Chapter 2

Lucy White traced her finger over the familiar-yet-strange handsome face on her phone screen, her lips curling into a self-deprecating smile.

In her past life, she had chased this man into the entertainment industry, only to end up broken and bruised. Now that she had a second chance, she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

"Michael Johnson, this time, I'm dumping you," she murmured softly before locking her phone.

She was still living in Michael’s apartment. Back then, she had moved in without hesitation just to be closer to him. The irony? After two years of living together, they had barely even held hands.

The elevator doors slid open with a ding.

Lucy dialed her best friend Sophia Taylor’s number. "Sophia, help me find a place. Yes, I'm moving out today."

Sophia’s surprised voice came through the phone. "You and Michael—"

"We’re done," Lucy said calmly. "I’ll explain when we meet."

Hanging up, she pressed the accelerator. The black car cut a sharp arc through the streets, heading toward the high-end apartments in the east district.

Meanwhile, on a film set in the west district...

Michael rubbed his temples and instinctively reached for his phone. The lock screen was empty—no messages, no missed calls.

"Strange..." he muttered with a frown. Given Lucy’s usual behavior, she should’ve already bombarded him with a dozen texts by now.

His long fingers hovered over the call button, but before he could press it, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Richard Brown stepped inside, wearing a perfectly practiced smile. "Just woke up?"

"Yeah." Michael leaned back lazily on the sofa. "What’s up?"

"Take a look at this." Richard handed over his phone, the screen displaying the top trending hashtag: #MichaelJohnsonSeenWithLilyGreenAtNight#

Michael barely glanced at it. "Let PR handle it."

"I already contacted Lucy," Richard sighed. "I wanted her to post a clarification on social media, saying she was with you last night. But she... refused."

"What?" Michael finally looked up. "What did she say?"

Richard hesitated. "She said... she doesn’t want to clean up your mess anymore."

Michael’s expression darkened instantly. He grabbed his phone and dialed Lucy’s number.

Ring... Ring...

The call was abruptly disconnected.

He tried again. Same result.

By the fifth attempt, his knuckles had turned white.

"What the hell is she playing at?" he gritted out.

Richard seized the moment to stir the pot. "Maybe she’s jealous. After all, you were helping Lily last night—"

"There’s nothing between me and Lily!" Michael snapped, standing abruptly. "She’s blowing this out of proportion!"

Before he could finish, the apartment door clicked open.

Lucy walked in, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. "Who’s blowing what out of proportion?"

Both men turned.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, outlining her slender figure. Michael froze for a second—something about Lucy today felt different.

"Why didn’t you answer my calls?" he demanded, voice low.

Lucy tossed her bag onto the sofa. "I didn’t feel like it. Problem?"

Michael was momentarily speechless. He took a deep breath and cut to the chase. "About the trending topic—post a clarification now."

"No." Her refusal was absolute.

"Lucy!" His voice rose. "Enough with the tantrums! Lily and I are just colleagues!"

She smirked coldly. "Really? Then why do you always rush to her side whenever she needs help?"

"Stop being unreasonable," Michael growled, loosening his tie in frustration. "Last night was an exception!"

"So exceptional you couldn’t even send a text?" Lucy met his gaze head-on. "Michael, I’m not your accessory."

Richard quickly intervened. "Lucy, Michael knows he messed up. How about dinner tonight to make it up to you?"

"Not interested." She turned toward the bedroom. "I’m busy."

Michael grabbed her wrist. "What the hell do you want?"

Lucy yanked her hand free and enunciated each word:

"To. Break. Up."

The air turned to ice.

Michael stared at her, stunned. "What did you say?"

Lucy smiled coldly. "I said—we’re done."