He Called Me Crazy, Then Regretted

Chapter 3

Night fell.

I huddled in the corner of my tiny apartment.

The sky outside had gone completely dark, heavy with the quiet threat of an oncoming storm.

Grey's words had already blown up online into a full-blown firestorm.

Netizens had cut together side-by-side clips of the old game footage and my gameplay from earlier that day. Combined with Grey's icy public attitude earlier that day, multiple "Selene Chastin x Princess Leila" hashtags shot straight to the top of the trending charts in no time.

#SeleneStoleLeila'sAccountandEnragedGrey

#GreyDeniesDatingLeilaSaysitwasJustaSillyTeenageBet

#SeleneMadeaFoolofHerself

My phone buzzed nonstop, endless notifications pouring into my DMs, every single one filled with vicious insults and hate. This kind of abuse had followed me ever since I entered the industry, and I'd long gotten used to it. But tonight, every word cut like a sharpened blade, each strike drawing fresh blood.

Probably because every single insult was tied to that one name that made my chest ache—Grey Clifford.

I stared at my phone, the screen frozen on a message on Grey's X account from years ago. The post read: The one I love is gone.

My eyes burned.

All of a sudden, the post vanished into thin air. A wave of crushing panic slammed into me. I panicked, frantically closing the app and reopening it again and again.

Grey's newest post popped up right in front of my face: There was never any "unforgettable first love". It was just a stupid, reckless teenage mistake.

One short sentence, and it wiped out every single memory we'd ever shared, like none of it had ever mattered. It felt like the words had slammed straight into my chest, shattering me into a million jagged pieces, every c***k oozing raw, stinging pain.

In just a few minutes, the post racked up tens of thousands of comments.

The top liked comment read:

A: [I watched the gameplay clips. I think Selene is actually Leila, and Grey just found out today. His untouchable, unforgettable first love is gone. He must be devastated]

My gaze drifted to my nightstand, where two character figurines sat pressed close together. Grey had given them to me years ago.

Back when Sunset at the Underworld had just blown up, they'd released the first run of limited-edition figurines. He'd just wrapped an all-night film shoot, then stood in line for hours to grab a set, and shipped them to me the second he walked away from the booth.

Along with the figurines, I'd gotten a voice note from Grey saying, "Princess Leila, let's meet up."

His voice had been soft back then, warm with a quiet, happy lilt.

I'd said yes. But I never showed up…

Zap! BOOM!

A c***k of thunder split the sky overhead, jolting me back to the present.

Grey's cold, dismissive face and the harsh words he'd said earlier flooded back into my mind.

Wait. He'd never met me in person. How could he possibly have known I was Selene?

The belated realization hit me like a punch to the gut. I froze, a wave of suffocating panic crashed over me so tight I could barely breathe.

The thought hit me like a jolt. I clamped my phone tight, stumbled out my front door, and sprinted straight into the pouring rain.

*****

By the time I made it to the front door of Grey's villa, every inch of me was soaked to the bone.

I squeezed my eyes shut, drew in a long, shaky breath, then opened them again and pressed the doorbell, twisting with nervousness. The chime echoed inside the house. I waited for what felt like forever before the door finally creaked open slowly.

Grey stood there in loose lounge-wear, his face darkening the second he saw me. "What are you doing here?"

I didn't answer. I'd memorized his address the very first day I stepped into the entertainment industry. He'd said once, back when we were younger, that when he made it big, he'd buy a house in the most expensive part of the city.

And when he did, he'd decorate it exactly how I liked for our future home.

I shoved down the bitter ache swelling in my chest, leaned slightly against the door-frame, and asked, my voice shaking so bad I barely recognized it, "Grey, when did you find out I'm Princess Leila?"

He just stared at me, face cold and impassive, not saying a word.

That heavy, unbroken silence sent a spike of panic shooting through me. "I did show up for our meeting that day, but..."

Grey cut me off indifferently, his tone icy. "It doesn't matter."

How could it not matter? I'd clawed my way through every terrible obstacle life threw at me just to get close to him.

I opened my mouth, desperate to explain, "My dad..."

Just then, a clear, pleasant female voice drifted out from inside the house behind him. "Grey, where'd you put my pajamas?"