The Final Cut: Out of Her Shadow

At the wrap party, everyone was cheering and egging on Valerie Stone and Chase Montgomery to recreate the kiss from the show.

The two looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.

A second later, their lips were locked together.

Amidst the excited screams, someone suddenly shouted, Lets get the second male lead and the female lead to share one too!

Valeries eyes instantly darkened.

I was the second male lead.

And I was Valeries actual boyfriend.

The room fell completely silent under Valeries icy glare.

It was a little awkward.

Chase quickly grabbed Valeries hand. "Alright, guys, knock it off. Ill kiss Val again for you, but dont force her to do something she doesn't like."

Something she doesn't like?

I wonder who it was that got drunk the night before and clung to me, kissing me for ten minutes straight.

I set down my glass, stood up, and walked toward Valerie.

"Its just a kiss, isn't it?" I smiled. "It's no big deal. Play along, our Best Actress."

Valerie furrowed her brows. "Wyatt."

It was a warning tone.

"Wyatt," Chase also reached out to shield Valerie. "Everyone's just joking around. Don't take it seriously."

I lowered my gaze. Valeries hand was resting perfectly on his waist.

The way they were holding each other, you'd think they were tragically being torn apart.

"Screw off," I said flatly.

Chase froze, turning to look at Valerie.

Valeries face grew even darker.

"Wyatt, stop causing a scene," she said sternly.

Chase tugged at her arm gently. "Wyatt must be drunk. Its the wrap party today, you cant be mad at him."

She let out a soft, affectionate huff and flipped her hand over, gently holding his.

How incredibly intimate.

I looked up at this woman leaning into Chases embrace.

Just like in the show, I was the malicious supporting character, and she was fiercely in love with the leading man.

Even though I was her actual boyfriend, she had never once acknowledged me in front of others.

"Screw off," I repeated, swallowing my disgust.

"This time, both of you. Screw off together."

The main characters, of course, did not screw off.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, I slammed the door and left.

While I was sitting alone on the hotel rooftop having a drink, a text from Valerie came through.

"Come back and apologize to Chase."

"Just say you had too much to drink."

Heh.

Without a second thought, I blocked her number.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, and I looked up.

I couldn't help but think about the four years I had spent with Valerie.

For four years, I stayed by her side, watching her grow from a trending internet star to an award-winning A-lister.

Back then, she starred in a low-budget web series that accidentally blew up.

Her agency arranged for her to do a PR showmance with the male lead, Chase, and she had no way to refuse.

She was miserable at first. She used to hold me and say, "I really don't want to fake this relationship with him. I have to pretend he's you just to force a smile."

She said, "Wyatt, wait for me. Wait until Im a big star who can stand on my own, wait until Im no longer controlled by them. I promise Ill tell the whole world that I love you."

Back then, we would dream about our future together.

A dog, two kids, three meals a day, four seasons a year, our hearts beating as one.

When did it start to change?

She replied to my texts less and less, yet the way she looked at Chase grew softer and softer.

They kept up their PR romance for four years. They never officially confirmed it, but the tension was always there.

In public, he would tie her shoelaces on set and take her for scenic bike rides into the hills between takes. In private, she would lend him her lawyers for his defamation suits and bring him along to private dinners with renowned directors.

The fans called them the "Details Couple," always finding sweet little romantic clues in their interactions.

Maybe some things, after being acted out for so long, eventually become real.

I was just trapped in the game, too foolish to realize it.

When my manager, Toby, called, I was already a little tipsy.

"Wyatt, where are you?"

I mumbled a vague response.

"Something happened! You're trending everywhere!"

Trending?

That sobered me up halfway. I opened my phone.

Someone had leaked a video of the wrap party online.

The top four trending hashtags were all about Valerie and Chase.

#ValerieAndChaseChemistry #ValerieChaseWrapPartyKiss #WhenWillValerieAndChaseGoPublic #HowMuchWouldYouGiveForValerieChaseWedding And starting from the fifth spot, it was all me.

#WyattTheClown #WyattBullyingChase #WyattNepoBaby The comments under the tags were tearing me apart.

"Who does this guy think he is? Does he have no shame? With that filthy mouth of his, he actually thought he could kiss our Valerie."

"So disgusting. Did they spray air freshener in the room after he left?"

"He acts like such a diva, slamming the door and storming out. Who gave him the audacity? Someone needs to investigate who his sugar daddy is. Trash."

"Ugh, I'm so mad! Just because he bought his way in doesn't mean he gets to bully our Chase!"

"I usually separate the character from the actor, but with Wyatt, he was clearly just playing himself."

"Zero acting skills and brought his own funding. I heard he practically bought the second male lead role. No wonder he plays the villain so well!"

Bought the role. Heh. I definitely didn't buy the role.

I had originally earned the male lead for this show through my own hard work. But right before filming started, Valeries agency pressured the producers to swap me out for Chase.

They said Chase and Valerie had more on-screen chemistry, and thats what would make the show a hit.

Valerie even came to me and said that if we played a couple on screen, shed have a hard time controlling herself and might expose our real relationship.

I refused and got into a massive fight with her.

"My contract with the agency is expiring soon. Wyatt, can't you just be understanding for once?"

She said I wasn't thinking about her.

But she had no idea how hard I had worked to win that role.

The director didn't agree with the change at first either. She chatted with me, saying she would stick by her casting choice.

But the next day, the director was fired.

And I was reassigned to the second male lead. The malicious villain.

That night, watching Valerie and Chase do joint promotional interviews for the new show, I chewed on a piece of plain bread bite by bite.

They say bread tastes sweeter the longer you chew it, but all I tasted was bitterness.

Sometimes, people just refuse to give up hope until they see and hear it with their own eyes and ears.

Back then, I still harbored a sliver of delusion. I thought that once her contract ended and she was free of her restrictions, we could finally be together openly.

I wanted to be close to her. I wanted to spend more time with her, so I still took the role.

But it felt like swallowing knives every day, witnessing her and Chase's "sweet affection" off-camera, every single second.

I scrolled further down and saw another trending tag.

#ValerieProtectsHerMan The comments were flooded with demands for them to get married. And of course, every few lines, there was a curse or insult hurled at me.

They said someone who bullies people like I do should go die.

An hour had passed. Valerie hadn't posted a single clarification. Everyone involved stayed completely silent, letting the trending tags climb to the very top.

I took out my phone and unblocked Valerie.

I had been impulsive earlier.

Things still needed to be made clear.

Word by word, I typed out the sentence I never thought I would ever write.

"Valerie, let's break up."

It took Valerie three hours to find me.

"Are you drunk? Did you seriously block me?!" she said, walking over and grabbing my arm.

"Don't touch me," I said, shaking her off.

"Wyatt, there's a limit to throwing a tantrum," she lowered her voice. "Causing a scene at the wrap party was your fault to begin with."

"Was I wrong to ask you to apologize? You could have solved this with a simple apology, but you had to blow it up so the whole internet knows."

I let out a dry laugh.

"And did you suffer any losses?"

She went silent.

Of course she didn't. This was incredible free publicity. The show was viral before it even aired.

That was why all the trending hate toward me was still up. Nobody was going to deal with it.

It was pathetic.

I was pathetic.

I stood up unsteadily and pushed her away. "Valerie, I really mean it. We're done. Stay as far away from me as possible from now on."

"You're drunk." She frowned.

"I mean every word."

Valerie stared at me silently for a moment, sighed, and softened her tone.

"Honey, let's stop fighting, okay? Let's go home."

"You leave. Toby is coming to pick me up soon!"

But instead of leaving, she forcefully squeezed into my arms. "Stop making a fuss. Come home with me. Ill pretend I didnt hear you this time, but you are never allowed to mention breaking up again. Do you hear me?"

With that, she looked up and tried to kiss me.

To be honest, her tricks used to work on me.

A few times when we fought over Chase, this was exactly how she coaxed me back.

But this time, just thinking about how she had been plastered against Chase a few hours ago made my stomach turn.

"Valerie! Stone!" I pushed her away with all my strength and turned my head. "Do you not understand English? I am breaking up with you!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the rooftop door. Toby was standing there, his eyes wide.

He must have just arrived.

I pushed Valerie away, grabbed Toby's arm, and walked off.

"Wyatt!" Valeries voice rang out from behind, carrying the subtle, bruised anger of someone who had just lost face.

"Say what you just said one more time."

I took a deep breath, turned around, looked her in the eye, and enunciated every word.

"I. Want. To. Break. Up. With. You."

"Fine. Fine. Perfect," she laughed coldly. "A breakup, right?"

"I accept. Don't come crawling back."