Updated version: 10-01-2022

Chapter 1

"Ms. Lucy!"

"Lucy, look over here!"

"Lucy!"

"This way Ms. Lucy!"

The paparazzi all shouted as the blonde actress exited the network building where she currently has a project. The actress is stunning, with her porcelain skin that looks striking, and her golden blonde hair standing out despite the darkness of the night. As she struts away from the exit, her blonde hair swayed gracefully, making her look almost ethereal. However, the actress hid her face with sunglass and used her hand to block the flashing of lights from the press' cameras. Lucy Ashley quickens her pace as she heads to her vehicle with the network's security guiding her to ensure her safety.

As soon as the door to her van was opened by her personal assistant, the so-called series princess immediately hastens her pace to enter her van.

"Ms. Lucy! Just one photo!"

"Just one look, Ms. Lucy!"

The paparazzi remained shouting as they rushed to steal a photo of the actress. But with Lucy speeding up her pace to enter her van, nearly all media gets frustrated with their photos. Soon the door of Lucy's van closed and moved away from the parking space of the network. Seeing the vehicle leave, the press couldn't help their selves to feel down and disappointed. Lucy Ashley was the talk of the town as the actress is involved in a very interesting rumor.

"I'm disappointed but impressed at the same time," one the of paparazzi said as he glances down at his camera, scrolling through his images

"Why's that? I couldn't get any good picture of her face," the other photographer replies as he does the same thing with the other guy

"Exactly," the man said as he looked at his companion, "She knows how to angle her face to hide it,"

The other man huffs in agreement, "She makes it hard for us to get her photo,"

"Well, who wouldn't want to hide their face after being involved with such a rumor," the paparazzi said as he turns away and heads to exit the premise of the network building," The other man then chuckles as he walks along with the paparazzi, "She's already dumped, she's being called a stalker, and now she's being canceled by the network?" he then shook his head, "It's definitely hard for a woman actor to be in business,"

"Well, if the show business would choose who to protect, they'd go for the profitable," the paparazzi added before looking at the guard of the building and giving a salute hand gesture

"Isn't she more profitable than Loke?" the other paparazzi asked, and the man shrugs his shoulder

"Apparently, Loke has more 'dedicated' fans than Lucy. I wouldn't wonder if her name is easily tarnished by the public,"

"Or maybe, the rumor is just true," one of the paparazzi states, "She wouldn't be hiding if it wasn't true," the two paparazzi then chuckle as they left the network building.

As the van continued to drive by, Laki, the personal assistant of the actress, sitting in the passenger side, looked at the back to observe her boss. She can see that the actress was not in the mood, and she still had her shades on. Trying to lighten up the mood a bit, she smiled at the blonde and said, "Ms. Lucy, I don't think there are any paparazzi following us anymore, you can take your shades off…"

The violet-haired assistant waited for a response and just kept her gaze on the actress. But Lucy was still mum and acted like she didn't hear anything. Trying one more time, Laki called on the actress again, then Lucy suddenly turns her head towards the assistant. Laki immediately stiffened at her boss' deadly aura.

"I heard you the first time," Lucy said with a stern voice, "You don't have to tell me twice,"

"Oh, right, sorry, Ms. Lucy," The assistant then cringes in embarrassment as she turns to look away. Being in deadly silence, the driver looked at the assistant to check up on her. But then, he was taken aback when he sees her holding her phone and tearing up, "Oy, Laki…Why are you crying?" Max said as he looks back at the road and then back to the girl

"I-I-I'm—I'm not crying," Laki answered as she quickly wipes her tear-streaked face. She then showed her phone to the beige-haired driver, "It's just that…look at this,"

"You know I can't read that now, I'm driving," Max quickly corrects, making Laki pull her phone away and whispered the content instead, "Sorry, it's just that…Lucy-sama is being pictured badly again by the media,"

"Tsk," Max uttered before he tries to get a glimpse of the article Laki was reading, "What did they call Lucy-sama this time?"

"Apparently she's called the 'obsessed ex-girlfriend stalker' because she was seen 'hysterical' at an event after being spotted with Loke," Laki then rolls her eyes at the adjectives being used against her boss, "How the hell does she become an obsessed ex-girlfriend stalker if she was there first before Loke?!" Laki bellowed, making Max widen his eyes in surprise

"Oy, keep it down. She'll hear you that you're reading those stuff and you'll just make her more annoyed," Max whispered loudly as he leaned toward the assistant

"I know-I know…It's just-"

"Laki," Lucy cuts off with a stern voice, making her employees rigid in their seats, "Stop reading those stuff. I don't need to hear them again. And Max, keep your eyes on the road instead,"

"HAI!" The two exclaimed as they nodded at the same time

"Keep your voices down you two, my head hurts…" Lucy then rubs her temples as she leans down to her seat's arm handle.

"Hai…" The two whispered softly before finally, silence reigned in the van. Laki then looks back at the actress, "Do you want some Ibuprofen? I have it here in my bag,"

"No thanks, Laki…I just need rest," Lucy then sits up and looks back at the window, still with her shades on.

Despite not being able to completely see the face of her boss, Laki knows that Lucy has been crying, given that her nose has turned red already. She can hear how Lucy's voice was hoarse from crying and that her nose was stuffed. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the blonde actress. Lucy has been one of the kindest bosses despite her occasional outburst. Although, she knows that those outbursts aren't towards her. Lucy didn't do anything wrong, and yet the media is trying to depict her as a crazy ex-girlfriend. Sighing, Laki felt a little useless as she couldn't help her boss with anything crazy going on with her life and career aside from offering her headache treatments. Sighing one more time, Laki just tries to quash her negative feelings and remains silent. And with that, the trip to the blonde's home was insanely quiet.

After more than half an hour of driving, the van finally arrives at the driveway of the blonde's condominium building. Laki hurriedly steps down from the van to open the door for her boss. As it slides open, Lucy slowly steps down and lowers her shades to look around. When Lucy deems that the premise was free of paparazzi, Lucy finally breathes out restfully, "Laki, you and Max can go home after parking the van in the garage. You don't have to come over tomorrow so early, okay?"

"Yes, Ms. Lucy-"

"There she is! Lucy!" a different voice suddenly interrupts the two, making Laki surprised and looked around to find the person. Lucy immediately puts on her shades again and walks away from the van. When Laki saw three to five men running towards the driveway, she immediately bellowed at the blonde, "Lucy-san! Run—Guards! Help!"

Hearing her assistant shout, Lucy began to feel adrenaline rush in her body and didn't think twice to sprint toward the lobby in her heels. As she enters the building, she immediately saw guards running in the opposite direction as her. She made a quick glance at her back and saw the paparazzi trying to get past the human barricade made by the guards, her assistant, and her driver. As Lucy sees the crowd, she couldn't help herself but run faster until she reaches the buttons of the elevators. Lucy impatiently presses the button and glances at the entrance. Suddenly, she spots a photographer being able to escape the human barrier and run towards the lobby.

"Ms. Lucy! Tell me about Loke at the L'Officiel gala party?" The paparazzi bellowed as he quickens run

"Ahhh! No!" Lucy exclaimed as she looked away and harshly pressed the button of the elevator until it rang and opened for her. Within seconds, she slips inside the elevator and pressed the close button of the small contraption. When it closed just in time to cut off the paparazzi, Lucy suddenly sighs in relief and tumbled backward until she felt the walls of the elevator.

"Why are they so relentless?! Always on my tail to ask me about Loke—that fucktard!" Lucy shouted to no one in particular with her eyes closed. Thinking that she is alone, Lucy suddenly kicks, as if she was kicking a rock. But she tumbled afterward when she suddenly hears a faint sound of clear of the throat. Lucy quickly opens her eyes and realizes that an elevator operator was standing attentively. When Lucy pulls down her shades, the elevator man asked immediately, "Floor ma'am?"

"Oh-uh…15th floor, please. Thank you," Lucy sheepishly smiled at the man before she stood up straight and stayed still. When she reaches the 15th floor, the blonde quickly stood next to the elevator operator and smiled as she whispered, "Can we keep this a secret what you just saw?"

"Ah," the elevator operator then chuckles a little before he nods, "Sure, ma'am,"

"Thanks-!" Lucy beams as she looks the person straight in the eyes before looking down at the man's uniform to read his nameplate, "Nikko!" and with that, she left and walked her way to her home.

Entering her home, Lucy immediately heads towards her living room and kicks off her heels one by one before she drops herself on the couch. Leaving her shoes, bag, shades, and accessories cluttered around the house was her least priority even if she was a clean freak. Having her things laying around the place was nothing compared to the mess in her life.

Sighing in tiredness, Lucy stared blankly at her dead tv before she slowly lays down on her couch to stare next at her ceiling. As she continues to do so, she could feel the tightening of her chest while she tried not to cry. But with the pooling tears in her eyes, Lucy decided to close her eyes and sigh and let her tears roll down her cheeks for the nth time.

"What the hell is going on with my life?" Lucy mumbles to herself as she rests her forearm over her eyes while trying not to sob, "Why is everything so fucked up?" Lucy then curled on her couch as she couldn't hold her hiccups any longer.

Even though Lucy knew that she was alone, she couldn't help but want to hide her sobs. For almost a month, the media had been releasing tabloid stories of her and Loke. And for that past month, she has been crying her eyes out. A lot of times, she doesn't even know what she's crying over anymore. In the past month, she and Loke had broken up and after that failed relationship, numerous rumors had come out.

"Why the hell is this happening to me? Loke just cheated on me, then we broke up, and then now, my show is being cut short," Lucy then punches her couch before she abruptly sat up and threw a pillow on the floor, "And for fuck's sake, media is throwing around rumors about me and Loke!"

Lucy cried on her couch as she stared at the thrown pillow like she was watching if it would move. But only her sobs were heard around the house.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"Where did I go wrong?"

"I thought I was enough…"

Lucy utters softly to herself as she felt tears run down her face, "Wasn't I enough for him? I loved him with all my heart…"

"He said he loved me…but why does it feel like—" Lucy then breaks down into more tears as she clenches her chest, thumping over her heart, "I tried everything to be right for you. But why am I never enough?! Why won't anybody care for me?!"

The blonde actress then stood up and started pacing around her living room. In her frustration, she grabbed the pillow on the floor and threw it further. But when that didn't ease her frustration, she grabbed any object near her and threw it on her wall. A sound of broken glass was heard as Lucy haggardly breathed, "Ahhhh—I hate you, Loke! Damn you, Merideth! Fuck you all!" Lucy shouted at the top of her lungs before her knees gave out on her. Soon, Lucy dropped to the floor and coiled up in a fetal position as she cried even more. She mumbles her resentment toward the people she thinks are causing her pain until gradually, her breathing became slow, and fell asleep.

Barely an hour later, Lucy suddenly gasps in pain and sits up from her position. She was breathing hard, sweat pooled on her forehead and chest, and her eyes were wide, trying to recognize her surroundings. When Lucy finally managed to distinguish that she was in her living room, she slowly stood up to sit on her couch. But her eyes caught the night sky displayed on her large window walls. So instead, she headed towards her windows while grabbing her discarded phone on the couch and sitting before it. Looking down at the street, she sees a few cars passing, streetlights steadily glowing, and no people walking around. It dawned on Lucy that probably it was past midnight. Everything around her seemed to be at peace and settled in, except for her. She thought, her mind and heart were completely chaotic that it barely slows down to rest. And Lucy only wants to rest.

2:58 AM

Lucy stared at the time shown on her phone.

Can I call somebody?

Is anyone even awake at this hour?

Lucy taps on her phone for a moment as she contemplates whether she was going to call somebody or not. She felt desperate for someone to talk to but at the same time, she feels guilty about disturbing anybody who might be asleep, because fuck-Lucy, it's almost 3AM. Who would be awake at this ungodly hour?! Her thoughts reprimanded her as she bites on her lower lips.

"Sorry, Levy," Lucy guiltily mumbles as taps on her contact and looked for her blunette's number. When she saw it, she immediately presses on it before she could back out. Lucy then patiently waited for the person to answer.

"Hello?" the voice groggily answered

"Levy-chan?" Lucy softly mumbles, more guilt creeping up on her

"Lu-chan?" some ruffling of the bed was heard, making Lucy close her eyes in guilt, "What time is it?—it's 3 in the morning,"

"Sorry, I know…I just—sorry I called you at this hour, it's just that I need someone to talk to," Lucy then sighs in embarrassment as she listens to Levy's own sigh

"Hey, it's okay…" Levy then sighs when she heard Lucy mumble an apology again, "Have you slept yet?"

"I fell asleep a while ago, but I woke up because of a nightmare," Lucy utters softly

"I see…have you changed clothes at least?"

Lucy then looks down at her clothes and saw she haven't. So, she shook her head, but she realized Levy couldn't see her, so she mumbles in reply instead, "No…I haven't,"

"Okay, how about this? You go change to your pajamas and lie down wherever it's most comfortable for you. Try to catch up some rest first and then first thing in the morning, I'll be there,"

"I can't fall asleep…I feel like my heart's going to explode," Lucy then felt her heart constrict as she grasps her chest while she thought of Loke

"Oh, Lu-chan…" Levy then bites her lips as she just can imagine Lucy sitting down on the floor, crying herself to exhaustion but cannot rest either because of the pain she's going through, "I wish I can be there to hug you right now…"

"I know…I'm sorry if I—I'm sorry that I woke you up at this hour. I should have known better…I'm so pathetic and insensitive, guess that's why-"

"Stop right there," Levy sternly cuts off, hating how Lucy was back to self-blaming again, "That's not true. Loke did a terrible thing to you. It was his choice, and you never pushed him to make such a decision. That was his mistake, and you should never carry that burden,"

"But he'd never cheat on me if I didn't give him the reason to cheat," Lucy then sobs as pulls on her hair, getting frustrated with herself

"Lu-chan, stop. Everyone has the option to cheat. It's a matter of doing it, and he did. He had the choice to make a different action if he had some concerns in his relationship. Don't put the blame on you, because you never insisted this on him," Levy then stood up and walked away from her bed to avoid disturbing the man next to her, "Lu-chan, I know you love him. But taking responsibility for someone else's actions is not love. That's just…inflicting pain, and you deserve better than that,"

"Levy-chan, I can't bare this pain anymore…What did I do wrong to feel all these?" Lucy whined as she trembled in her seat

"Lucy, listen to me, you did nothing wrong. There are just people who cause us pain and Loke…he's just one of those people who didn't care that they could hurt somebody because of their recklessness," Levy then kept silent as she listens to the slowing down breathe of the blonde, "Lu-chan, try to get some rest on your bed, okay? I'll be there first thing in the morning,"

Levy didn't hear Lucy out loud, but she heard a faint humming in agreement, which Levy considers good enough, given Lucy's state. So, with a few more reminders for the blonde, Levy finally ends the call and returns to bed. But the blunette is fully aware that she'll not be able to fall asleep anymore.

As Sunday morning finally comes, Laki suddenly arrives in the blonde beauty's condo unit. She has access to her boss' place, given that she needs to prepare the actress' things for the engagements that she is required to attend. Although, Laki doesn't have to do this usually on weekends, given that Lucy makes sure to have her weekends free for herself and for her employees. But with the happenings recently for the blonde actress, Laki felt like accompanying her boss.

As Laki looks around the house, she saw no one around the living area or the kitchen. So, she assumes that Lucy is still in her bed, sleeping. So slowly and quietly, she enters the house and quickly went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the actress. As she was finishing plating the eggs and toast, a faint voice suddenly calls out to her. The purple-haired assistant whips around and was stunned to see the blonde woman standing in her living room, with disheveled hair, messed up make-up, and still in her yesterday's clothes.

"Lu-Lucy-san?" Laki bafflingly stared at her boss, who was rubbing her eyes awake, "Were you there the whole time or…"

Lucy looked around the living room and realized that she had fallen asleep on the floor again after talking to Levy, "Uh, yeah, I think…I think I fell asleep here,"

"On your living room?" Laki questioned as she approached the actress and eyed her if she was alright. She immediately saw her puffy eyes, obviously due to crying, then the darkening circles around them. At that point, there was no need to ask if her boss was alright because seeing her in her state, it was obvious that Lucy wasn't able to sleep and if she did it was because of her crying.

"I made you breakfast," Laki then turns as she heads to the kitchen to grab the plate, she was preparing

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you that you didn't have to come early?" Lucy asks back as she walks towards her kitchen island table and took a seat

"Uh…" Laki hesitated for a moment as she places the plate down in front of the blonde, "Wel…I was thinking maybe you wanted some company,"

Lucy looked up at her assistant with a blank expression before she gave a small smile that barely reached her eyes, "That's very kind of you Laki…but you didn't have to,"

"I know it isn't really my job to keep you company on your personal time, but I was thinking, maybe you'll want a friend around," Laki then bites her lower lip, feeling a little embarrassed for assuming that they are friends

Lucy then gave another smile as she mumbles, "Thanks Laki…I really appreciate your effort and care for me. I know I can be harsh at times, and I'd get it if you didn't like me at all,"

"What?! Of course not!" Laki abruptly shakes her head. She has never thought of Lucy as anything but a strong, independent, and loving person, "People just have ups and down, and so do you. And I have never taken your anger personally,"

"That's very kind of you, Laki. Thanks for being understanding," Lucy then smiles before she felt her eyes swell up in tears, making her assistant panic for a moment. Lucy then waves her hand, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine,"

"Oh hell no," a new voice comments, making the two women in the kitchen turn to look at the newly arrived person, "If that's your definition of being fine, then probably my life should be considered perfect,"

"Levy-chan," Lucy called as she fully turns on her stool to look at her best friend.

Soon enough, Levy headed toward her best friend and hugged her real tight. Lucy immediately broke down in tears as she buried her face in the bluenette's shoulder. Rubbing her friend's back for consoling, she glanced at the assistant and asked for a glass of water.

When the two pulled away, Laki gave the water immediately to the blonde and sat next to her, while Levy held the actress' hand.

"Lu-chan, I know that things are getting difficult for you lately. With everything happening in your love life, your work, and your career, I think I understand your sentiment about questioning everything. But know this that we, your friends are here for you,"

Lucy hiccups as she only listens to the bluenette. She couldn't push herself to respond. Her throat feels dry, her eyes sting from crying, and she feels extremely tired. Laki suddenly rubs her back, making Lucy briefly look at her with regard. Levy then adds, "Lu-chan, I know Loke meant to you so much. But there is nothing we can do about what he has done,"

"He deserves to taste his own medicine," Laki suddenly comments as she hisses in annoyance with the orange-haired actor, "Just because he is good-looking and girls fawn over him, doesn't give him the right to cheat on Lucy-san. Doesn't he realize that Lucy can have any guy she wants?"

Levy then glances at Lucy's assistant and grinned at her, "You know what Laki, you're right," she then looked at the blonde, who was still puffy-eyed and her cheeks were stained with tears, "Lu-chan, you can have any guy you want,"

"I don't care about that…" Lucy utters in disagreement as she shakes her head

"I know, but that is also the reason why rumors run badly about you," Levy then tries to capture the brown eyes of the blonde. When she catches it and makes Lucy look back at her, she added, "You're no stalker, you're no obsessed ex-girlfriend,"

"Yeah!" Laki reiterated, "For Pete's sake, you broke up with Loke and not the other way around,"

"Exactly!" Levy agrees, squeezing the hand of the blonde, "You can't let him trample you just because you broke up with him for cheating. Don't let him have the audacity to spread fake rumors about the two of you,"

Lucy then looks at her friends fully, glancing at her assistant and best friend alternatively, "Then, what do you suggest that I do?"

Levy then grinned darkly, "Well, I don't directly have contact with this guy, but I know someone who can reach out to him. He'll be perfect to clean up this mess,"

To be continued…