I Made Her a Star, She Cheated for Fame and Lost Me Forever

On the night of their fifth anniversary, Dexter Jarvis received a set of photos. They were of his girlfriend, Arianna Harmon. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes unfocused. She lay completely naked across rumpled sheets, her body marked with unmistakable signs of intimacy. The sender was Bruce Marshall, a well-known director. Along with the photos came a few voice messages. "Dexter, your girl's got real talent. Come on, baby. Call me daddy. Why don't you stay with me instead? Dump that useless boyfriend of yours." In the background, a woman's broken sobs could be heard—soft, breathless, attempting to please. Every now and then, her voice turned sweet as she murmured, "Daddy," again. Dexter didn't reply. He stared at the screen for a long moment, then quietly dialed a number he hadn't called in years. The line connected quickly. "Dexter..." The voice on the other end sounded older than he remembered. Dexter closed his eyes briefly, forcing down the storm rising in his chest. "Dad," he said, his voice low. "I want to come home." "Dexter, you finally… you finally forgave me? Come back," his father, Wyatt Jarvis, said, his voice trembling. "Everything's still waiting for you. The company… it's yours!" Wyatt's voice shook violently, the unshed tears painfully obvious. Dexter's nose stung, a sharp ache building behind his eyes. After his mother's death, he had blamed his father for five long years. Maybe it was time to let that go. "I'll come back once I wrap things up here." Wyatt was quiet for a moment, then added, almost cautiously, "Oh, and Hailey Allison… she's still not married. She's been waiting for you all this time. You're almost thirty now. Some things… it's time to start thinking about them." A face surfaced in Dexter's mind—cool, distant, untouchable. He closed his eyes. "I understand," he said. "Don't worry." After he hung up, two trending topics popped up automatically on X. Breaking: Rising star Arianna Harmon rumored to be dating director Bruce Marshall Breaking: Trash agent Dexter, get out of the entertainment industry! The attached video played automatically. Arianna and Bruce were kissing inside a luxury car. The next clip showed them walking into a hotel together. The comments section had exploded. Fans from both sides celebrated as if it were a confirmed relationship: They don't even need rumors. It's obvious. Someone commented: Perfect couple. Wishing them forever! On Dexter's end, however, it was a wall of mockery and vile insults. One netizen commented: Dexter's probably smashing things at home right now LOL! Another user chimed in: Can't wait for the official announcement. Let's see how that useless agent still clings to Arianna after this! Some even wrote: If not for that trash agent, Arianna would've blown up ages ago. Dexter, get lost! Type 1 if you agree! Dexter stared at the endless stream of numbers until his fingers turned pale from how tightly he clenched them. They all said he had held Arianna back for five years. What they didn't know was that he had paid a far greater price than she ever had. Arianna's path had never been easy. She came from nothing—no background, no connections. Even with a degree from a top film academy, she had struggled to get a foothold in the industry. Dexter had become everything for her: manager, assistant, negotiator. He chased down opportunities, secured deals, pushed promotions, and burned through his own health just to keep her moving forward. Once, to land her a role, he sat through a dinner with a notoriously predatory director. The man didn't care whether it was a man or a woman—his hands wandered all the same. Dexter endured it with a smile. That night, he drank himself into gastric bleeding just to close the deal. When he was hospitalized, Arianna cried as if her world were ending. She held his hand and promised him that one day, when she made it, she would publicly announce their relationship and marry him before he turned thirty. Now Dexter was almost thirty. Arianna had risen from background roles to a rising star. But those promises had quietly disappeared. She no longer mentioned marriage. She never acknowledged their relationship publicly. And now, she was embroiled in a massive scandal with Bruce, the director she had just started working with! The most ridiculous part? Before Arianna got famous, she used to cry to Dexter about how Bruce constantly harassed her, using filming as an excuse to grope her inappropriately right in front of the crew.