They Called Me a Failure I'm Secretly a CEO Chapter 2

The dressing rooms were soundproofed, private. The only person who could have filmed that video was the one who opened the door at the end: Ethan Cole.

The clip started right at my "confession," making it look like I was having a psychotic breakdown and professing my love for Sophia, only for her to reject me in disgust.

I found Ethan by the craft services table and held up my phone, playing the three-second clip. "You recorded me?"

He forced a nervous laugh. "Whoa, Liam, don't get the wrong idea. I was just taking a selfie and you were in the background, I didn't mean to—"

"Why was your camera pointed at me for a selfie? And if it was an accident, why did you post it?"

The color drained from his face. He realized his mistake—admitting he filmed it was admitting he leaked it. It completely contradicted his carefully crafted persona as the kind, harmless victim.

His eyes welled up, his lip trembling. The performance was flawless. "Liam, please," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Just stop going after my girlfriend, okay? I tried talking to you, but you wouldn't listen. I don't know how to fight with people... I just didn't know what else to do." He looked down, a single tear tracing a path down his cheek. "She's the first girl I've ever really loved like this. Please... just leave us alone."

I cut him off. "That whole routine might work on her, but it's wasted on me." My voice was flat. "You play enough games, and eventually, people see you for who you are. It's only a matter of time before she dumps you. Watch your back."

I turned and walked away.

The premise for this season of the reality show was a "back to basics" rural theme. As I was getting ready for the next leg of the trip out to some farm, my agent called.

"For God's sake, Liam, can you stay out of trouble for five minutes? You're trending for the third time today!"

I pulled up my phone. The number one trending topic had a big red "BREAKING" tag next to it:

Liam Knight Threatens Ethan Cole

Just moments before, an audio clip had been "leaked" by an anonymous "production staffer." It was the audio of my conversation with Ethan. I was certain we had been the only two people there.

My social media mentions were a war zone.

[Dude, get a clue. Sophia Rose herself confirmed Ethan is her boyfriend! And you're telling HIM to 'watch his back'?]

[Hope you die alone, you homewrecker.]

[Who is this clown? Oh, right, the guy who makes garbage movies. No wonder. His whole family is probably trash.]

...

At the same time, Ethan started a live stream from the back of his car. His eyes were red-rimmed, but he was smiling "bravely."

"Guys, please don't say mean things. I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding between me and Liam," he said softly. "It makes me sad to think I might have caused him any pain."

His fans were eating it up.

[OMG MY POOR BABY YOU ARE TOO KIND FOR THIS WORLD! Liam Knight is just a bully! DON'T DEFEND HIM!]

[You're so sweet, I'm crying for you! On my way to Liam's Twitter to light him up.]

[We will protect the kindest boy in the world! Liam Knight can rot!]

Sitting in the van, the world swam before my eyes. I picked up my phone and called Sophia again.