I just broke up with the best actor, and our show was exposed, forcing us to reunite.

The host asked, "Are you excited to work together again?"

Excited? Ha! Not even a little bit.

But the next moment, he pinned me against the wall.

Lying in bed, scrolling through my phone, I saw fan fiction about us trending and let out a cold snort.

Sure, it was kind of sweet.

But I just wished I could get a different leading man.

[Ryan sucks.]

My fingers moved faster than my brain, and I accidentally tweeted it from my main account.

By the time I realized my mistake, my chaos-loving fans had already pushed the comment to the top of the trending list.

Yay, I went viral again!

#GiaSaysRyanSucks#

Well, Twitter sure knew how to grab attention.

Soon enough, #GiaAndRyan'sBreaksTheirFans'Hearts# was also trending, and the fans were losing it.

"The show's still on, and you're already breaking up the couple? Total buzzkill."

"Gia is such a player."

"I'm out, not watching anymore."

This was spiraling out of control.

If my personal life was causing viewers to ditch the show, not only would it be a financial disaster, but Bobby would have my head.

Sure enough, my phone started ringing. I swallowed nervously and picked up the phone.

"Hey, sweetheart, what are you up to?" The voice on the other end was sweet and gentle, making me wonder if Bobby hadn't seen the trending topics yet.

I felt a bit at ease and said, "Well, nothing much to do. Just chilling, you know."

"Nothing? Then who wrote and posted that comment? Gia, are you trying to piss me off?" Bobby's voice was thick with rage as he yelled at the phone.

I pulled my phone away slightly.

"Gia, do you have any idea how important shippers fans are? Offending them could cost you a ton of followers."

After a while, Bobby's breathing gradually calmed down.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

Bobby remained silent. He had taken me under his wing when I was still a nobody. As a well-known agent with a lot of connections, he helped me rise to fame in the entertainment industry.

"What should we do? Go explain to Ryan's studio," Bobby answered. "Have them release a statement saying something like, 'I am suck? Tune in tonight to find out'. And include a still from the show."

Bobby was a genius!

The show was at the point where the leads were about to get down and dirty. If Ryan posted a wedding pic, it would look like they were rubbing their relationship in everyone's faces.

Their fans would go wild.

But I didn't want to reach out to Ryan at all. We broke up weeks ago, after all.

The YouTube edits made our interactions look super romantic, which wasn't entirely wrong. We were in the ambiguous stage back then.

After the show ended, we traveled to different places. We both tried to move on from the feelings of the general and the princess, but neither of us could.

Just like the book said, the young general and the princess met in the crowd and embraced each other.

Then, I started dating Ryan.

But our relationship only lasted a year.

I picked up my phone, dialed Ryan's number, thought about it for a while, and decided not to call.

Maybe it was better to play it cool and let things fade.

The trend would move on, but I couldn't lose face.

In the end, the production team stepped in, using Bobby's tactic, and had their studio post a similar message on Twitter. "I am suck? You'll find out tonight."

This finally calmed the storm of public opinion.

However, there were still many people criticizing us online.

They dug up videos from the premiere ceremony, where Ryan and I both had sour expressions throughout. During the interaction segment, it looked more like we were glaring at each other as enemies.

People on the internet were pretty observant, I guessed. We had just broken up the night before. What did they expect us to look like, best friends?

Meanwhile, the hashtag #SayNoToFakeLove was trending, tanking the show's ratings.

The producers pressured us to make a public appearance and do interviews, using our contract as leverage.

A good ex should be like a ghost, and I wanted nothing to do with him. But Bobby's words kept haunting me, "Gia, you want to lose money and your reputation in this town?"

I didn't.

So, a couple of weeks later, I ran into Ryan again. He was already at the studio when I got there, looking sharp in a black suit. Tall, handsome, and full of energy. One would never know he just went through a breakup. Lucky bastard.

I held my head high and walked past him, plastering a smile on my face and greeting the staff warmly. I'd show him I could shine without him.

The interview was split into three parts. First up, we'd each discuss our understanding of our characters. Then, we'd talk about the relationship between the general and the princess. Finally, there was a dreaded "Gia and Ryan" compatibility test.

"Hey everyone, Gia here, aka the princess, Fallon Sterling."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ryan," Ryan paused and gave me a subtle glance, "also known as Fallon's general brother, Thomas Anderson."

Humph, what a jerk. I couldn't help but snort.

Sensing the tension, the host quickly moved on with the question, "Gia, how would you describe Fallon in the series?"

"Smart, clever, and brave, but a bit too focused on love," I said. "Thomas ditched her right before their wedding for revenge, and she actually took him back in the end. If it were me, I'd never forgive someone who betrayed me like that. There are so many men in the world. Why get hung up on one?"

"What about you, Mr. Davenport?"

Ryan glanced at me. "Thomas is loyal and brave, a true hero, but he's a bit clueless when it comes to relationships. I wouldn't be anyone's stand in, not even for a second."

What did Ryan mean? There was no such thing as a "stand in" in the story.

"Is he implying I see him as some kind of replacement? When have I ever treated him that way?" I wondered.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, and we were on the verge of another blowout.

Thankfully, the host moved us on to the next segment - a compatibility test. The host asked us questions about each other, and we answered with the √ and × signs we'd been given.

The first question was - Gia has been in the industry for 3 years.

I chose ×.

He chose √.

I knew Ryan did it on purpose. He knew every tiny detail about my childhood, down to the playground fights I had in elementary school, but he pretended not to know how long I'd been working.

He didn't get a single question right out of ten. Awesome!

The host asked, "Are you guys looking forward to working together again?"

We both raised our × signs, meaning "hell no".

The host looked awkward and paused the interview, whispering, "Mr. Davenport, Ms. Harris, this is an interview. It's going to be aired."

Duh, I knew it was an interview. And I knew Bobby was going to give me an earful when he found out.

But in this situation, I couldn't give up.

"Breakup? Whatever. I'm gorgeous, I'm loaded, and I've got men lining up for me from here to the moon. Who needs Ryan?" I mumbled to myself.

Sure enough, as soon as the interview was released, it immediately trended, saying Ryan and I couldn't stand with each other.

No kidding, we couldn't stand each other. If it weren't for work, I wouldn't want to see him again in a million years.

Twitter was on fire, with everyone calling the whole thing a buzzkill.

But then, the conversation took a turn. A popular relationship blogger chimed in. "Look at how they're acting. Doesn't it seem like they just broke up?"

"Girls, maybe there was something going on between them. They probably hooked up during filming but broke up later due to some misunderstanding."

And usually, they'd talk about the script in these interviews, but their answers were full of flaws, clearly intentional.

"Yeah, yeah, getting all the answers right is tough, but getting all ten wrong? They must have done it out of spite."

Damn it, that was too accurate!

I went viral seven times in one week.

#GiaAndRyanAreReal#

#GiaAndRyanBreakUp#

#BreakupInterview#

Bloggers analyzed everything in detail. "When actors spend so much time apart, it's easy for them to grow distant.

"I'm guessing it's a personality clash. Both Gia and Ryan have short fuses. Weren't they even caught arguing in public last time? Two headstrong people can't last. It's no surprise they split."

In reality, they were all wrong. Ryan and I broke up because he cheated.

I saw Ryan and Shelly Barnes getting all cozy in the hallway with my own eyes.

Shelly, the second female lead of the show, started her career as a child star and had won several awards for her acting. But she had a problem—she loved flirting with men, especially the male leads. On set, she would follow Ryan around, saying, "Mr. Davenport, your acting is incredible. You really bring out the emotions. I just can't seem to nail it. Mr. Davenport, can you give me some pointers?

"Mr. Davenport, wait up. Let's have lunch together."

There was a scene where the general rescued the drowning second female lead, and it took a whopping seven takes to get it right, even though Shelly usually nailed her scenes in one take.

I even saw her knocking on Ryan's door in the middle of the night to rehearse lines with him.

Ryan always knew what kind of person Shelly was. He told me he didn't like her and that he would keep his distance from her.

But that day, after having dinner with my best friend, I went to find him. Outside his place, I saw Shelly and Ryan looking pretty cozy on his doorstep.

Later, Shelly texted me. In the picture, Ryan was resting his head on Shelly's shoulder, their hands tightly clasped together. It was clearly a provocation.

I broke up with him right away and blocked him.

Originally, this show wasn't supposed to air until next year, but thanks to the male lead's scandal on another series, our schedule got bumped up.

So, yeah, I had to do a promo with my ex-boyfriend. Let's just say I deserved a medal for not flipping out on him and that homewrecker.

With all the buzz, the show totally blew up, with millions of viewers eagerly waiting for the next episode.

Shippers fans said, "I knew they were dating! No wonder their chemistry was so sweet on screen!"

Beauty fans said, "Gia is the queen! We stan our gorgeous Gia."

The director stayed up several nights editing the series and finally released it for early access viewing.

I originally planned to fake being sick or say I had a scheduling conflict to avoid the early access premiere, but Bobby threatened me, saying, "Gia, do you want to lose money?" So, I had no choice but to attend.

After not seeing each other for half a month, Ryan looked a bit rough around the edges. Even a thick layer of foundation couldn't hide the bags under his eyes. Meanwhile, Shelly, hanging on Ryan's arm, was all smiles and sunshine.

"Jeez! Doesn't she know how to take a break? Not worried about burning out?" I thought.

Our enthusiastic director spotted me and dragged me front and center, right next to Ryan. He couldn't help but exclaim, "You guys are such a perfect match."

I plastered on a fake smile and edged away from Ryan, feeling irritated by his presence.

Ryan subtly closed the distance to Shelly, who beamed in response. Meanwhile, Bobby frantically signaled me from below, but I played dumb, staring down at my feet.

During the audience Q&A, the director decided to spice things up. "There's a scene in the show where the young general and the princess stand on a high tower, watching fireworks together. Fans loved it. Any real-life sparks fly while filming that scene?"