She hadn't expected the cabin to feel like a memory the second she left it.
The morning after their kiss, Kael had driven her back to the city without words. There was nothing tense in the silence—only something unfinished. Brewing.
Sora was already waiting at the apartment, wide-eyed and frantic.
"You were gone all night?! With him?! Do you even know how close the paparazzi came to catching you?!"
Lina dropped her bag. "I don't care."
"You—what?"
"I don't care if the world finds out," Lina said, voice steady. "I care if he lies to me."
Sora stared at her.
"…You're serious about him."
"I think," Lina said quietly, "I might be."
Later that day, she was scheduled to shoot a promotional short film—her first co-lead role in a dramatic piece, opposite a rising actor named Ren Yusei.
He was sharp, magnetic, the kind of beautiful that didn't beg attention but commanded it.
"Ah," he said, smiling as she arrived on set. "So you're the Lina Vale who made Elle twitch."
"I didn't know she twitched."
"She doesn't. That's why it's impressive."
He offered his hand. She shook it.
Their first scene involved an intense monologue—his character breaking under the weight of betrayal while hers stood by, unmoving.
The moment the camera rolled, Ren transformed. Emotion raw. Voice cracked. The air in the room stilled.
When the director yelled cut, he looked at her and said:
"You didn't even blink. That's hard to do when someone's falling apart in front of you."
"I've seen it before," Lina replied. "Up close."
At lunch, Ren sat beside her with a casual grin.
"You and Kael, huh?"
Lina didn't react. "Where'd you hear that?"
"Same place everyone does. Everywhere."
"He's private."
"Which makes you rare."
She gave him a sideways glance. "You're trying to read me."
"No," he said. "I'm trying to figure out what kind of woman makes a man like him look vulnerable."
That night, Kael called.
"I saw the clip from your first scene," he said. "You were perfect."
Lina smiled faintly. "Are you always watching me?"
"Only when I miss you."
There was a pause. Then she asked—
"Why didn't you tell me about your grandparents?"
"…Because I didn't think you'd stay long enough to meet them."
"Well," she said, "I'm still here."
Another silence. Then—
"They'll want to meet you soon," Kael said. "Especially my grandmother. She watches your interviews and pretends she's not rooting for you."
Lina laughed softly.
"Tell her I said thank you. And I'm rooting for her grandson too."
But as the night faded, the stars outside her window looked sharp.
Too sharp.
And somewhere, in a chat thread she didn't know existed, a new post went live:
Kael Marlowe's new 'girlfriend'—too fast, too calculated? Is she just the next name on the list?
And below it:
COMMENTER 0384:
They're getting bolder. Someone should remind her what happens to girls who reach too high.