My Boyfriend Agent Betrayed Me

I'm an actress, and my boyfriendwho's also my agenttold me to gain twenty pounds to land a role.

But when I arrived on set, the director looked at me with regret and sighed.

Your acting is solid, but you're too heavy. Didn't your agent tell you this role requires someone slimmer?

I was about to ask my boyfriend what was going on.

But then I saw him smiling as he congratulated my rival, Natasha.

Turns out Natasha got the role.

When our eyes met, his expression was weary.

"She needs this role more than you do. Your acting is too goodto keep you from getting cast, I had to trick you into gaining weight."

"You've been pestering me about marriage, right? Perfect timingnow that you've gained weight and can't get any roles, let's hurry up and get married."

In that moment, I realized that in five years, he'd never forgotten Natasha.

I let out a bitter laugh and removed the simple ring engraved with his initials from my finger.

"No. We're breaking up."

The ring rolled under the sofa. Cameron's expression darkened.

"You want me to beg you to stay in front of her, to prove how important you are to me, is that it?"

I opened my mouth.

"No..."

Before I could finish, he raised his hand, impatience in his eyes.

"Don't explain. Whatever. Just don't come crying to me drunk later, begging to get back together."

I clutched the hem of my clothes, my cheeks burning.

It was more humiliating than being slapped in public.

Natasha tugged at his sleeve.

"I told you not to talk to girls like that... He's just blunt, he doesn't mean any harm, don't take it personally..."

Cameron pulled her away.

"Don't waste your breath on her. Don't you still need to pick out your costume?"

The two of them left without hesitation.

Their interaction was almost identical to the romantic clips that circulated online years agoso in sync, as if they'd never broken up at all.

Someone caught this moment on camera and posted it online from a burner account.

And once again, my figure became negative news.

[Oh my God, her body is seriously ugly. Does she even know she's an actress? Is she planning to play a pig with that weight?]

[I can't believe this. She just gains weight whenever she wantsdoes she have any professional standards? Can't she control her eating? Look at Natasha!]

I've had the kind of body that gains weight from drinking water since I was a kid.

The first time I was mass-ridiculed online for looking heavy on camera, I developed depression and had to take hormones to control it.

My weight skyrocketed again. Directors rejected me. I was on the verge of giving up my acting dreams.

That's when Cameron pushed through the crowd of people mocking me and took me away.

Looking at my tear-streaked makeup, he said, "Everyone already looks down on youare you going to bully yourself too?"

From that moment on, I saw him as my guiding light. I followed him silently, and I fell for him.

He knew how hard my journey had been. He knew how much I trusted him.

And now, he'd shattered that trust with his own hands.

My phone chimed.

It wasn't a message from himit was several loyal fans privately messaging me on social media, telling me to fire my agent.

From the first time I worked with Cameron and got cyberbullied over styling and unflattering roles, they'd been telling me to drop him.

But I always believed that as long as my acting was solid, I could play any role well, no matter how thankless.

But now, the labels of "most vicious" and "most foolish supporting character" had been nailed to me, even seeping into my real life.

Only now did I realize how laughable my confidence was in the face of the contrast he deliberately created.

My assistant sighed.

"Stop reading that. I signed you up for a weight loss program."

I took a deep breath, staring out at the rainy weather.

"Don't bother. Doesn't the company want me to go international? Director Andrew's projectlet's take it."

My assistant looked at me in shock.

"If you take that project, you'll be working in Europe for two years. What about you and Cameron?"

I cut her off calmly.

"It doesn't matter. From now on, my business has nothing to do with him."

When my manager found out I'd agreed to change my development path, he was thrilled.

To build momentum for me, he didn't pull down the online rumors.

At least I wasn't as psychologically fragile as I used to be.

But as I was filling out the overseas assignment form, Cameron stormed into the office in a rage.

"I told you when I got here not to create rumors about Natasha. Now the internet is full of people calling her manipulative..."

He hadn't expected me to be there. His anger stopped abruptly, replaced by a trace of embarrassment.

Rumor had it that after he and Natasha broke up, the company spent a fortune to poach him and agreed to many unfair terms.

I just hadn't expected one of those terms to be about Natasha.

Looking back, when he was supposedly trying to make me famous, he ignored positive PR about my professionalism and kindness.

Instead, he churned out rumors about me for freeabout my looks, my body, my personality, one after another, sometimes trending all day.

When crazed fans stalked me, he never showed an ounce of concern or anger.

Just like nowboth situations involved rumors, but his eyes only held Natasha.

I let out an inexplicable laugh. His expression turned ugly.

"I knew it. The manager promised me he wouldn't go after her, so it was you, wasn't it?"

"You're upset that I lied to you and gave her the role, so you got your fans to call her manipulative, to say she's using me to suppress and smear you and your roles?"

I frowned slightly, about to explain, when Cameron's phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID labeled "Natasha," he answered in seconds.

It was treatment I'd never received in five yearsnot even when stalker fans chased my car and I called him for help.

"Cameron, someone leaked photos of you and Priscilla on a date. Now everyone's saying Natasha is a homewrecker who came between you two."

"She's crying uncontrollably, threatening to jump off a building to prove her innocence!"

In that moment, he panicked so badly his legs went weak. The look he gave me was full of resentment.

"You're ruthless. To destroy her, you'll even flip over your own meal ticket!"

He didn't give me a chance to speak. He stumbled away.

The manager looked at me helplessly.

"We didn't buy those photos. Should I..."

I forced a smile.

"Don't bother. Let him think whatever he wants. I'm leaving anyway."

The manager sighed and took the form from my hands.

Not even three minutes after I left the office, my phone buzzed with a special notification from social media.

I opened it to see Cameron had reposted the most-viewed dating photo.

[Not in a relationship. Just colleagues. Natasha and I never broke up. All marketing involving Priscilla was work-related. There is no homewrecking situation.]

My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand.

When he was first poached by the company to manage me, Natasha's fans said I'd stolen him away, that I was the catalyst for their breakup.

After paparazzi photos of us together surfaced, it confirmed everything.

I endured a full year of cyberbullying. At its worst, the company suggested we officially announce our relationship to clear things up.

But he always used the excuse that I needed to focus on my career, refusing again and again, watching me get cursed at in public.

And now he'd given the official announcement that should've been mine to his ex.

He still let the "homewrecker" label follow me.

Only now did I understandtrue love has no obstacles. The only obstacle was that he never loved me.

The company couldn't do anything about him, so they assigned me a new agent and rushed to officially clear up the relationship.

But when it came time to transfer responsibilities, he refused.

"I've managed her for so many yearsno one knows better than me how she should develop!"

His sudden change in attitude was laughable, and it only confirmed my role as a stepping stone, a foil.

I looked at him quietly, my eyes filled with unfathomable numbness and sorrow.

"No. I know what's best for myself."

He stiffened, as if he'd never expected me to talk to him this way.

In the past, the company had also suggested changing agents.

But he never even had to objectI'd refuse on my own, wanting any excuse to spend more time with him.

But now that I was standing firm, he was completely powerless.

As the tension peaked, the manager pulled out my overseas assignment form.

"Actually, it's because Priscilla is leaving..."

Cameron frowned, reaching for the document.

I moved in front of him immediately.

"I decide my own career path. If not me, then the company will. If you won't transfer your duties, I'll do it myself."

With that, I folded the form and handed it to the manager, shaking my head gently.

As I turned to leave, Cameron reached out to grab my wrist, but I dodged him.

After the unpleasant confrontation, I went home and started packing.

As I was organizing, my phone buzzed with a rare message from him.

[She's psychologically fragile. I was just comforting her. Don't overthink it.]

This was the first time in a month he'd voluntarily talked to me about something unrelated to workand it was still about Natasha.

But when I'd acted cute, asked for support, complained, or sought comfort, his most common response was [Be strong.]

I didn't call him immediately like I used to, acting cute and vulnerable, expressing my relationship needs and asking him to care more about me.

After all, what was the point?

Soon, the password lock at my door beeped with several failed attempts.

My heart jumped. I opened the security camera to see him at the door.

My heart settled, and along with it, my expectations of him.

A simple anniversary passwordin five years, he'd never successfully opened this door.

But the social media login password he hadn't used in two years, the one based on Natasha's birthday, took him less than a minute to remember this afternoon.

I put down what I was holding and let him in.

His eyes held a trace of concern.

"Why didn't you open the door? I thought something happened to you."

I found it ridiculous.

"What could happen? I have a very strong mental state."

He frowned slightly. The guilt in his eyes disappeared.

"The rumors and gossip were released by her own company. I didn't get the full story before I verbally attacked youthat's my fault."

"But you don't need to be so passive-aggressive about her. She and I only broke up because of the company. There's nothing between us."

"That statement was also posted from my account by her. By the time I noticed, there was no way to clarify. I already told you we can get married right now. You don't need to keep harping on this."

Seeing the barely concealed impatience in his eyes,

I suddenly spoke up.

"So if you two hadn't broken up, would you talk to her like this too? Demanding she marry you without even proposing?"

He looked irritated.

"That's not important. Right now you're in the rising phase of your career, you can't..."

My heart clenched suddenly.

Before he could finish, I slapped him across the face, my voice terrifyingly calm.

"You know I'm in my rising phase, but you still tricked me into gaining weight!"

"Yes, none of it matters. Whether your excuses were for my good or because you can't forget hernone of it matters. What matters is we've already broken up."

"Now get out of my house immediately! I don't want to see you!"

His eyes reddened with anger and a trace of shock at being kicked out for the first time.

He slammed the door on his way out, leaving behind a vicious parting shot.

"You'll regret this!"

In five years, I'd always accommodated him. We'd never had this kind of hostile atmosphere.

So when he realized I was no longer easy to control, no longer compliant, he pulled out all the dirty tricks he'd kept hidden.

My new agent, Livingston, said there was a charity gala to attend that evening.

But when I arrived, I discovered it was a low-end commercial drinking party.

Cameron and Natasha sat on either side of the boss.

Livingston gently pushed me inside.

"Your resources have been downgraded and you're not making money. Cameron said if you can help Natasha handle this event, he'll get the director to give you a good role."

When I was a newcomer working with Cameron, I couldn't land good roles or get paid, which dragged down his performance bonuses and evaluations.

To avoid being a burden to him, I secretly accepted a commercial dinner reception.

At first it was just drinking. Then several people started forcing drinks on me.

I tried to run, but the door was locked.

They groped me lewdly all over. Just as I was losing hope, Cameron kicked the door open, holding an axe, and split the round table in half.

His eyes bloodshot, he pulled me into his arms protectively.

He took me back and scolded me the whole way, saying I had no brains.

He said these drinking parties almost always ended in sleeping with clients.

By the end of his lecture, I'd gone silent, blood flowing from my mouth like water.

That time, his face showed a panic I'd never seen before.

After that, I almost never attended events that required drinking.

Seeing me frozen in place, Natasha walked over with a smile.

"It's my fault. I said I couldn't drink much but didn't want to refuse the investor's goodwill, so he said you could drink and called you over."

"You don't mind, right? After all, we're just trying to get you roles."

Seeing the triumph mixed with provocation in her eyes, I was surprisingly calm.

Fine. I'd drink tonight.

After tomorrow, all grudges would end.

I raised my glass, meeting his surprised and slightly nervous gaze.

"Thank you all for this opportunity."

The cheap alcohol burned down my esophagus into my stomach.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and poured another glass.

"But this time..."

Before I could finish, Cameron frowned and snatched the glass from my hand.

His voice was low.

"If you can't drink, don't! Do you have to be so stubborn? Is it that hard to give in?"

I smiled. Just as I was about to speak, a clattering sound came from overhead.

Before we could look up, the room began shaking violently.