Whispers in the Wings
img img Whispers in the Wings img Chapter 3 You Only Know Half of Me
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Chapter 6 Not Every Ghost Stays Dead img
Chapter 7 The Echo in the Wings img
Chapter 8 No One Claps for the Villain img
Chapter 9 The Curtain Doesn't Fall img
Chapter 10 The Man Behind the Curtain img
Chapter 11 The Second Stage img
Chapter 12 All the World's a Stage img
Chapter 13 BACKSTAGE HEAT img
Chapter 14 A MAN FROM BEFORE img
Chapter 15 LEO'S SMILE FADES img
Chapter 16 STORMS DON'T KNOCK img
Chapter 17 ASHES DON'T STAY BURIED img
Chapter 18 THE GHOSTS WE REHEARSE WITH img
Chapter 19 ECHOES UNDERNEATH img
Chapter 20 THE LAST MONOLOGUE img
Chapter 21 THE TRAPDOOR img
Chapter 22 THE SECOND ACT img
Chapter 23 THE STAGE BETWEEN WORLDS img
Chapter 24 NOTES IN BLOOD img
Chapter 25 THE PAGE THAT WRITES BACK img
Chapter 26 THE SCRIPT OF THE DEAD img
Chapter 27 THE FINAL REWRITE img
Chapter 28 THE TRIAL OF ELISE Laurent img
Chapter 29 THE MONOLOGUE OF THE MANY img
Chapter 30 THE STAGE THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST img
Chapter 31 BURN AFTER WRITING img
Chapter 32 THE CITY OF ECHOES img
Chapter 33 THE READER'S CUT img
Chapter 34 THE PAGE WITH NO LINES img
Chapter 35 THE UNWRITTEN MAN img
Chapter 36 THE UNFINISHED AUDIENCE img
Chapter 37 THE FINAL PAGE img
Chapter 38 THE TURNED PAGE img
Chapter 39 THE LONG SHADOW img
Chapter 40 THE NEXT STORY img
Chapter 41 THE ECHOED FLAME img
Chapter 42 THE FIRE REMEMBERS img
Chapter 43 BURN ME TWICE img
Chapter 44 THE SHADOW THAT REMEMBERS img
Chapter 45 THE WEIGHT OF A NAME img
Chapter 46 THE PRICE OF REMEMBERING img
Chapter 47 WRITE OR BURN img
Chapter 48 THE AUTHOR img
Chapter 49 THE FALL img
Chapter 50 ROUND TWO img
Chapter 51 WE WERE FALLING img
Chapter 52 THE INK THAT REMEMBERS img
Chapter 53 THE GHOST THAT KNOCKS img
Chapter 54 UNWRITTEN GRAVITY img
Chapter 55 THE FINAL DRAFT img
Chapter 56 DROWNING IN INK img
Chapter 57 INK BLEEDS BACKWARD img
Chapter 58 THE FIRST LIE img
Chapter 59 THE INK THAT BITES BACK img
Chapter 60 THE SACRIFICE SCRIPT img
Chapter 61 The Boy Who Forgot Her img
Chapter 62 THE INK GOD BLEEDS img
Chapter 63 THE INHERITED INK img
Chapter 64 THE INKWELL img
Chapter 65 THE PAGE BLEEDS BACK img
Chapter 66 THE RED PEN img
Chapter 67 THE AUTHOR'S ROOM img
Chapter 68 THE UNWRITTEN TRUTH img
Chapter 69 THE PRICE OF INK img
Chapter 70 GHOSTS IN THE INK img
Chapter 71 The Ties That Choke img
Chapter 72 The Ghost That Breathes img
Chapter 73 Caught in the Act img
Chapter 74 Smoke in the Spotlight img
Chapter 75 Curtain Call img
Chapter 76 The Ghost's Encore img
Chapter 77 Baptism of Fire img
Chapter 78 Exit Wounds img
Chapter 79 MIRRORS AND MARIONETTES img
Chapter 80 THE BODY DOUBLE img
Chapter 81 SMOKE AND ECHOES img
Chapter 82 THE FALL LINE img
Chapter 83 THE CHOICE img
Chapter 84 THE PROP ROOM img
Chapter 85 ACT ZERO img
Chapter 86 CURTAIN CALLS img
Chapter 87 HOUSE LIGHTS UP img
Chapter 88 THE FINAL GIRL DOESN'T RUN img
Chapter 89 THE DEAD DON'T STAY BURIED img
Chapter 90 GHOST LIGHTS img
Chapter 91 BIRTH RIGHTS img
Chapter 92 THE SCRIPTWRITER'S DAUGHTER img
Chapter 93 THE FEED img
Chapter 94 THE PERFORMANCE img
Chapter 95 ACT III img
Chapter 96 THE INTERMISSION ROOM img
Chapter 97 THE DIRECTOR'S CUT img
Chapter 98 CURTAIN RISES img
Chapter 99 THE REHEARSAL ROOM img
Chapter 100 GHOST DRAFT img
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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.

            
            

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