I was my own greatest rival. Simply because I had too many secret identities. The A-list actress, the mysterious best-selling novelist, the cult-favorite comic artist, the top-tier voice actress, the pet influencer… I don't know how it happened, but my "A-list Actress" persona and my "Best-selling Novelist" persona started a war on Twitter. Watching the drama spiral out of control, I logged into my author account to settle things. "Stop fighting. An author's job is to write in peace. Stay out of the Hollywood drama, sweetie." The next morning, my phone nearly exploded. My manager called me, sounding like she was having a mental breakdown. "Aria Thorne! Who gave you permission to publicly shade Sloane Winter?!" 01 Bad news: I am Aria Thorne. Worse news: I am also Sloane Winter. If that tweet had been posted from the Sloane Winter account, it would have meant the author was gracefully bowing out of the conflict. But because I was half-asleep and blind, I forgot to switch accounts. I posted it from the Aria Thorne account. Now, it looked like Aria Thorne—the "hollow" Hollywood star—was condescendingly telling Sloane Winter to stay in her lane. That "sweetie" at the end? It was the sarcastic cherry on top. The internet was on fire. By nightfall, #AriaThorneIsACanceledSnake was the number one trending topic. I scrolled through the comments, and it was a bloodbath. [Oh, look at her getting threatened. Just because Sloane is rumored to be entering Hollywood, Aria is scared of losing her throne? Please. Sloane is a natural beauty, an actual genius, and her books get adapted into hits. Aria is just a face and a body. She’s spiraling.] I felt the urge to scream. I never said my author persona was entering Hollywood! That was a total rumor! [“Stay in her lane”? Aria, check your own ego. You’re the one who needs to find a heart.] [I’ve always liked Aria, but this is a low blow. Why bully an author who’s just minding her business?] My manager, Monica, demanded I apologize to Sloane Winter. She even wanted me to "build a bridge" with her because she had secured me a spot on a high-stakes reality show that could fix my reputation. I agreed, sounding defeated. I went to X, copied some generic apology, and tagged the Sloane Winter account. Then, I logged into the Sloane account and replied: "No worries. All good." I thought that would be the end of it. Instead, they hated me even more. [That’s the most insincere apology I’ve seen in 2026. Does Aria Thorne have a soul?] [Sloane only said 'no worries' because she’s a class act. She didn't even use an emoji. She’s clearly still pissed, as she should be.] I tapped my screen so hard I thought it would crack. Who gave you permission to analyze my non-existent emotions?! 02 The reality show was a live-streamed event called Truth or Dare: Hollywood Edition. It was the kind of show that could either make a career or end one. When I arrived, the air was thick with tension. There were two "Mystery Guests" yet to be revealed. The producers decided to play a game: the six regular cast members had to use their personal networks to invite the mystery guests to the set. Whoever succeeded would get a "Secret Grand Prize." I sat on the velvet sofa, planning to stay invisible. I had enough money; I was actually planning to retire from the exhausting movie star life anyway. Then, the first name flashed on the screen: Caleb Vance. Not that jerk, I thought, sinking deeper into the sofa. Caleb Vance was a billionaire tech mogul now, but we grew up in the same group home. He was two years older and spent my entire childhood teasing me. We went our separate ways as adults. When I first started acting, he invited me to join his talent agency. I told him to go to hell. The first person to speak was a rising starlet named Seraphina. She smiled sweetly at the camera. "I have Mr. Vance’s private number. I can try, but no promises." The chat went wild. [Wait, isn't Seraphina signed to Vance Media? Are the rumors true? The CEO and the muse?] [I heard Caleb Vance set aside a massive budget three years ago just to sign one specific girl. Seraphina signed right around then!] Among the "Caleb + Seraphina" shippers, one user named "Aria's-Husband" was getting bullied for saying: [Caleb only wanted to sign Aria Thorne!] Seraphina dialed. The phone rang for five seconds, then he hung up on her. The room went silent. Seraphina forced a smile. "He’s a very busy man. He must be in a board meeting." I hid a smirk. Caleb wasn't busy. He was never busy when it came to causing trouble. Once, because he knew I was allergic to roses, he rented a helicopter to drop a thousand red roses onto my balcony. I spent two days in the ER and cursed him for an hour. Another time, he secretly planted a forest of weeds under my window because I once said I liked "natural greenery." I only found out when the HOA fined me. The guy next to Seraphina, a B-list actor named Xander, looked at me. "Aria, you’re smiling. Do you think you can get Mr. Vance to show up?" I shook my head instantly. "No. I don't even know him." "Then were you laughing at Seraphina?" Xander pressed. "No," I lied. "I just remembered a funny video of my cat." The silence in the room was judgmental. "Aria, this is a professional show. Try to be more mature," Xander said, playing the moral high ground. Then, Blair, another actress from my agency, chimed in. "Seraphina, why don't you try again? Someone like Mr. Vance wouldn't just ignore a call from someone as 'special' as you." Seraphina bit her lip and dialed again. This time, he picked up. "Who is this?" Caleb’s cold, bored voice filled the studio. "It's... it's Seraphina, from the agency. We met last week at the gala..." "Don't know you," Caleb said, and the line went dead. The chat was stunned. Except for "Aria's-Husband," who was laughing in all caps. Suddenly, Xander grabbed a business card from the production table and shoved it at me. "Since you’re so relaxed, Aria, why don't you give it a shot?" I froze. This idiot. I only had one phone with me. It had two SIM cards: my Aria Thorne number and my Sloane Winter number. I didn't know if Caleb had my Aria number saved, but I couldn't risk the Sloane number. I looked at my smartwatch. It had a standalone LTE chip I almost never used. I checked the battery: 5%. I dialed. [Wait, is she using a kid's smartwatch?] [Watching her fail is going to be the highlight of my week.] The call went through. He picked up on the first ring. "Hello?" His voice was suddenly warm, almost playful. I pitched my voice higher, trying to sound like a generic PR rep. "Hi, Mr. Vance. I'm a guest on Truth or Dare. We’d love to have you join us." "I know," Caleb said. "I'm watching the stream." "What?" "I know it's you, Aria," he drawled. "I'm already in the car. I'll be there in ten minutes." "I'm bringing a gift. And no, it's not red roses this time..." Before he could finish, I tapped my watch and pretended it died. "Oh, no. Out of battery." The chat exploded. [HE KNEW HER?!] [He said 'I know it's you, Aria' so gently... I'm screaming.] [Seraphina's face right now... someone call an ambulance.] 03 Before I could process the Caleb situation, the second name appeared. Sloane Winter. The studio turned into a freezer. Every eye was on me. I had just "shaded" her on X three days ago. The host introduced her with a grin. "The legendary author herself. We’ve reached out to her editor and secured her private number. Let's see who can get her to show her face for the first time ever." My phone buzzed in my pocket. The production team had just sent Sloane Winter's number to everyone. My number. I looked at my phone. My agent had sold me out! The cast had to draw lots to see who would call first. I drew #1. Great. I dialed my own second number. The busy signal rang out immediately. I looked at the camera with a fake, apologetic smile. "It seems Ms. Winter is currently on another call." The chat flipped on me instantly. [Aria is so fake. Sloane is obviously blocking her calls after that stunt she pulled.] [I bet she’s terrified Sloane will actually show up.] [“Aria's-Husband” here: Just wait. The truth is going to hit you like a truck.] I reached into my pocket, held the power button, and slid to power off. The second person to call was Seraphina. She got a "User Busy" message. "Maybe her phone is dead?" Seraphina suggested, trying to regain some pride. "I'll try again in two minutes." She was trying to hog the guest spot. Blair Montgomery sneered at her. "Seraphina, if she wanted to talk to you, she would have. Don't be desperate." Seraphina ignored her and dialed again. This time, the phone in my pocket—which I thought I had turned off—vibrated violently. I must have hit 'Restart' instead of 'Power Off'. "Oops," I laughed nervously, pulling the phone out. "Spam call." I declined the call right in front of the camera. Just then, Caleb Vance walked into the studio. He was wearing a casual charcoal suit, looking every bit the "Ascetic Billionaire." But in his arms, he was carrying a massive bouquet of... dandelions and clover. The chat lost its mind. [Dandelions? Who gives weeds as a gift?] [Aria is a gold digger; she probably hates those weeds.] [Caleb Vance is a troll. I love him.] Caleb walked straight to me and handed me the "weeds." "Long time no see," he whispered, sitting right next to me. I glared at him. "Go away." "Sorry," he murmured under his breath so the mics wouldn't catch it. The chat saw the interaction and assumed he was marking his territory. But then, the drama shifted. Someone had dug up my "Secret Burner Account." It was an account where I ranted about my writing process. I had complained about every character I ever wrote. When I had writer's block, I called the book "garbage." When the heroine was captured, I called the hero "a useless wimp who can't even fly." The "Aria Thorne" haters were using it as proof that I was a toxic person who hated the very industry I worked in. They claimed I was mocking the actors who played those roles. The hashtag #CancelAriaThorne was gaining massive traction. The live stream was lagging because so many people were logging in to curse at me. The producers had to pause the stream for a moment to fix the servers. In the quiet of the studio, Xander turned to me with a sneer. "The mask is off, Aria. You're a bitter, mean girl. You're done." Before I could speak, Caleb stood up. He looked Xander up and down. "Your name is Xander, right? You should worry about your own contract. My legal team is already looking into your 'unprofessional conduct' on this set." Xander turned pale. Seraphina tried to 'comfort' Caleb. "Mr. Vance, you shouldn't defend her. She even mocked you in her posts." Caleb laughed. "She did? Good. I like it when she's honest. I’m a bit of a masochist when it comes to her. Any problem with that?" I hit him with my elbow. "Shut up." 04 I hated Caleb Vance. Everyone in the group home knew that. I was there before he was. Back then, I was shy and sensitive. The other kids bullied me. When Caleb arrived, he was the tallest and the meanest. He made sure no one else touched me—just so he could have the exclusive right to tease me himself. He used to call me "Goldfish" because he said I had a three-second memory when it came to his insults. I hated that name. One day, I hit him with a textbook and started crying. He sat next to me and didn't apologize, but he stopped calling me Goldfish. He started calling me "Aria." That was when he gave me a ring he’d woven from clover and dandelion stems. "When we grow up," he’d said, "this will be our promise. I'll marry you." I threw the ring into the grass. "I'd never marry a jerk like you! When I'm famous, I'm going to have real diamonds and red roses!" We grew apart. Caleb went off to reclaim his family's lost empire. I went off to college, realized I was deathly allergic to roses, and started my "thousand masks" journey because I was broke. I took the name Aria Thorne for the screen. I took Sloane Winter for my books. I took other names for my art and voice work. I became a success because of Caleb—not because he helped me, but because he taught me how to be tough.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "421720", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel