Ethan, successful and established, had always
been impeccable. He wouldn’t have dreamed of
taking another woman on a romantic getaway,
<
12:21
784
let alone bringing any female companion to any
event, unless it was me.
I echoed his casual tone. “Alex and I are
different too. I think of him like a younger
brother.”
“SARAH!!!” Ethan exploded. His voice echoed loudly. I held the phone away, noticing the curious glances of the film crew. I hung up.
A flurry of messages followed. The last one read: “Sarah, this is your last chance. If I don’t see you home tonight, don’t bother coming
back at all.”
I turned to the crew to discuss logistics. When I had a moment, I replied to his message: “Okay.”
Filming started immediately. I didn’t have much to do, so I was coordinating publicity for my other clients. Suddenly, Alex approached me,
looking apologetic.
<
12:21
“Sarah, I’m still getting used to everything. I messed up my lines a few times today. Could you run through the script with me?”
I put down my phone, suspicious. “Why don’t you practice with your scene partner?”
Alex gestured behind him. “She’s filming right
now.”
“Alright.” He was my client. It seemed harmless enough. He handed me the script. As I started reading, Alex quickly got into character.
His voice deepened, his gaze intense. “Ashley,” he said, using my name. “I’ve been admiring you from afar. Now that I’m finally on your level, could you… just look at me?”
My stomach dropped. I glanced down at the script. In this scene, Alex’s character was supposed to be talking to a woman named Ashlyn. “Ashley” was clearly a mistake. The
784
<
0000
next line was Ashlyn’s: “Yes, I’d love to.”
But this wasn’t even Alex’s scene for today. I
frowned and pulled back, but Alex held onto my sleeve. “Sarah, it’s your line.”
“Find someone else,” I said. “I’m not good at this.”
I turned to leave. Behind me, Alex murmured, “But Sarah, you graduated from Yale Drama…”
I stopped, then walked away even faster. I came
to Paris for work, but also to clear my head. I
wasn’t Ethan. I couldn’t handle even a hint of
ambiguity while I was still married. That was my
bottom line.
The next day, someone from the crew leaked
the video of our rehearsal online. It exploded.
The angle was carefully chosen to obscure my
face, but it perfectly captured Alex’s intense,
lovesick expression. He was a rising star back
12:21 A
<
home. The comments were flooded with his
fans: “Just get married already!”
I immediately contacted my team. “Issue a
784
statement. The woman in the video is the lead
actress in the new film.” I thought for a
moment. “Reach out to her team. See if they’ll
cooperate. We can spin this into on–screen chemistry.”
My phone began ringing incessantly. It was Ethan. I declined the call. He tried everything: video calls, voice messages, anything to get
through. He was making it impossible to
communicate with my team.
I was forced to answer. “Sarah!” His voice was
a mix of anger and panic. “Is that you in the
video?!”
It was Chloe’s voice that cut in. “Sarah,
sleeping with someone else while you’re married? That’s low, even for you.”
<
I let out a slow breath, a smile playing on my
lips. “Ethan, you and Chloe are perfect for each other. Two peas in a pod.”
Ethan exploded. He roared into the phone. I
held the receiver away from my ear. “Don’t get
your panties in a twist. When I’m back, I’ll send you the divorce papers. International calls are
expensive. Bye.”
I hung up, but he kept calling. I blocked him on
everything. He was right. Questions did ruin the
mood.
That night, after wrapping up filming, Alex
knocked on my hotel room door. He looked at
me, his expression troubled. “Sarah, why would
you use this for publicity…?”
