle knew that behind Best Actress Violet Henson stood an extraordinarily low-profile ace screenwriter named Tristram Pruitt.
He had custom-written five scripts for her, each one carrying her higher until she stood on a pedestal.
Violet Henson had once promised him that the moment she claimed her fifth Best Actress trophy, she would propose to him right there in the Golden Dragon Awards hall.
But on the night of the ceremony, she thanked everyone. Especially Seth Harding, her first love, who was staging a comeback.
She never once mentioned Tristram Pruitt's name.
She even went backstage and personally rejected the proposal plan her manager had prepared.
"Violet, you've been putting off this promise for five years. Aren't you afraid that if you break it, Tristram will actually leave you?"
Violet Henson lit a cigarette, her expression hidden behind a veil of smoke.
"Seth is making his comeback right now. He needs the buzz. I can't announce a relationship at a time like this and crush his confidence."
"And what about Tristram? He's waited for you all this time."
"He doesn't need a title. He loves me that much. Even if I never propose, he'll always be right behind me."
What she didn't know was that I'd always been the kind of person who could love hard and walk away clean.
The moment I watched her tear that proposal draft to shreds with her own hands, I quietly blocked her on every platform.
Besides, the invitation from that internationally renowned director couldn't be put off any longer.
From now on, Best Actress Henson could find someone else to write her scripts.
......
The air conditioning in the Golden Dragon Awards hall was blasting. I sat in the front row, all the way to the side.
This seat was Violet Henson's specific arrangement.
She had told me:
"Tristram, tonight I'm going to win my fifth Best Actress trophy. I want you sitting in the brightest spotlight when I propose to you in front of everyone, so you can accept their blessings and become the happiest man in the world."
For this, I'd gone to a top designer and commissioned the most expensive suit of my entire career. I'd also brought a hidden camera and a pair of matching rings I'd had custom-made.
Onstage, the presenter tore open the envelope.
"And the winner of this year's Golden Dragon Award for Best Actress is... Violet Henson! Congratulations!"
Applause surged like a tidal wave.
I watched Violet Henson rise from her seat.
She looked radiant tonight. Breathtaking.
The blue crystal-studded couture gown I had personally chosen for her complemented her cool, regal aura to perfection.
I instinctively tightened my grip on the ring box in my palm and pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady my racing heart.
Five years. One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days.
Any moment now, I would become her fiancé.
Onstage, Violet Henson accepted the trophy and stepped toward the microphone, her proud gaze sweeping across the entire hall.
I straightened in my seat, waiting for her eyes to find mine.
But her gaze only flickered past my corner, quick and careless.
As if she had never known me at all.
Then it landed.
On Seth Harding, seated dead center in the front row, right where the lights were brightest.
By some coincidence, he was wearing a blue crystal-studded suit that matched Violet Henson's gown almost exactly.
My stomach dropped.
Back in school, Violet Henson had always treated him as the one that got away.
After graduation, she had even given up a stable career just to be closer to him, throwing herself into the entertainment industry.
If he hadn't married into a wealthy family, I never would have had the chance to get close to her in the first place.
And now, after five years, he was back.
Violet Henson hadn't breathed a single word of it to me.
"Thank you to the director, the judges, and my entire team."
Violet Henson's voice pulled me back from my thoughts.
"And lastly, I want to give a special thanks to one person who stood by me through the hardest times. Someone who means more to me than anyone."
The way she drew out those words sent my heart slamming into my throat.
I quietly straightened my tie, even leaned forward slightly, bracing for the spotlight that was about to swing my way.
But her next words plunged me into ice.
