Chapter 3

In the hotel suite, Asher Ford's manager, Kyle, sat vigilantly nearby, glaring at me with undisguised resentment.

Yet just six months ago, we'd been drinking together at a roadside barbecue stand.

He'd sighed drunkenly, "Real love is rare in the entertainment industry. Bro, I'm rooting for you two."

Back then, Asher Ford's eyes were full of tenderness and affection.

"I'm not looking to be a superstar. As long as I can support Summer, that's enough. I don't want her to work so hard."

This summer, one of his shows became a hit. He skyrocketed to fame overnight.

After that, we saw each other less and less, until two months ago when contact completely stopped.

I never expected our reunion would be under these circumstances.

Kyle lit a cigarette and said leisurely, "Summer, I wanted to sign you along with him back then, but you refused. You insisted on keeping your fish stall. So don't blame us now. People always climb higher."

"You're not satisfied with two hundred grand? Name your price."

I scoffed.

Once upon a time, we were so poor we could only afford one flavor of crawfish.

Now that they'd made it big, their tone had certainly changed.

Asher Ford hadn't said a word. He kept his head down, not daring to look at me.

I couldn't tell if it was resentment or a hint of guilt in his heart.

Seeing my silence, Kyle thought he had a chance.

"But I have conditions. You must publicly apologize to Asher and Natalie, and never contact them again."

I didn't look at him. I stared straight at Asher Ford.

"Where's Natalie James? Why didn't she come to see me? Too ashamed?"

Asher Ford looked guilty, mumbling, "After your livestream, fans went crazy attacking her. Natalie's been hurt. She cried all night."

I let out a cold laugh.

"So it's not a publicity stunt? You two are really together?"

Asher Ford gave an almost imperceptible nod, his voice dry.

"Summer, don't blame Natalie. It's me..."

"You can't stop us from living better lives, can you? I can't stay with a fish seller forever."

I looked at his face. It had only been two months, yet he felt like a complete stranger.

Now he kept calling me "fish seller," but he never thought about how he got to where he is today.

I nodded and stood up.

"The nerve to do it but not own up to it? I really look down on you both. You want me to shut up? Dream on."

Kyle's expression changed. He waved his hand, and several security guards in black rushed in.

They quickly restrained me, gripping me so hard my face went pale.

Asher Ford looked panicked. "Kyle, tell them to go easy..."

Kyle was noncommittal. "Summer, since you won't take the easy way, don't blame us. Until the scandal dies down, you're not going anywhere."

With that, he glared at Asher Ford, and the two left directly, locking me completely inside the hotel suite with two security guards stationed at the door.

Half an hour later, I rubbed my wrists and opened my phone. Sure enough, my streaming platform and all my social media accounts had been controlled through their connections.

I opened Twitter again and saw Asher Ford's deeply emotional apology letter and essay.

At the same time, Skyline Entertainment issued a stern statement.

The gist of it was: Asher Ford did briefly date Summer, but they had already broken up. During their relationship, his relationship with Natalie James was purely friendship—no cheating or infidelity occurred.

Natalie James immediately followed up with a post: [The innocent will be proven innocent]

The attached photo was a weak selfie of her lying in a hospital bed.

They both apologized for taking up public resources.

My gaze grew colder.

Apologizing to the public—but the person who deserved an apology the most still hadn't heard a single "I'm sorry."

So I said nothing and made a phone call.