When the top A-list star adjusted my earpiece, he subconsciously kissed my hair. We both froze. Because we were on a reality show about divorced couples. And we were from different marriages. 1 After I divorced Jax, everyone thought I would be the clingy ex-wife. He announced our marriage at the peak of his career. When he successfully transitioned from an idol to an award-winning actor, people always mentioned me. "What did she do to deserve him? She’s so lucky." I was the one who asked for the divorce. But he was the one who had been waiting for it. When he was filming his new drama with his co-star, Sienna, she wore his clothes, used his phone case, and played house with him on set. Meanwhile, I was flipping through the calendar waiting for him to come home, only to have my calls declined because he was "busy." It wasn't until I ran into Sienna in first class that I knew. She greeted me with a warm, beaming smile. "Did you know?" she whispered in my ear. "I bought this ticket with his card." She did it on purpose. She wanted to force my hand. I gave her what she wanted. It took me thirty minutes to pack my bags and leave our house. I didn't want anything dirty that someone else had touched. Thank God we didn't have kids. Jax leaned against the doorframe, watching me. His reaction was lukewarm. He only asked one question: "What else do you want?" "Your phone." He paused, but handed it over. In the years he loved me most, I accompanied him from being a nobody to a superstar. I was always his only pinned contact. Now, I had been replaced. I was just on "Do Not Disturb." It was an uncontested divorce. He gave me everything he had earned over the years, just begging me to let him go quickly. He said he truly loved Sienna. The day I signed the NDA and left, I thought I would never hear from him again. Until one month later, he called me. "Let's meet." "We can't let the fans know you cheated. The show still has to air." I arrived early. In the lounge, Jax’s agent was lecturing him. "Divorced, you’re still a top-tier actor. Her? She’s just a nobody waiting to be laughed at." "She’s definitely not over you." "Just trick her. Tell her you want to go on a divorce reality show with her." "Make her think she can win you back. She’ll do anything to please you." "We’ll edit the footage to make her look annoying, and you can secure your image as the devoted, heartbroken ex." The agent nudged him. "Are you listening?" Jax had his legs up on the coffee table, lazily playing a mobile game. "Yeah." "Trust me. You crook your finger, and she’ll come running like a puppy, grateful for the attention." In the conference room. Jax played with his phone with one hand. He only said a few sentences. And I agreed. "I'll do the show." He stared into my eyes, pausing. "Are you really that... obsessed with me?" He was too confident. Too easy to fool. I lowered my lashes. "Yes." "Jax, is there still a chance for us?" His gaze was cold. He looked away and muttered softly. "Depends on your performance." "But," he added, "the script for this show isn't what you think." This reality show would air while his new drama with Sienna was broadcasting. It was all to hype up the "chemistry" between him and Sienna. The show was titled The Split: A New Perspective on Marriage. Sienna would be rooming with him. And I would be rooming with Sienna’s husband. Caleb. The guy who exploded onto the scene at nineteen with one hit drama, won the Grand Slam of acting awards, and then vanished from the industry to get married. Jax was just his replacement. He got famous because he looked about 70% like Caleb. Rumor had it that after Caleb and Sienna married, they lived apart. She loved him, but he didn't love her back. 2 A luxury hot spring resort. Two rooms, separated by a single wall. Livestreaming 24/7. There was a panel of commentators on set, and a barrage of live comments from the audience online. [Jax and Sienna are on a divorce show together? In the same room? This is wild!!!] [Their chemistry is insane. They look so good together.] [I told you Jax and his wife had no feelings left. No one likes a dead weight.] [I've been waiting for them to divorce for ages!] [Is he blind? He used to love her so much...] The staff put heart rate monitors on Jax and Sienna. "If your heart rate hits 70, you can leave the room." [That’s gonna happen in a second.] But to everyone's surprise, both their numbers hovered at 68. In private, they had done everything. They were too familiar with each other, and afraid of slipping up. So on the show, they pretended to be polite strangers. [Sienna is so respectful, she doesn't even dare to get too close.] [Jax, stop holding back! We support you!] Sienna sat by the door. Jax stood on the balcony for fresh air. From his angle, he could see into my room. Caleb hadn't arrived yet. I sat alone on the edge of the bed, wearing the heart rate watch. A knock on the door. It was a tall man. A baseball cap hid half his face, and the mist from the hot springs clung to the stray hairs on his forehead. It was drizzling outside. He carried the cold, crisp scent of the deep night. [My white moonlight is back!!!] [I gotta say, Jax... comparison is the thief of joy.] [Stop comparing them!] "You need to put this on." I handed the other heart rate watch to Caleb. Jax hated it when people said he looked like Caleb. The first year of our marriage, we were walking the streets at midnight. I stared at a massive billboard featuring Caleb for a luxury brand, unable to look away. Jax jammed a hat onto my head, blocking my view, and said acidly: "I knew you liked that type of face." Now. In the other room, Jax was on the balcony. Watching clearly. Watching Caleb walk into the room and close the door. Watching him put on the watch. Jax didn't care. He knew since that night that Caleb—the man he couldn't catch up to, the man he envied to death—was in a contract marriage with Sienna. Caleb didn't even like Sienna. Of course, it was even less likely that he would like me—ordinary, divorced, someone even Jax looked down on. Jax scoffed, unbothered. Yet, he scrutinized every inch of my reaction. "Hello, Chloe." My heart rate stayed at 50. I extended my hand. "Hello, Caleb." He shook it. A few seconds later, the watch let out a piercing beep. Caleb’s heart rate had spiked off the charts. But the man himself was calmer than anyone. He said, "The watch is broken." I said, "Oh." 3 We swapped the watch, and sure enough, it was normal. Jax and Sienna played a few chemistry games, got their heart rates over 70, and left their room early. But on my side... Caleb’s heart rate stayed at a flat 25. Pathetically low. "If it never goes up," I asked the staff, "do we have to stay in the room all night?" Caleb heard me. He stood tall, broad-shouldered in a thin black hoodie, his gaze empty and distant. The staff said, "It counts as a failed mission. You can come out in an hour." Caleb and I were the last to emerge. [This is a disaster.] [Zero chemistry.] [Get them off screen. I only want to watch Sienna and Jax.] The comments were brutal until the livestream ended. In the post-show interview rooms. Cameras, lights, crowded with people. Jax stood in the corner, watching Sienna give her interview. His gaze swept over me unexpectedly. "Excited?" He asked me out of nowhere. "Did you have a moment where you thought Caleb might actually be interested in you?" I ignored him and tried to walk away. He blocked me. "What to do, Chloe," he said, hands in his pockets, tilting his head. "I'm starting to think divorcing you was the best decision I ever made." Someone walked by, and Jax straightened up. Back to that gentle, soulful, yet broken persona. As if I were the one who had hurt him deeply. When Sienna finished her interview, she walked up to me under everyone's gaze and took my hand. "Chloe," she said. On her wrist was an old red string bracelet. "Cherish Jax. He really loves you." That bracelet. I recognized it. Last year on our anniversary, Jax was being followed by stalker fans and got into a minor car accident. He was fine. I dragged him up the mountain to a temple to pray for his safety. I closed my eyes, my heart full of prayers for him. When I opened them, I saw him buying a red string bracelet. I thought it was for me. But he said he bought it for himself, to give me peace of mind. Now, it was on Sienna's wrist. "Stop being unreasonable," Sienna said to the camera. "I want you two to be happy more than anyone." I didn't say a word. Jax didn't know. Sienna didn't know either. Actually, I agreed to this variety show for another reason—a hidden one I couldn't tell anyone. That day at the temple, when I closed my eyes, the person in my heart wasn't Jax. 4 The show was recorded on weekends. The concept was "Weekend Couples." During the weekdays, I went back to my old job, trying to return to the entertainment group as an agent. "Caleb and Sienna are already divorced," my former boss told me. "He signed a ten-year contract with Sienna's father's company. He's finally free to terminate it. He's restructuring his studio. I recommended you to him." I followed the address he gave me and saw Caleb in a photography studio. His profile was backlit, his features sharp and rebellious. It was truly a face made for the silver screen. He was even harder to approach than I imagined. I waited outside for a long time. Until his assistant ran out and told me: "Sorry, Chloe. We probably can't talk today." On the way back, my car broke down. 11 PM. Middle of nowhere. Raining. I held an umbrella, waiting for the tow truck. Watching cars drive by from the distance, like passing ghosts in the night. None of them were coming for me. Then, headlights flashed. A black van window rolled down. Caleb’s assistant said: "Chloe, get in." Caleb was in the very back, a baseball cap covering his face, asleep. His breathing was shallow, long legs cramped in the space. The car was cluttered. Two suit jackets hung by the window. The scent of cold pine. The same scent from when he shook my hand that day. "Chloe, I'm going to grab water at the gas station ahead. Do you want some?" the assistant whispered. "I'll go with you." "No, no," he waved his hand and hopped out. "I'll be quick." The door closed. It was just me and Caleb. No one else. No cameras. The headlights flickered. The interior was dim. Even though there was a row of seats between us, his breathing sounded like it was right next to my ear. I stared at the blue neon sign of the gas station outside. The assistant was lingering in an aisle. I remembered once, shopping at a supermarket, I saw Sienna’s ad. "She's so pretty," I said to Jax back then. He reacted flatly. "She's okay." I didn't know. That "okay" was the reason he didn't come home time and time again. Later, I learned from others that Sienna was his first love. They broke up when he couldn't get famous. He never got over her. But back then, in the supermarket, he just deftly changed the subject and asked me: "Babe, did you ever date anyone before me?" "No." At least, that’s what I told everyone, including him. In the car, someone was kicking my calf. A long leg stretching from the back seat. Not accidentally. But deliberately, mischievously, childishly, rhythmically tapping me. I pulled my legs out of his reach. I didn't speak. I didn't turn around. I maintained my posture as if nothing had happened. "Chloe." He spoke. Maybe because he just woke up, his voice carried a reckless, boyish tone. "Long time no see." It had been so many years. Why did he still like calling my name like that? Just like in that cramped, humid rental apartment... Where I drowned over and over again... In his gentle, yet unrestrained, relentless hands.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "387851", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel