Chapter 3: Audition for a New Life

“Who are you talking about? Speak up—whose number do you want?”

On the phone, my producer friend.

“His agent’s is fine…” I grip my phone. “Forget it, never mind.”

“Has Riley made you lose your mind?” The producer’s blunt. “Jesse Cole? He’d never get involved in your mess. You could hold a knife to his throat and he’d still say no.”

After that night, Riley announced on her Instagram story that she was officially ending our contract.

Then she signed a new artist, Bella Ford, who’s basically my clone but five years younger.

Everyone in the industry says I’m done for—just a pawn to be discarded.

“She’s ruthless. Just ended things with you and now she’s got a smear campaign going—look at what they’re saying about you online.”

My producer friend is outraged for me.

“But I heard Jesse Cole is joining a dating reality show.”

“Dating show?” I blurt out. “Isn’t he afraid of losing fans?”

“The network’s desperate. I hear he can set any terms he wants as long as he joins.”

Top-tier dating show, perfect for buzz.

If I want to get back on stage, this is my shot.

“I know what you’re thinking,” my friend says, “but forget it. The competition for female guests is brutal. Riley pulled every string to get Bella Ford a chance to audition.

“She’s determined this time—paid for promoted trends, even agreed to have Harrison as a regular panelist to please the producers.”

I clutch my phone, silent.

“Leaving Riley is for the best. She’s held you back too long.” She tries to comfort me. “An agent reached out, wants to work with you. Want to meet?”

“Sure.”

After hanging up, I add the agent on Messenger.

He wants to meet right away.

Tyler Duane.

He looks young and inexperienced.

Why me?

“Savvy, I’ve loved watching you dance since I was a kid.”

Doesn’t sound promising.

He even gets up and does a dance for me right there.

I quickly pull down my sunglasses.

“Savvy, just tell me—what would it take for you to sign with me?”

I hand him a tissue, thinking up an impossible task just to brush him off.

“Get me an audition for Jesse Cole’s dating show.”

“Heh.”

A low, mocking laugh comes from behind.

Riley.

And Harrison, wearing a baseball cap and black mask, with Bella Ford by his side.

Just like when the three of us used to go out together.

Riley’s making it clear—she’s the irreplaceable one in Harrison’s heart.

The restaurant’s private room is secluded, but my humiliation is on full display.

“Know your place?”

In front of the newcomer, Harrison’s tone is dismissive and cold.

“Apologize to Riley and I’ll give you another chance.”

Apologize?

Not a chance.

“I’ll get my own opportunities.”

Even if I don’t sound confident myself.

“I worked so hard and still might not get it—what do you have?” Riley sneers. “That pretty face?”

Personal attacks, undermining my confidence—that’s been her and Harrison’s go-to move all these years.

But now, I have no comeback. I really don’t stand a chance.

“True, Savvy doesn’t have an audition.”

Tyler, who’s been quiet, suddenly pipes up, eyes crinkling with a sly smile. “She can get it directly—why audition?”

Everyone is stunned.

He takes out his phone and makes a call.

“Hey, bro, I found her.”

He hands me the phone. My hands are shaking.

I take it, confused, and press it to my ear.

“Hello?”

On the other end, someone moves from a noisy club to somewhere quiet. No words, just a faint breath.

But just that breath, and I have a feeling I know who it is.

Nervous, I glance at Tyler.

He’s still smiling, but clearly a bit impatient with whoever’s on the line.

“Harrison,” he raises his voice, looking at Harrison but really speaking to the person on the phone, “you’re not the only one who can make things happen.”

Harrison frowns, about to say something—

“Savannah.”

The person on the line speaks.

That voice.

I’m instantly back at the music awards seven years ago.

He was the light on stage.

I was the shadow in the crowd.

So far apart, and now his breath is burning in my ear.

“Jesse… Jesse Cole?”

Riley’s face changes immediately.

Bella Ford clings to her. “Savvy, didn’t you say…”

Riley shoots her a furious glare.

“Yeah.” Jesse Cole sounds casual. “What opportunity do you want?”

I take a deep breath. “I want to be on that show.”

He pauses for a few seconds. “Anyone with you?”

Instinctively, I glance at Harrison.

He picks up on it right away, locking his gaze on me.

“Yeah.”

“Put me on speaker,” Jesse says out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

My heart skips, but I do as he says.

I set the phone on the glass table, his voice as clear as spring water.

“Why do you want to be on the show?”

What else would I do on a dating show?

“I want…”

“Want what?”

He keeps coaxing.

I blurt out, “I want to date you.”

He laughs softly on the other end. “I usually just get married directly.”

The call is hung up by Harrison.

The room falls into awkward silence.

But Jesse isn’t wrong.

This show isn’t about dating—the guests pretend to be newlyweds from the start.

But in this atmosphere, everything feels loaded with meaning.

Harrison stares at the dark phone screen, speaking slowly: “When did you two meet?”

I say nothing.

“A few years ago? Abroad?”

His face doesn’t change, but he’s relentless with the questions.

“What’s it to you?”

He laughs at himself. “So you’ve grown some guts.”

Riley grabs his sleeve, but he shakes her off.

He tosses the phone into a water basin in the hallway.

“Dirty. Get a new one.”

He smiles at Tyler, wipes his hands, then turns to me.

“You want to be on the show? Good—work on your acting.”

“Dating shows are all about scripts and performance.”

“There’s no script. My acting isn’t that good.”

The show hasn’t even started filming, but Jesse’s interview about it is already trending.

Giving the show plenty of buzz.

“Some people can fake it because they’re good actors,” he says, pointedly. “But not me.”

He’s so sincere and nonchalant, I almost believe him—until the production team hands me a thick stack of scripts.

Of course, there’s a script.

“Are they filming your day job too?”

I look up at Tyler—my new agent.

The more I get to know him, the more I realize you can’t judge by appearances. He’s a well-known agent in the industry, with a vast network and a ruthless edge when it comes to fighting for resources.

Most importantly, his vision for me matches my own: returning to the stage.

But why would such a top agent want to take me on?

“Yeah, just like a real newlywed couple,” he explains. “They’ll film your work during the day, and you two have to live together at night.”

“Live together?”

Is it really that realistic?

I flip through the script. “What about sleeping arrangements…?”

“It has to pass network standards, so nothing too risqué.” He winks at me. “Four months will go by fast. The main thing is to build buzz for your stage comeback.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He’s your best stepping stone,” he adds slyly. “Use him as much as you can—he wants that too.”

What does he mean?

Before I can ask, he changes the subject.

At the end of the script, my eyes linger on the farewell ‘kiss scene’ four months later.

Probably to appease the fans, it’s the only intimate moment in the whole show.

Since marrying Harrison, I’ve never filmed a kiss scene.

“No going public, no kiss scenes”—that was his rule for me.

Back then, I reveled in his possessiveness.

But looking back, no kiss scenes meant limited romantic roles—no good scripts.

How could I ever land a great part?

“There’ll be regular panelists in the studio,” Tyler interrupts my thoughts. “Harrison’s one of them.”

He never does variety shows.

“Riley sold him out to get Bella Ford the role. Now the fans are tearing her apart.”

With Harrison as a backer, Riley went all out—massive marketing for Bella Ford as the female guest, and a smear campaign against me.

Now she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“To be fair, it’s only because Harrison is so strong that he’s kept his agent afloat. Otherwise, she would’ve dragged him down ages ago.”

But none of that matters to me anymore.

I need to focus on the script.

This is my chance. I have to make the most of it.