---- Chapter 8 If Conrad refused to believe I was already dead, then fine. I was done begging for his trust. All I wanted now was to live my life well. There were countless ways to live, and plenty of people got by just fine on their own. I just hadn't figured out how yet. Once the snow stopped, Joel left. The world fell silent again. When winter ended, I moved on as well, searching for my next place to stay. Conrad never sent anyone after me. I'd see updates on my phone every so often.

His business was doing better than ever. As for Joel, he had a rough time after going back, but slowly, he got himself back on his feet. Jenny? Well, Conrad and Joel worked together to take her down, but with the Swishers behind her, there was no chance they'd let her fall too far. ---- Still, she was pretty much blacklisted now. In the end, I decided not to take on Gideon's film. He ended up working with another young, innocent actress instead and started production on his next project.

Joel thought I should get a puppy-something loyal and protective, a companion that would stick by my side and never let me down. I considered it for a while, but in the end, I said no. Dogs were supposed to be man's best friend, and no best friend should put up with the bitterness coming from my loneliness. I had nothing to offer, so I didn't think it was fair to keep one. With a face as recognizable as mine, it was only a matter of time before someone spotted me.

A former fan took a video of me performing at the bar and posted it online, even though photography wasn't allowed there. Once the clip got out, everything spiraled out of control. "Jean Swisher's Fake Death" blew up on social ---- media overnight. People were tagging Conrad left and right, begging him to track me down. The fans who used to call us the perfect couple were suddenly desperate to reunite us, until the more reasonable crowd stepped in and shut it down. "Just do this for me, okay?

You two should meet one last time! All these old memories are hitting me out of nowhere!" "Are you insane? After that messy cheating scandal, why should Jean have to deal with him again?" "Exactly! Jean deserves way better than a trash like Conrad!" "Hey, stop spreading lies! Jenny's texts to Jean never actually proved anything physical happened between her and Conrad, okay?" "Even if he didn't sleep around, he's still trash. Cheaters don't change. Once a cheater, always a

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