A Dazzling Career Without Me

At the celebration party for Theo Delgadomy boyfriend of ten years, who had just won Best Actorsomeone suggested playing a finger-folding game.

His assistant was the first to look at me, smiling as he spoke.

I've never spent ten years with a man, helping him rise from a nobody to Best Actor, only to find out in the end that I was the mistress no one could know about.

The room went silent in an instant.

The next second, Theo took my hand and folded down one finger without hesitation.

"Since it's all out in the open, consider the money you earned off me these ten years my compensation to you."

He spoke calmly, like he was settling an old account.

"I'll admit ityou're very good at landing resources for me."

"But after sleeping with you for ten years, I got bored a long time ago."

"Rowena is clean, young, and carrying my child. I can't keep leaving her without a name or a title."

"So I've already announced on Twitter that she and I are legally married."

Finally, someone in the room laughed out loud.

"So what if she toughed it out for ten years? We've been calling Rowena the boss's wife for ages."

"Beulah's slept with who knows how many people to snatch resources. Theo got sick of how dirty she is long ago."

My stomach turned.

So it turned out that all the storms I'd fought so hard to shield him from were, in their eyes, nothing but the cheap sacrifice a woman had made of her own accord.

I went cold all over, my hands trembling as I opened my phone.

Theo's marriage announcement had already shot to number one on the trending searches.

They thought that winning Best Actor meant they had everything.

But they forgot.

Theo hadn't made it this far on his acting alone.

There were also the resources and connections in my hands, and the studio I had built with my own two hands.

I wiped away my tears, turned, and dialed that number.

"I accept the offer. And I have one more piece of news for you."

"Theo Delgado's era is over."

...

When I came back from the restroom, my hands were still shaking.

Theo's closest buddy, Kent Dickerson, raised his glass with a teasing look.

"The game goes on."

"Today we're celebrating Theo winning Best Actor, so nobody gets to ruin the mood."

"Here's mine. I've never desperately helped a man fight for resources until I drank myself into a stomach hemorrhage, only to find out everyone had gone to his legal-marriage banquet with someone else."

Once again the whole room turned to me with mockery.

Theo casually pressed down another one of my fingers.

Kent grinned and pushed his glass toward me.

"We all went to Theo and Rowena's legal-marriage banquet last Valentine's Day."

Theo's other buddy, Reginald Taylor, laughed too.

"You were busy fighting for Theo's resources, so we didn't invite you."

My heart clenched with a sharp pain.

Last Valentine's Day, to help Theo land the male lead in Twilight, I was forced to drink by the investors until my stomach bled.

That night my stomach felt like it was being twisted by a knife, and everything I threw up was blood.

Yet I kept my face steady, forcing down glass after glass and smiling through it.

Only because Theo had told me then that this resource was the closest he'd ever get to Best Actor.

He said, "Beulah, I don't want you toughing it out with me anymore. Once I win this award, it's my turn to take care of you."

When I came to in the hospital bed, my first instinct was to message Theo.

"Got the resource. Go sign the contract tomorrow."

But his reply never came.

I made sixty-five calls, and every one went unanswered.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that he finally texted me back.

"Got it. Been busy, didn't check my phone."

Turned out he'd been busy getting legally married to another woman.

While I was fighting for him at the drinking table, he was helping Rowena pick out a wedding ring.

While I lay in the hospital waiting for a single word of concern from him, he had his arm around Rowena, accepting congratulations at their legal-marriage banquet.

Even the road to Best Actor that I'd paved for him with ten years of everything I had ended up as the bride price for him marrying Rowena.

My gaze swept over them.

Not one of these peoplepeople I had brought into the industry, people I had lifted uphad thought to warn me.

When Reginald first got into the business, he couldn't even read an agency contract. I taught him step by step and helped him find his footing.

When Gayle was still an intern, she couldn't even put together a call sheet. I guided her, bit by bit, into becoming a project lead.

As for Kent.

When his father was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure, Theo was still a nobody, and I took out every dollar I'd saved to buy a home and covered his surgery.

He once knelt in front of me and said,

"Beulah, for the rest of my life you're my own sister."

But now.

That "sister" was still there.

It had just become what they used to mock me with at the table.

I took the glass and was about to drink.

But Theo naturally caught my wrist and took the glass away.

"Your stomach's bad. I'll drink this one for you."

His tone and his movements were as familiar as they'd always been.

I froze for a moment.

The first time the investors forced me to drink, he'd snatched my glass the same way, his eyes red.

Drinking it down for me, glass after glass.

Back then I thought he truly cared about me.

So no matter how hard it got afterward, I was willing to bear it all for him.

But now.

The hand that used to take the drinks for me was already wrapped around Rowena's waist, without a shred of hesitation.

Rowena pouted and refused to let it go.

"Sweetie, she did stick with you for ten years, after all. You're the legal wife, be a little gracious."

"Fine."

"Then you have to admit out loud that she's the mistress, and only then will I let you drink for her."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Every eye landed on Theo.

I looked at him too.

In that moment, I was somehow still waiting for his answer.

But he only paused for a second,

then raised his hand and gently stroked Rowena's hair.

"Whatever you say goes."

The words fell, and the whole room burst into laughter.

I looked at Theo.

Suddenly the person in front of me felt like a total stranger.

The man who had once shielded me from every hurt

had now, with his own hands, turned me into a joke in everyone's eyes.

I said nothing more and stood to leave.

But Kent spoke up, smiling.

"Beulah, leaving already?"

"The game isn't over yet."

Theo pressed down on my shoulder and forced me back into my seat.

"Don't be difficult."

"Finish having your fun before you go."

I looked at this person I had trusted without reservation for ten years.

The next second.

I pushed his hand away and sat back down.

Not because I couldn't bear to let go.

I just wanted to know

exactly how cruel this man I'd once loved so desperately could be to me.

Gayle's eyes filled with sympathy, and after hesitating a moment, she spoke.

"I wasn't foolishly waiting to be proposed to, not knowing it was never going to happen, and being made a joke of by everyone for three years."

The moment those words landed,

my breath stopped completely for an instant.

Rowena sat up straight in Theo's arms.

She touched her belly, smiling sweetly and smugly.

"So you really did break your own fingers, Beulah."

"Hehe, when I told you Theo had already agreed to my proposal, I was lying to you."

"Every year, all of us waited to watch you get played."

I blinked numbly.

Three years ago, Theo said he'd propose to me on our anniversary.

Told me to look forward to it.

And I foolishly believed him.

The first year, we set it at an amusement park.

I showed up all dressed up, and waited until the night session closed, but he never came.

Afterward he said he'd been so exhausted from filming night scenes that he'd accidentally slept through it.

The second year, it was a fancy restaurant I'd had to book six months ahead to get a table at.

Once again I waited from morning until night.

He said something had come up at the last minute and he was needed to save the day on set.

Before he hung up, he swore he'd never miss it again the next year.

The third year.

He booked my favorite restaurant well in advance.

He even made a point of telling me to wear the dress he'd given me.

I waited all night, full of hope, and all I got was a text from him in the early morning.

Something came up last minute, I didn't have a chance to tell you.

It wasn't until the next day that I saw it in the trending searches.

The night before, he'd been photographed on a luxury yacht, on a sweet date with Rowena.

That day happened to be our tenth anniversary.

I was so furious I gave him the silent treatment for half a month.

And yet, even so, I still handled the PR for him right away.

Because back then I thought

he'd only made a mistake, not that he didn't want me anymore.

Theo lit a cigarette and took a drag.

"The girl got a little carried away with her games."

"But surely you can be understanding about it."

"After all, you've been through plenty of hardship in this industry. A little thing like this shouldn't be much to you."

The bent fingers dug hard into my palm.

I slowly raised my head to look at him, my eyes going red.

"Just because I've been through hardship doesn't mean I deserve to be hurt by all of you."

"You could have just told me you wanted to break up."

"But you didn't."

"You chose to lie to me for three years, chose to let everyone watch me be a joke."

"Theo, this is humiliation."

Theo still lounged lazily against the sofa, with even a trace of exasperation in his eyes.

"I just got legally married to Rowena and made it public."

"I never broke up with you."

"If I wanted to humiliate you, I could have kicked you aside the moment I won Best Actor."

"But I didn't."

"Isn't that enough to prove I still have you in my heart?"

I looked at him, unable to say a single word.

So it turned out the most terrifying thing about a person isn't that they hurt you,

but that while they hurt you with total self-righteousness, they also believe they're being good to you.

He smiled faintly, thinking he'd won me over.

"Still, you broke three of your fingers."

"A bet's a bet, and you lost."

"You have to agree to one condition from Rowena."

I finally understood.

Tonight was never a victory celebration.

It was an ambush arranged specifically for me.

I looked at him.

"What are your conditions?"

Theo spoke calmly.

"From now on, Rowena is publicly my agent."

"The studio's manager and financial director both get switched to her too."

Looking at Theo, I suddenly found it laughable.

It wasn't that he didn't know.

The one who worked the drinking circuit for him, fought for his resources, built his connections, and put him in the Best Actor's seat was me.

But now,

with a few careless words,

he was about to hand the empire I'd spent ten years building over to another woman.

Yet I felt no anger, and I didn't demand answers.

I just nodded slightly.

"Fine."

"I agree."

Theo was clearly stunned.

As if he hadn't expected me to agree so readily.

"You"

I stood up and took my coat off the back of the chair.

"Since the game is over."

"The rest of you, carry on as you please."

With that, I turned and left.

But Theo chased after me.

"Beulah."

I stopped in my tracks.

He walked up to me, frowning.

"What exactly are you making a fuss about?"

I just found it absurd.

Cheated on, mocked, my boyfriend secretly getting legally married to another woman and announcing it publicly, and he still thought I was the one making a scene.

Theo sighed.

"The jokes tonight went a little far, but don't take it to heart."

"I had no choice. Rowena is carrying my child, and all she wants now is a title, so I have to give her one."

He was the one who betrayed me and humiliated me,

yet now he acted like a man with no choice, as if refusing to forgive him meant I was the one being immature.

Seeing me silent, he assumed I had given in once again.

He rested his hand on my shoulder, his tone very soft.

"Besides, there's no need for you to be angry with me over this."

"Handing the studio to Rowena is just a title, that's all."

"The one who can really hold all of this up is still you."

"And besides, do our ten years really need some empty title to prove them?"

I looked at him.

The absurdity in my chest could no longer be held down.

So it turned out that in Theo's heart, the title could be given to someone else, and all I had to do was keep giving.

He had never once imagined that I would leave.

He simply took it for granted that even after he pushed me into this humiliating position with his own hands, I would stay behind him and clean up the mess, just as I had for the past ten years.

I pried his fingers off my shoulder one by one.

"Theo."

"The debt I owed you for shielding me in that car accident back then, I've already repaid it with the humiliation I took tonight."

Theo went slightly still.

Nine years ago.

Theo had been driving me to a scheduled appearance.

Late at night, a large truck with a fatigued driver lost control and came barreling straight at us.

In that life-or-death moment.

Without hesitation, Theo yanked the wheel hard to the right, taking the truck's impact on his own side.

Every airbag deployed. He broke five ribs, while I, in the passenger seat, was completely unharmed.

Afterward, even the doctors marveled.

In a crisis, people instinctively protect themselves, but what he instinctively protected was me.

Five ribs, in exchange for a lifetime of my unwavering devotion.

Until tonight, when I could no longer keep deceiving myself.

At the mention of the past, Theo softened a little too.

"Beulah."

"Once Rowena gives birth, I'll divorce her and marry you."

"For now let's just give her all these titles, all right?"

I answered softly.

"Fine."

"I don't want them anymore."

I don't want any of it anymore.

And I don't want him anymore.

But he let out a breath of relief, his brows smoothing out.

The taxi arrived.

He opened the car door for me.

I got in and was about to shut it.

But he reached out and stopped me.

I looked up at him.

He hesitated for a moment.

"Beulah."

"The PR for the announcementyou handle it."

I sat in the taxi.

For the first time in ten years, I didn't rush to manage Theo's public opinion crisis first.

Instead, I opened my own Twitter and drafted a statement.

As of today, I am no longer serving as Mr. Theo Delgado's agent, and my collaboration with Delgado Studio is officially over.

I tapped send.

I stared at that post for a few seconds.

No tears, none of the pain I had imagined.

Less than half a minute later, my phone rang, and a clear, lovely woman's voice came through.

"Congratulations on joining Stellar International."

"Word got out that you were coming, and every rising star at the company is fighting to have you manage them."

I let out a soft laugh.

The suffocating weight that had been pressing on my chest all night finally began to ease for the first time.

"Workaholic, let me rest a few days first."

"My flight's tomorrow afternoon."

The person on the other end couldn't help but laugh.

"Theo really is blind."

"He'll never understand in his whole life what a top agent is worth."

After I hung up.

My phone quickly filled with messages trying to poach me.

I replied politely to each one: "I'll think about it."

When I got home, to my surprise, I didn't lie awake.

For the first time in ten years, I didn't jolt awake in the middle of the night over Theo's appearances, business deals, or public opinion.

When I woke around noon the next day, I heard sounds coming from the living room.

I walked out and saw Rowena sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

Theo was peeling grapes, feeding them to her one at a time.

My steps froze.

"What are you doing here?"

Rowena looked up at me and smiled sweetly.

"I'm Theo's legal wife."

"Is there a problem with me living in my own home?"

I was stunned for a moment.

She stroked the ring on her finger.

"Theo already had someone change the property deed yesterday."

"This is our wedding home now."

I stood frozen in place.

This apartment was one Theo bought for me when he first got paid as a leading man.

Back then he'd said, "Beulah, once we get married, we'll live here."

When we decorated it, I picked out every detail myself, from the color of the floors to the style of the curtains.

I thought this was our home.

It wasn't until today that I learned

it had only ever been what I thought.

Theo tossed the grape skins into the trash can.

His tone was calm.

"Rowena's pregnant, so it's easier to look after her if we move back in."

When he finished, he glanced at me.

"But don't worry, she won't drive you out."

"You can stay as long as you like."

Suddenly it all felt absurd.

He thought leaving me a place to live was making it up to me.

As if I should be grateful as long as he hadn't abandoned me completely.

I said nothing more, turned, and went back to my room to pack.

When I opened the closet, my hands suddenly stopped.

The heirloom bridal gown my mother had embroidered for me by hand before she died was gone.

I searched the whole room and couldn't find it.

Finally, in the living room, I saw them getting ready to leave,

and there, on Rowena, was that bridal gown.

My whole body went rigid.

Theo noticed my stare and fell silent for a moment.

"Rowena likes it."

"I'll give it back to you after we finish the wedding photos."

The tears fell instantly.

That gown was one my mother had embroidered stitch by stitch before she passed.

By then her health was already failing, but she took painkillers and insisted on finishing those last few stitches.

Before she died, in front of Theo, she placed the gown in my hands.

"Your mother may not live to see you married."

"But on your wedding day, wear this."

"And it'll be like your mother is still with you."

Theo had held her hand and made a solemn promise.

"Ma'am, I will take care of Beulah for the rest of my life."

But now he stood beside another woman.

Silently letting her wear the gown my mother left me.

I rushed over.

"Take it off."

"That was left to me by my mother."

Theo stepped in front of Rowena and grabbed my wrist.

"Beulah, don't be difficult."

"She's just borrowing it for a bit."

I looked at him, my voice trembling beyond my control.

"You know exactly what this gown means to me."

"It's the last thing my mother left me."

Theo avoided my eyes.

"I'll make it up to you."

I suddenly laughed.

I shook off his hand.

"Theo."

"I don't want your compensation."

He told Rowena to go wait for him in the car first.

Only once it was just the two of us in the living room did he lower his voice.

"Rowena's pregnant, her emotions are sensitive."

"She just wanted to wear this gown and take a set of wedding photos."

"Be good, and once the child is older, I'll take care of everything."

"In the end, the one who stays with me for life is still you."

I closed my eyes.

My fingers tightened bit by bit.

In that moment, even anger felt unnecessary.

"Get lost, Theo!"

"You make me sick."

He froze for a second,

then reached out to wipe my tears.

I turned my head away.

He was silent for a moment.

"Then once you've calmed down, handle the PR for the public announcement first."

"Don't let it get in the way of work."

With that, he hurried off.

I wiped away my tears, took out my phone, and called a moving company.

"Come over now."

"Move everything out of the house."

There was a pause on the other end.

"The furniture too?"

I looked at everything familiar in the living room.

No hesitation.

"Yes."

"Leave nothing behind."

After I hung up.

I packed my carry-on and drove to the airport.