Chapter 4
The Leak
Zara could barely hear herself think.
Her phone buzzed nonstop. Twitter. Instagram. TikTok. Everyone had an opinion now.
#Zesse was trending in thirty-four countries.
The clip had been slowed down, overanalyzed, remixed to moody music.
People swore they could see Jesse’s hand twitch like he wanted to reach for her. Others claimed she leaned in first.
None of it mattered.
What mattered was that her privacy was gone—and the producers were loving every second.
—
Romeo stormed into the lounge, shirt half-buttoned, ego fully bruised.
“What the hell is going on, Zara?” he snapped. “We were selling something. And now? You’re all over the internet with the cameraman.”
She didn’t flinch. “We weren’t selling anything. You were playing a role. I was surviving.”
“Is it true?” he demanded. “You and him?”
Zara looked him dead in the eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to be anyone’s business.”
Romeo laughed bitterly. “Too late for that. The audience has spoken. You’re the girl who broke the frame.”
—
Victoria cornered her next.
Crisp blazer. Weaponized smile.
“This is working brilliantly, darling,” she purred. “We’re pivoting the next episodes. You’re the lead in a forbidden love arc now.”
Zara’s voice was ice. “You mean damage control.”
“No, no.” Victoria waved it off. “Think of it as… recalibrating the story. Romance. Tension. Redemption.”
“You want me to perform something that’s already real.”
Victoria leaned in, her smile sharpening. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing your whole life?”
—
Zara found Jesse by the equipment truck, arms crossed, jaw tight.
“You saw it?” she asked.
He nodded. “All of it.”
“They think we’re a storyline now.”
“We’re not.” His voice was low, steady. “We were never just a storyline.”
Silence stretched between them.
“Did you leak it?” she asked, hating herself for even asking.
Jesse’s eyes darkened. “No. But someone wanted this out. Someone wanted to break the illusion.”
Zara took a shaky breath. “And now what?”
He stepped closer. “Now we stop lying.”
Her breath hitched. “To them?”
“To ourselves.”
Before she could respond, a voice shouted from behind:
“Zara, you’re needed on set. We’re reshooting your date scene with Romeo.”
Back to the script.
Back to the lie.
Zara didn’t move. “I can’t go back out there pre
tending nothing’s changed.”
Jesse touched her hand, just once. “Then don’t.”
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