Chapter 5: Scandal and Pride

When I woke up the next day, I found hundreds of missed calls—almost all from my agent, Monica Jenkins.

Not knowing what had happened, I quickly called back. Monica’s voice was so loud it instantly woke me up.

"My God, you finally answered! Do you know everything’s blown up?"

"What exactly happened last night? What did you do?"

Still groggy, I checked the trending topics while on the phone.

#AubreyHitsCourtney

#AubreyGetOutOfHollywood

#AubreyRetires

The fight with Courtney last night had been caught on video, but only the part where I suddenly rushed up and hit her was shown.

I closed my eyes and explained everything to Monica, including my breakup with Ethan.

After all, I no longer had a benefactor to protect me.

Monica was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Rest for a few days, don’t look at the news, I’ll try to handle it."

After hanging up, I watched the trending video carefully. It was shot from a hidden angle, clearly premeditated, and Lillian, who stood next to us, had been cropped out—only Courtney and I were in the frame.

The comments were overwhelmingly one-sided.

[Aubrey looks so aggressive, and she dares to hit people. She thinks no one will expose her.]

[Heard she has a powerful sugar daddy. Otherwise, with such bad acting, how did she get so many opportunities these years?]

[Insider info: she’s just a kept stand-in. Now that the real deal is back, she’s been kicked.]

Seeing all the talk about being a stand-in, I knew Courtney was manipulating public opinion again.

But I felt nothing inside.

Let them scold me. That’s the price of this job. As long as they don’t involve my family, it’s fine.

As for being a stand-in, that was pure nonsense.

When I first got together with Ethan, he was so good to me that it actually scared me.

Once, after a dinner, he came to pick me up. I asked him, tipsy, if I looked like someone he knew.

He pulled me into his arms and flicked my forehead. "Getting too into acting? Stand-in? I’m not into that."

I pressed further, asking if he had someone else. He snorted. "Do I look that free?"

Getting a definite answer, I was happy for a long time.

Maybe Ethan didn’t really love me. Maybe it was just novelty, or laziness to change. Whatever.

At least while we were together, there was no third party.

I could live without love, without being someone’s one and only, but I couldn’t lose my last bit of dignity.

When I thought about it, pride was the only thing I really had left to cling to.