Blaire's POV

I had been secretly in contact with Julian.

During the day, everyone thought I was completely blind and couldn't even use my phone. But when the night fell quiet and the world around me settled down, Julian and I would exchange messages. They were the only thing that kept me going. I hated being with Henry, being trapped, and how easily I let myself get lost in the fantasy of a life outside of this hellhole.

Also, I feel sorry for Julian. He had been dismissed from the hospital after reporting Vivian’s cousin, the ear specialist, for abusing his power. Of course, Vivian's cousin denied it all and made up some story that Julian had ulterior motives.

As if!

In the end, the hospital sided with Vivian’s cousin and tossed Julian aside. I hated seeing him lose everything he had worked for. Julian was young, driven, and had a future ahead of him, but now it was all gone.

And for what?

For sticking up for what was right? I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around it.

One night, after another exhausting rehearsal, Julian sent me a message:

[It’s okay, Blaire. I have no regrets. I plan to study medicine abroad for a few more years and then join Doctors Without Borders.]

I had to smile at that. His resilience was something else. Even with everything that had happened to him, he still had hope. I couldn’t help but feel inspired, but then a pang of sorrow crept up on me.

I replied, "I want to perform stage plays abroad, show them what our nation’s art really looks like."

The idea of the future sounded so beautiful, but every day in this twisted situation with Henry felt heavier. Vivian was glued to Henry, flaunting their relationship with anyone who would look, and there I was, pretending to be his loving, obedient girlfriend. The suffocating pretense was killing me.

The worst part? Henry noticed the change in me.

He didn’t understand why, but he could feel it. He always had a way of sensing when I wasn’t all in, and it made him more desperate.

One afternoon, he asked, “Blaire, it seems like you’re paying less attention to me than you used to. Do you not love me anymore?”

It took everything in me not to scream at him. 'How could he even ask that? Why did he want me to love him when he was the one who had broken me over and over?'

I turned away from him and replied calmly, “The premiere of The Sapphire Blade is next week. I’m busy with final rehearsals.”

Just one more week.

That’s all I had left before I could finally get out of there. I’d leave him behind, pack my things, and fly away with Julian. It felt like freedom was right there, just within reach. But I hadn’t expected what was about to happen next.

The night after our final rehearsal, Henry was in the theater, tearing up over the play. The singing, the stage design, the lyrics—it was all perfect to him, and it hit him like a wave. He didn’t even realize it, but he was seeing me in every word, every note. He could feel the love I’d poured into the play, the love I’d given to him when I wrote it. The irony was almost too much to bear.

Vivian, of course, couldn’t handle it. She had to step in and try to ruin everything, just like she always did.

With a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face, Vivian offered, “I think the play could be improved. I’ll help you rewrite it, Blaire. For free, of course.”

The blood drained from my face.

No. Absolutely not.

She wasn’t touching my work. I couldn’t let her anywhere near it.

“No,” I said firmly.

Vivian wasn’t one to back down. She contended, “I’m just trying to help! Back when we were at the provincial theater, you were just a supporting role! If it weren’t for my car accident, you wouldn’t even be in this position!”

I felt my jaw tighten. She was still holding onto that grudge like it was her lifeline. And now, she was using it to destroy everything I had worked for.

“I also regret what happened,” I said, my voice cold. “But that accident wasn’t my fault. I don’t owe you anything.”

Vivian’s eyes filled with fake tears, and she immediately turned to Henry, shaking his arm. “Henry, she’s bullying me again! You’ve got to back me up! I just want to help rewrite 'The Sapphire Blade.' Don’t you want to support me?”

Henry’s eyes flickered between us, and I could see the shift in him. He was caught in the middle, and I wasn’t sure which way he’d fall. Vivian was playing him like a fiddle, but she had one hell of a hand to play.

Vivian wasn’t even trying to hide her manipulation anymore. She knew exactly what she was doing. “This theater is under your name, Henry. With just one word from you, Blaire’s play won’t be performed.”

I kept my eyes on him, watching for any sign of weakness, anything that would tell me he cared about the play, about me. He’d been moved to tears by it.

Surely he wouldn’t let Vivian ruin it, right?

“Henry?” I asked, my voice shaking ever so slightly. “This play represents my love for you. Don’t you like it? Please, don’t change it. Please.”

But his expression hardened, and he spoke with finality, “I’m not satisfied with the play. Let’s do what Vivian says. She’s talented, and she’ll help you improve it.”

Blaire's POV

I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

It felt like I was watching my life spiral out of control, one word at a time. Vivian had completely rewritten The Sapphire Blade after two hours of revising.

I don’t even know how to describe the mess she’d made of it. All the soul-stirring, beautiful lyrics I had poured my heart into were gone. In their place were crude, vulgar lines that felt like they came straight out of an AI program with no soul behind them.

It was offensive.

This wasn’t just a play to me. It was my vision, my heart, and my soul. I had spent years making this script what it was, and now Vivian was tearing it apart. I couldn’t just sit back and watch her ruin everything.

“This can’t be changed,” I said, my voice tight with desperation. “The premiere is in three days! If we change the script now, the actors won’t have enough time to memorize the new lyrics.”

Vivian just rolled her eyes. “If they can’t memorize it, then let them get lost. This theater troupe deserves to close down. I offered to be the leading lady, but you didn’t want that. Honestly, I don’t even want to work with people who can’t remember new lyrics.”

I could feel my chest tighten. 'How could she be this cold?'

The actors all came down from the stage, rallying around me. Their anger was palpable as they denounced Vivian.

“If we don’t perform, we won’t perform,” one of the actors said loudly. “Blaire's play is a masterpiece. What you’ve done to it is like throwing manure all over it, Vivian. You have no idea what you’re doing. Stop pretending to be a master in front of real artists!”

Vivian, her face flushed red with fury and her eyes starting to water with fake tears, turned on the charm. She clung to Henry’s sleeve, putting on her best damsel-in-distress act.

“They’re bullying me!” she sobbed dramatically, her voice dripping with fake hurt. “They’re calling my work trash, Henry!”

Henry, predictably, jumped to her defense. “You all have some nerve! Do you really think I won’t cancel your premiere qualifications?”

I stood tall, gripping my cane for support. The pain in my chest was overwhelming, but I knew I couldn’t back down.

“Henry, do as you please,” I said, my voice steady even though my insides were anything but that. “Even if we can’t perform in your grand theater, we’ll take it to the streets. We’ll perform for anyone who wants to see it.”

The room fell silent, and I could feel Henry’s gaze shift.

He hadn’t expected me to stand up for myself like this, to have the guts to push back. My strength wasn’t lost on him, and neither was the loyalty I had from my actors. They respected me, and that meant something to him, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“Mr. Kline,” the secretary whispered in a low voice, “The Sapphire Blade’s tickets have already sold out. If you cancel now, you’ll have a PR nightmare on your hands with all the ticket holders.”

Henry froze, the reality of the situation hitting him.

After a long pause, he made his choice. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew this wasn’t just about Vivian and me. It was about money and reputation. The play had already been sold out. The last thing he needed was a PR disaster.

“Alright,” he said reluctantly, pulling my hand with an air of finality. “No need to change it. Are you happy now?”

I wanted to rip my hand away from his, scream at him, tell him to never touch me again, but I couldn’t. Not yet. For now, I needed his theater, even if every part of me hated him for what he’d done.

I swallowed my disgust, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. “Mm, I’m very happy. Thank you.”

Standing off to the side, I could see just how irritated Vivian was. She stormed over to Henry, dragging him into a quiet corner backstage.

...

“Why?” Vivian demanded, the frustration choking her voice. “Back then, Blaire took Difficult to Cry from me, and my career went down the drain. She’s thriving now, writing and directing, and I’m stuck in her shadow. How can you stand it? I can't stand it!"

Henry’s voice softened, a tone Vivian hated to hear from him. “I understand how you feel, Vivian, I really do. I’m on your side. But for the sake of business, I have to let the play go on. Don’t worry, I’ll only let them perform once. After that, they’ll never see another stage.”

Vivian threw myself into Henry’s arms, the tears coming easily, the act practiced but no less effective. “Not even once? You can’t just let her get away with it. You promised me, Henry. You said you would handle it! Unless you—”

Henry cut she off. “Unless what, Vivian?”

Vivian pulled back slightly, her face still drenched in fake tears, “Unless you get rid of Blaire after this performance, I’ll never forgive you. You can’t let her walk away unscathed, not this time.”

I watched everything unfold from the safety of the terminal software on my phone, trying to control my breath as I kept my eyes glued to the surveillance footage.

From the camera angle in the hallway, I could see everything clearly. Vivian and Henry’s conversation was unfolding right before me, and I felt my stomach churn.

What was I hearing? It was bad. Really bad.

Henry’s voice came through first, full of uncertainty. “No, no matter what... she doesn’t deserve to die.”

Vivian, already simmering with anger, reacted sharply. I could hear the smirk in her voice as she spoke, “Oh, I was just joking. I didn’t really mean to kill Blaire. I just wanted to teach her a lesson, like scaring her with a fire.”

I froze. My breath caught in my throat as Vivian’s words hit me like a slap.

It was a threat. A clear one.

Suddenly, a plan formed in my mind. 'If they were planning a fire… what if I faked my death?'

What if this was the way out, the way to escape from Henry’s manipulations for good? I’d vanish, leave everything behind, and he’d never come after me again.

It was the perfect plan.

...

That night, Julian and I went over the details.

Julian devised a plan to make it seem real. He would provide a blood pack and arrange for a charred body to match my outline, ensuring that when the fire happened, everything would be convincing.

We rehearsed everything, preparing in secret. We even made sure that everything backstage was set up so that no one would see what we were doing until it was too late.

Then, the day of The Sapphire Blade’s premiere arrived.

I could barely breathe.

My nerves were shot, every detail of the plan running through my mind over and over. I spent the day organizing the final touches, my stomach tight with anxiety.

By the time 9 p.m. rolled around and the performance ended, the applause was deafening, and it felt like a dream.

The last notes of the harp and violin echoed through the theater as the curtain fell, but that wasn’t the moment I was waiting for.

No, it was what would happen next.

Through the surveillance footage, I had already learned about their plans. Vivian and Henry were setting the fire in the prop room, where costumes would catch flame, and the fire would spread to the makeup room.

The theater staff was instructed to lock the back door for ten minutes, trapping me and the rest of the troupe inside. But I had the key to that door.

As soon as the fire started, I would let everyone out and lock the door behind me. It would look like I died in the fire.

And then I could finally be free from Henry and Vivian.

I smiled and dragged the fake corpse that Julian had prepared for me to the scene.

Henry, you hurt me and tortured me again and again for her.

This time it's my turn to torture you.

I left my phone behind, turned on the pre-recorded cry for help, and pressed play without hesitation.

"Help!!! I'm trapped in the fire here! Save me!"

After finishing everything, I resolutely left the theater according to the route planned in advance.

Soon, the alarm sounded at the theater, the smoke was thick, and the flames shot up to the sky, illuminating the night and my bright future.