Chapter 3 You Only Know Half of Me

Elise couldn't move.

The video keeps looping.

Leo. Yelling.

His hand slammed the wall.

The screen shakes from the force.

Each repetition cut deeper.

The caption burned.

The comments stung like a swarm of invisible bees.

"Another desperate cougar."

"He's violent. You can see it."

"Should've known she'd ruin her career over a pretty face."

She set the tablet down like it had scorched her palms.

The air in the studio suddenly felt thin.

Too many shadows.

Too much judgment.

Her assistant lingered nearby, pale and jittery.

"I think you need a lawyer," she said.

Elise didn't look at her.

"I think I need Leo."

He wasn't in class.

Not in the dorms.

Not answering his phone.

No texts. Nothing.

She checked the theater, the green room, even the library.

Then, finally, she went up

To the roof.

There he was.

Leaning against the railing like he was waiting for the wind to carry him off.

A cigarette between his lips, half-burned.

Eyes on the clouds like they'd done him wrong.

"You can't be up here," she said gently.

He didn't look at her.

"Neither can you."

"I saw the video."

"Of course you did."

She stepped closer.

The wind tugged at his hoodie, lifting the hem.

Underneath

A bruise. Yellowing. Old.

Right along his forearm.

"How long were you gonna let them paint you as a monster?" she asked.

He exhaled a slow stream of smoke.

Turned to her, finally.

His eyes weren't angry.

They were tired.

When he has taken this weight for years and eventually forgot how to pose it.

"I've always been a demon in someone's story," he said.

"You didn't tell me about her."

"She's not important."

"She just ruined both of us."

He flicked the ash. "Still not important."

Elise moved beside him.

Close, but not touching.

"You were angry in that video," she said.

He nodded. "I was."

"Why?"

He didn't answer right away.

Dropped the cigarette.

Crushed it with his boot like it had betrayed him.

Then, softly

"Because she told me she was pregnant. And it wasn't mine."

Elise's breath caught.

"I lost it," Leo continued. "I didn't touch her. I swear. I hit the wall. Screamed like an idiot. But I never hurt her."

She stared at him.

Really looked.

For the first time, she saw past the bravado.

Past the sarcastic grin and the easy charm.

There were cracks beneath it all

Hairline fractures from old wounds no one had bothered to bandage.

The pain he wore was like second skin.

The chaos he'd been taught was love.

He didn't need to say more.

She believed him.

"I should talk to the dean," she said. "Explain everything."

"No."

His tone was final.

"Leo"

"If you go down with me, they'll tear you apart. They'll say you seduced me. Manipulated me. You know how this works."

He turned toward her.

"Let them think I'm the villain. I'm used to it."

She shook her head. "I'm not."

That night, her apartment felt like an echo chamber.

She poured herself a glass of wine.

Didn't drink it.

The silence was too loud.

The scandal hadn't gone viral-yet.

But it would.

She could feel it building like a storm behind the walls.

Someone was pulling strings.

Not just to ruin Leo.

To ruin her.

She sat down at her laptop.

Fingers hesitated above the keyboard.

Then moved on their own

Opening an email folder she'd buried a year ago.

FROM: Adrien Laurent

SUBJECT: Stop hiding. I still know you.

She hovered over it.

Clicked.

Read the first line.

Then deleted it.

She closed the laptop like slamming a door.

But the past always found a way back.

And something about this whole mess felt too familiar.

Too targeted.

Her phone buzzed again.

Leo: Come outside.

She crossed the apartment, peeled back the curtain.

There he was.

Across the street.

Hood up. Shoulders hunched. Hands jammed into his pockets.

She opened the door. "Are you insane?"

He strode up the steps before she could say another word-

Grabbed her-

And kissed her.

It wasn't romantic.

It was panic.

Fear.

Desperation.

She pulled away, gasping. "Leo-what happened?"

"They kicked me off the cast."

Her stomach twisted. "What?"

"I'm out. Just like that. No meeting. No warning."

"Who?"

He let out a bitter laugh. "Dean Keller. Said I was a liability. Said I was dangerous."

She clenched her fists. "I'll fix this."

"No, Elise."

He stepped back. "Don't. It's already over."

"Where are you going?"

He didn't answer.

"Leo."

He looked at her. Really looked.

Then said something she would never forget.

"They think I'm a problem," he whispered. "So maybe it's time I become one."

And then he turned

Hood back up

And disappeared into the night.

Elise stood frozen in the doorway.

The world was suddenly too quiet.

The air was still.

She didn't even realize she was still holding the wine glass

Until it slipped.

Shattered.

Red pooling at her feet like blood.