When the Cameras Stop Rolling

The day the TV drama wrapped, I was once again thrust onto trending topics by paparazzi photos.

But the person in the photos wasn't me.

It was my husband, Gideon, the Best Actor, kissing Lillian Ross, the second female lead who played my rival in the show.

Along with the trending post came this caption: "Shocking Revelation: After Actress Serena Winters Wraps Her Drama, Best Actor Gideon's Ninth Secret Rendezvous with Different Lovers Exposed!"

The story's popularity continued to climb.

Gideon himself appeared in the comments section, posting an intimate photo with Lillian Ross. "With you, for the rest of my life."

Everyone thought I would make a scene and fight with Gideon like I always did, throwing away all my dignity.

But this time, I simply removed my diamond ring with composure.

I posted it on my blog along with that photo of Gideon's secret rendezvous and kiss.

With the caption: "I wish you both the best in your acting careers and your relationship. May both continue endlessly, without limit."

After confirming the post was published successfully, I finally put down my phone.

Just last night, the paparazzi had sent the photos to my email first, using the photos as blackmail, demanding five million from me.

If this had been before, I would have run to Gideon like a madwoman and made a scene.

In front of everyone, abandoning all my pride and dignity.

Without caring about my image, I would have thrown myself at them both, scratching and hitting them wildly.

Crying and fighting until Gideon chose between me and that woman.

Every time I shed tears, Gideon would decisively cut things off with those women.

Then he'd pull me into his arms, kissing my forehead over and over.

"Serena, I get bored after a while. They're just toys to pass the time when I'm idle."

"Your place in my heartno one can shake it even a fraction. Be good."

"You're an obedient wife. You'll handle those reports for me, won't you?"

For the past five years, to raise money for my mother's surgery, I'd practically lived on set without a moment's rest.

One drama after another that I starred in became hits. One mistress after another appeared by Gideon's side.

The money I earned, aside from keeping my mother alive, all went to cleaning up Gideon's scandals.

I naively thought that one day, Gideon would remember how good I'd been to him and return to me.

But when public opinion reached its peak and everyone was waiting to see me humiliated, he appeared in the comments section himself.

That intimate photo he personally posted felt like a vicious slap across my face.

My heart plummeted to rock bottom in that moment. I suddenly realized that everything I'd done to win Gideon back was utterly pointless.

My phone kept buzzing nonstop.

In less than an hour, my post had been viewed and shared over a hundred million times.

My blog completely crashed.

I'd just closed the comments section when Gideon kicked the door open, his face dark with rage.

He grabbed my wrist so hard I nearly cried out in pain.

"Serena Winters, have you lost your mind?! Delete your post right now and issue an apology to Lillian Ross!"

"Do you know that because of what you said, she's being harassed everywhere as a homewrecker!"

"Even the brands that were ready to work with her have terminated their agreements. Are you trying to destroy her?!"

My face went pale. I pressed down the bitterness in my heart, trying to force out a dignified smile.

But seeing Gideon defend the woman who'd destroyed our marriage, the tears I'd been holding back finally fell.

How ridiculous.

I was clearly Gideon's legal wife, yet I had to apologize to the mistress who'd deliberately destroyed my marriage.

Seeing my tears, Gideon's tone softened somewhat.

Like always, he pulled me into his arms, gently wiping away the tears at the corners of my eyes.

"Serena, Lillian Ross is just a minor celebrity. She's nowhere near as famous as you."

"What you're doing will ruin her."

"Be good, don't make a scene. Don't take your anger out on an innocent person."

"Just delete the post now and hold a press conference to apologize to Lillian Ross..."

In Gideon's eyes, this homewrecker who destroyed someone else's marriage was the innocent party.

And I, the wife seeking justice for myself, was making an unreasonable scene.

How utterly ironic!

"No!"

I broke free from Gideon's embrace and cut off his unfinished sentence sharply.

"Gideon, you're the one who's lost his mind!"

"I'm clearly the victim here. What gives you the right to tell me to apologize to a mistress who seduced my husband and destroyed my marriage?"

At that, Gideon's voice rose sharply, and the distress on his face vanished completely.

"Serena Winters, have I spoiled you too much?! Do you know Lillian Ross nearly committed suicide two days ago because of this?!"

"When did you become so vicious?!"

I closed my eyes and raised my voice involuntarily.

"You spoil me? You call cheating on me again and again 'spoiling'? You call letting others humiliate me at will 'spoiling'?"

"I'm vicious?! Gideon, aren't you two the vicious ones?!"

"You're the ones who pushed me to this point! Why should I apologize to you adulterous pair"

"Slap"

A vicious slap struck my face, and in an instant, all the arguing stopped.

The blow knocked my head to the side. Warm, metallic liquid trickled down from the corner of my mouth.

Pain shot straight to my head. Just moving my lips slightly pulled at the muscles in my nasal cavity, making even breathing hurt.

Gideon stared at his own hand in disbelief, frozen in place.

"Serena..."

He took a trembling step forward, wanting to wipe the blood from my lips.

The next second, I swatted his hand away decisively.

2.

Gideon froze in place after I pushed his hand away.

When his gaze fell on the bright red handprint on my face, his eyes slowly filled with regret and distress.

"Serena, I'm sorry..."

"I didn't mean to. Come here and let me see..."

I'd just retreated two steps, covering my face, when Lillian Ross appeared in the doorway, pale-faced and crying.

She ran up to me and dropped straight to her knees.

"Serena, none of this is Gideon's fault. It's all my fault..."

"If you want to blame someone, blame me. I'll accept whatever punishment you give me. But why did you incite online users to cyberbully me?"

"During this time, I nearly lost the will to live because of this..."

Gideon stood between us, but he quickly made his choice.

Turning his back to me, he lifted Lillian Ross from the ground with tender care, gently wiping away the tears falling from her eyes.

His movements were so gentle, as if he were handling some priceless treasure.

The look in his eyes when he gazed at Lillian Rossfilled with such distressfelt like thousands of fine needles piercing my heart.

The pain made it almost impossible to breathe.

Once upon a time, that same look had been directed at me.

When I was eighteen, Gideon would charge alone at street thugs harassing me, his eyes red with rage.

All to defend me and seek justice.

The golden glow of the setting sun fell upon the young Gideon.

That's when I noticed a ten-centimeter knife wound across his chest, streaming with blood.

The doctor who treated him said if it had been an inch deeper, even a miracle worker couldn't have saved him.

When I tearfully rushed him to the hospital, Gideonstanding just one step away from death's doorshowed no fear of dying in his eyes.

Only endless distress at my tears.

In the final moment before the emergency room doors closed, he was still gently comforting me.

"As long as I'm alive, I'll protect you."

"No one in this world can bully my Serena!"

"And if they do, I'll make them pay a thousand times over, even if it costs me my life!"

In that moment, my heart thundered in my chest, and my tears flowed even more freely.

For his reckless, devoted love, and for my own hopeless infatuation.

Later, God took pity on that brave young man.

The scar on his chest became his get-out-of-jail-free card with me, used again and again.

Now, watching the two of them in front of me looking so in sync, images involuntarily flashed through my mind of Gideon being intimate with one mistress after another.

Finally freezing on the moment when I knelt on the ground begging him to come back, while people around me pointed and mocked.

I suddenly understoodfor these past five years, from beginning to end, I hadn't been begging for him to change his heart.

What I'd really been begging for was to see through it all myself. To finally give up hope.

At this realization, my emotions shifted from grief and fury to complete calm in an instant.

I instinctively touched my slightly burning eye sockets.

They were completely dry.

Looking up again, meeting Lillian Ross's provocative gaze, I said, "I'll let you have him."

The moment those words left my mouth, I turned to leave, but Gideon suddenly grabbed my arm.

His eyes were red, a flash of imperceptible panic crossing his face. His voice even carried a barely detectable tremor.

"Serena Winters, stop right there!"

"If you dare take one step away from here, I swear I'll"

Before he could finish, I pulled my arm free. "Then as you wish. Let's get divorced."

Gideon anxiously tried to follow, but Lillian Ross's tears held him back.

By the time he'd comforted her, I was already long gone from his sight.

3.

To raise money for my mother's next surgery, I quickly threw myself into a new production.

But just after I'd finished makeup and shot my scene in the water, I discovered the entire set was eerily empty and silent.

Looking up, I saw Lillian Ross standing there with a smug expression on her face.

She stood on the shore, reached out, and grabbed my hair hard.

Then she shoved me back down underwater.

The earthy smell from the water rushed into my nose. The suffocating sensation quickly spread through my entire body.

I tried to struggle, only to realize with horror that my hands were tied and twisted behind my back.

The slightest movement produced a muffled crack.

"Don't move," Lillian Ross's cunning voice came from above, even carrying a laugh.

"If you move around anymore, the ties in back will come loose. Tomorrow the whole world will be flooded with topless photos of our top actress! Hahaha!"

A chill shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head. Underwater, all I could hear was my pounding heartbeat mixed with my cries for help.

The next second, someone yanked me up from the water.

The thin fabric covering my chest was sliding down from the force of gravity. I instinctively tried to bend my arms to cover myself.

But my wrists were still locked in place, unable to move.

"Serena, smile! Let's take a photo together!"

Lillian Ross quickly pressed the shutter. The screen reflected my facepale, helpless, lips trembling non-stop.

Rage and humiliation nearly consumed my entire mind. I struggled desperately against the restraints behind me.

"Slap"

I used all my strength to deliver a vicious slap across Lillian Ross's face.

Her right cheek quickly swelled with a large bump. Her eyes went wide with instant fury.

But just as she was about to grab my hair, she suddenly fell backward with tears streaming down her face.

"Serena... I just came to try out for the second female lead position..."

"I never intended to steal your leading role. Please, stop..."

Lillian Ross's sudden change caught me completely off guard. "What are you talking about?"

"Serena Winters! What are you doing?!"

An angry shout came from behind me. Gideon had already crossed to stand in front of me and slapped me hard across the face.

Intense pain exploded, spreading rapidly from my cheek through my entire skull.

My vision darkened. The world spun.

Lillian Ross's aggrieved crying reached my ears. "Gideon, Serena saw me and immediately..."

"Maybe she thought I was trying to steal her leading role, so in her panic she..."

Her voice was thin, carrying a timid caution. After speaking, she deliberately revealed the bruised half of her face.

Lillian Ross's complete distortion of the truth hammered heavily at my heart.

Gideon's expression grew darker and darker. His gaze toward me was cold as ice.

"You're lying! Lillian Ross, you're completely twisting the truth!"

"You"

"What is she lying about! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Serena Winters, I thought your quiet behavior these past few days meant you'd recognized your mistakes. I didn't expect you to remain so unrepentant."

Gideon's chest heaved with anger. Even the finger he pointed at me was shaking.

"Lillian Ross didn't even press the issue about what happened before, and you still can't tolerate her?!"

I just stared at Gideon's eyes, red from anger.

Somewhere in my heart, it felt like a huge hole had been torn open.

Cold wind passed straight through, leaving only the whistling sound of wind.

"It's like this again, Gideon. Your eyes are wasted on you..."

"You've never believed me..."

I murmured repeatedly, and without realizing it, I was laughing through my tears.

"Gideon, are you truly blind in both heart and eyes? You're supposed to be a Best Actor, yet you can't even see through such poor acting."

"Serena Winters, you're being completely unreasonable!"

"You love acting so much, don't you? Let's see how you perform without any roles!"

My heart sank suddenly, plunging into an icy abyss.

Sure enough, the next second, Gideon called over the director.

He gave all my scenes to Lillian Ross.

Lying in Gideon's arms, Lillian Ross shot me a victor's smile when he wasn't looking.

"No, Gideon, you can't do this!"

"This production is very important to me. I can't lose it...!"

I closed my eyes. My mind filled with images of the hospital's payment reminders and my mother lying alone in her hospital bed.

"Serena Winters, you only have yourself to blame."

"This is what you owe Lillian Ross. Consider this role your compensation to her!"

My mind went blank. The terror of losing my mother consumed my entire consciousness.

Lillian Ross's triumphant, provocative gaze pierced through my heart like madness.

I lost control and charged forward. But a massive force grabbed my arm.

Gideon threw me hard to the ground.

He held Lillian Ross tightly in his arms, his eyes full of rage.

"Serena Winters, have you gone insane?!"

I screamed hoarsely through my tears.

"Gideon, can you really not see the truth?! You know how much I need this"

"Slap!"

All sound stopped abruptly with Gideon's slap.

Through my blurred vision, I saw countless curious and horrified eyes staring in our direction.

I could no longer feel the burning pain on my faceonly overwhelming humiliation scorching my skin at every moment.

"Serena Winters, I can't let you run wild anymore!"

"From start to finish, all I see is your viciousness! Someone, throw her in the water to reflect on her actions!"

Someone held me down and shoved me into the water. Murky river water poured into my nose and mouth.

That cold, deadly sensation washed over me again. Tears mixed with river water, drowning out my cries for help.

4.

I don't know how much time passed. Just when I thought I would die there, someone pulled me from the water.

I vomited up water weeds mixed with mud all over the ground.

They tossed me aside in a corner like a drowned dog.

Gideon grabbed my jaw, forcing me to lift my head.

"Serena Winters, when will you finally understand?"

"Life only gets better when you learn to behave."

I struggled to open my eyes and saw clearly the endless disappointment and disgust hidden in Gideon's gaze.

After speaking, he didn't spare me another glance. He picked up Lillian Ross and strode away.

The cold wind lifted the thin fabric on my body. I knelt on the ground, trembling violently.

But colder than this wind was the inescapable sense of humiliation from being publicly exposed.

I didn't understand why, even after I'd chosen to withdraw, they still wouldn't let me go.

Why use my life and my mother's as fuel for their love story?

My phone on the ground kept vibrating with a buzzing sound.

Following my gaze downward, I saw it was the hospital calling.

Ignoring the pain in my body, I hurriedly picked up the phone.

"I'm sorry, I might need to pay this time's fees a bit lat"

"Ms. Winters, because you've been delaying payment for the imported equipment for too long and the surgery couldn't be scheduled in time, your mother..."

"Please accept our condolences."

"What...?"

Tears and phone both fell to the ground at once.

The voice on the other end was still notifying me about funeral arrangements.

Tears blurred my vision. I slowly crouched down.

With trembling hands, I fumbled on the ground for a long time before finally touching my phone.

Using all my strength and suppressing the pain in my throat, I responded with a simple, "Okay."

Then, ignoring the shouts behind me and the strange looks from passersby, I ran barefoot straight toward the hospital.

The howling wind roared constantly in my ears. Tears mixed with sweat soaked through my clothes.

The hospital was eerily quiet. The empty ward contained only my mother's bed.

A large white sheet covered her body. She'd been lying here alone like this for so long.

I stopped in my tracks. All the strength drained from my body in an instant.

I crawled trembling to my mother's bedside, reaching out to touch her pale but kind face.

The moment I felt her cold skin, I truly realized it.

Mother was really dead.

I collapsed desperately on the floor. Surging pain nearly drowned me completely.

I'm sorry, Mom. I came too late.

I left you sleeping alone in this awful place for so long.

I'm a terrible daughter, aren't I?

Wind from outside blew in. The curtains lifted with a rustling sound.

I leaned against the wall, slowly propping up a body that no longer seemed to belong to me.

My hands hurt. My face hurt. My heart was numb with pain.

But my head felt light and airy. As the wind blew past, it felt like my head had been freed from some heavy shackle.

As if possessed, I climbed to the window.

I saw Gideon downstairs, carefully applying medicine to Lillian Ross's cheek.

But at this moment, my heart could no longer stir up any waves.

Golden sunlight poured in. I suddenly remembered how my mother loved freedom most when she was alive.

In that instant, I seemed to understand something.

I reached for the lighter on the ground.

I threw the lit flame toward the bed curtains.

Mom, I'm coming to join you.