I had been secretly married to an award-winning actor for seven years when he fell for a co-star.

I decided it was time to give them my blessing by filing for divorce.

We crossed paths again at a party, and he dragged me into the restroom.

“Where did Eli touch you? Where did he kiss you?”

Calmly, I shook him off and replied, “Meet me at city hall at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Let’s settle this divorce.”

——

Today marked both the wrap party for Noah Harrison’s new movie and our seventh wedding anniversary.

I’d cleared my schedule to surprise him with a special evening at home.

By 8 p.m., I sat at the dinner table, waiting, surrounded by a full spread of food growing cold.

Half an hour passed, and still no sign of Noah. A heavy sense of dread began to sink in.

“Hey, Noah? How much longer until you’re home?” I asked when he finally picked up the phone.

After a pause that stretched a few seconds too long, a soft, unfamiliar female voice responded, “Hello? Noah’s asleep. He had a bit too much to drink... Can I help you with something?”

My chest tightened as I processed her words. Drunk? Asleep? Together?

A thousand questions crowded my mind, but my throat tightened, and I couldn’t bring myself to say any of them.

I stayed silent for a moment, and just as she was about to hang up, I managed to whisper, “It’s fine. If he’s busy, it can wait.”

I hung up quickly, terrified that I would lose control and demand to know, “Who are you?”

But I couldn’t. To the world, Noah and I were merely an actor and his screenwriter.

We had kept our marriage a secret for seven years. Back when we first got married, I was already a known screenwriter in the industry, but his career was just starting to take off. I didn’t want to affect his rise, so we agreed not to go public with our relationship. And so, seven years went by.

As Noah’s fame skyrocketed, boosted by the scripts I wrote specifically for him, he won award after award and became one of the youngest Best Actor winners in the industry.

I was often called his “mentor,” the one who guided him to stardom. But no one knew we had been married for years.

For those seven years, I thought our relationship was strong and full of love. We’d steal moments to hug in quiet corners on set, go on vacations during breaks, take pictures together, and try foods from around the world.

Neither of us brought up the idea of going public, and I thought I didn’t mind after being in this industry for so long.

But as Noah’s career soared, he started working with more actresses, even staging rumors for publicity. I knew they weren’t real, but I still felt jealous.

That night, Noah came home very late. I was still awake, sitting on the bed, staring at the trending topic on my phone:

#Noah Harrison And Leah Gill Romance Rumors: Spotted Leaving a Hotel Together#

He showered and climbed into bed, pulling me into his arms as if nothing had happened. His voice was gentle. “Why are you still up, babe? Were you waiting for me?”

Before I could answer, his eyes fell on my phone.

I felt him tense up slightly. He grabbed my phone, exited the trending page, and then locked the screen, pulling me closer to his chest.

“It’s all fake. Don’t overthink it...” he murmured, and before I could reply, his lips were already on my neck, kissing his way down.

That night, he made love to me as always. But by the time I woke up the next morning, he was already gone.

I reached over to the empty, cold side of the bed and let out a bitter laugh. He must have left right after I fell asleep.

Early the next morning, I went to visit him on set.

As soon as I arrived, a few familiar faces approached, greeting me enthusiastically.

“Ms. Lane, it’s so great to see you here!”

“Ms. Lane, perfect timing! Could you help us with this scene?”

I replied with a polite smile to each of them.

I remembered Noah mentioning this was a sci-fi romance.

He played the male lead, a character who’d somehow crossed from a virtual world into reality, meeting the female protagonist in a strange twist of fate.

They fall deeply in love, but eventually, he must return to his dimension.

The script’s bittersweet ending was, apparently, quite moving.

They were currently filming the scene where the male lead has to return to his own world, and the two must say their final goodbye.

The actress he was performing with was someone I recognized – Leah Gill, a rising star from Star Entertainment.

I stood quietly behind the director, watching them. Noah was so immersed in his role that he hadn’t noticed me there.

In the scene, Leah clung to Noah, her face tear-streaked as she whispered, “You lied to me, Alaric! You promised you’d never leave!”

Noah’s eyes were filled with sadness, his hand gently brushing Leah’s face.

Both of them performed so well that the onlookers around me had tears in their eyes.

My gaze stayed on Noah. There was something unsettlingly real in the look he gave her – it didn’t seem like just acting.

When the scene wrapped, the entire crew cheered, excited that they’d finished filming the final take.

Noah finally spotted me standing at the edge of the crowd, and, with a warm smile, started making his way toward me, looking almost radiant in the spotlight.

But a loud voice suddenly interrupted, breaking our gaze.

“Noah!” Leah called, jogging over with a bouquet in her arms. She stumbled just a step away from him, and without a second thought, he reached out, catching her in his arms.

“Be careful,” he said, concern in his eyes. “Watch where you’re going.”

I watched the scene unfold, feeling an uneasy twist in my stomach. For years, Noah had been careful to keep a respectful distance from his female co-stars, never letting things appear too familiar.

This was the first time I’d seen him act so closely with someone else.

They continued talking, but I’d already seen enough. An uncomfortable feeling settled over me, and I told his assistant that I’d head back to the hotel to wait for him.

They say a woman’s intuition is rarely wrong.

The moment I stepped into the hotel room, I saw it in the trash can – a used wrapper for a condom.

I stared at it, the sight of it making my insides feel hollow, like something had been abruptly torn away.

I was shaking all over. I never expected that I’d be in this position – finding proof of an affair.

The entertainment world can be messy; I’d seen plenty of cases like this.

But I had always believed that Noah was different. I thought what we had was unbreakable.

For years, I’d trusted him. I’d seen him as above this sort of thing.

But standing here, staring at the evidence in front of me, I had no words left to excuse him. There was nothing I could say to make this right.

I left without telling him, without leaving any kind of note.

It was after midnight when he finally called. I was sitting by the river, wrapped in a thin jacket as the autumn wind bit through me, chilling me to the bone.

My hair whipped across my face as I sat there, feeling like a lost wanderer with nowhere to go.

“Honey, Kevin said you stopped by the set today. Are you back at the hotel? Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was soft and warm.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to rid them of their soreness. My voice came out hoarse. “Right, so you could bring her back to the hotel too?”

There was silence on his end, long and heavy. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking during those endless seconds of quiet.

Finally, I broke it, saying, “Congratulations on your Best Actor award. You deserve it. You’ve been acting all along, even with me. It’s time to wrap this up, Noah.”

“Renee.” He sighed. “Work’s been exhausting. Could you stop overreacting? Do I really need to coddle you through this?”

A bitter laugh escaped me. This was the man I’d loved for seven years, the man I’d given up my name and my pride for.

“Noah, let’s get a divorce. I’m done. Don’t worry – I’m not going to make a scene or post anything online. Go back to your acting career; I won’t get in your way.”

I’d never stoop to competing with anyone.

There was a silence again on his end, but this time he spoke after only a brief pause. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” I replied firmly.

After a long sigh, he said, “Fine. Let me finish up here, and I’ll be back to take care of it.”

I gave him a quiet “Alright,” and ended the call.

I had thought that hearing him agree to a divorce would bring me to tears, would leave me shattered.

But when I hung up, I felt nothing.

I simply sat there, gazing out at the faint glow of dawn spreading over the river.

My mind was blank, like a void – yet oddly, it felt like it was filled with everything I needed.

And as the cold autumn breeze swept past, whatever sadness or regret had been there seemed to blow away with it.

Seven years… Noah and I had been through so much together that I couldn’t even remember when things had started to change between us.

But he used to be different, at least from what I remember. He used to be so attentive, so caring.

The winter after we got married, Noah was secretly training for a role in his next film.

That winter was especially harsh, and I had to travel out of town for work. But on the way from the airport to my hotel, I was in a car accident and fell into a coma.

When I finally opened my eyes, Noah was there, sitting by my bed, his eyes red and swollen as if he hadn’t slept in days.

The moment he saw I was awake, the exhaustion in his gaze vanished, replaced with a brightness I hadn’t seen before.

“Renee! You’re finally awake. Are you in pain? I was so worried when the doctor called…” His voice broke slightly as he spoke, and his eyes filled with tears.

I reached up to wipe away his tears, feeling a mix of relief and heartache.

It was only later that his assistant told me the full story. As soon as Noah had heard about my accident, he’d compressed a week’s worth of training into a single day, just so he could come to see me as soon as possible.

His manager had begged him to rest, fearing he’d collapse, but he’d insisted, saying, “I can’t rest; if Renee wakes up and doesn’t see me, she’ll be scared.”

But the man who once loved me so desperately, that same Noah, was now sharing a bed with someone else.

The next morning, I received an invitation from Summit Entertainment. They were interested in purchasing a few scripts I had on hand.

“Ms. Lane, it’s an honor to meet you in person,” said Mr. Lynch, the company’s senior director, as he extended his hand.

Summit Entertainment was one of the top firms in the industry, with a roster of major talents.

Everyone in the industry knew that my scripts are always tailored for specific actors.

The three I had now were written with Noah in mind.

But now? He’s not getting them. He didn’t deserve them!

“Mr. Lynch, it’s a pleasure. You’re too kind,” I replied politely, shaking his hand and taking a seat.

It wasn’t until I’d sat down that I noticed Mr. Lynch had brought along someone else.

Seated quietly beside him was a young man with a gentle, almost serene expression. Noticing my curiosity, Mr. Lynch gestured toward him.

“This is Eli Grant, one of our new talents,” he explained. “I thought today would be a great opportunity to expose him to the world of screenwriting. If you’re open to it, we’d love for him to audition for one of your upcoming scripts.”

I nodded. “I remember you. Solid performance.”

I wasn’t just being polite; I really had seen Eli Grant before.

I’d seen him working with Noah before – he’d played a minor role as one of the lead’s loyal sidekicks. I’d caught a few of their scenes together, and I had to admit, he was good.

Eli’s face lit up briefly before he composed himself, a hint of pride flickering in his gaze.

After two hours of discussion, Mr. Lynch excused himself, leaving Eli and me waiting in the lobby.

Outside, it had begun to drizzle, the steady patter of rain making the overcast sky seem even gloomier.

Eli glanced at me and noticed my frustration as I looked outside. “Ms. Lane, didn’t drive today?”

I sighed, glancing back at him. “My car’s at the shop.”

He held up his own keys with a slight smile. “Let me give you a ride.”

Eli was three years younger than me, and his easygoing smile had an air of innocence about it. But when he offered, there was a subtle confidence in his voice that made it hard to refuse.

I nodded, accepting.

After all, who could turn down a ride home from a sweet, good-looking young man on a rainy day?