NOT SO PERFECT LOVE

"And the winner of this year's best script award goes to .....Claire Hampton!" The Mc said.

The entire award ceremony erupted in a frenzy ot loud hoots and shouts. Even though everyone was already expecting this result, they still had to put on a show of being excited.

Claire Hampton smiled in her seat. She didn't try to hide the excitement on her face. She worked hard to get here today. She deserves all of this.

"Claire...you finally won the award! I'm so proud of you!" Her fiance, Reed Hathaway said.

He too was smiling happily. Five years ago, Claire was just an extra on the set. Today, her script had won so many awards in just one night.

He was happy that he found her before anyone else.

And more importantly, he was happy that he got her before everyone else found out how amazing she is.

Claire looked over to Reed. She smiled at him. There was gratitude in her eyes.

She owes everything that she has right now to this man... everything, including her life.

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you Reed" Claire said.

Reed smiled and blushed but hr didn't say anything further.

The MC was still talking upstage. "Now, let's invite Claire onstage to tell us how she feels about winning this award!" The MC said.

Claire got up gracefully and walked upstage.

She looked down at everyone who was cheering for her below.

Claire felt pride deep down in her bones. Five years ago, everyone had doubted her, called her trash, told her to give up because she will never be worth anything.

Only one person believed in her, only Reed believed in her dreams. Today, she's finally standing on the stage, she finally proved to everyone that she can do it. That she isn't useless!

"Claire, how do you feel to have won the award?" The MC asked.

"Um...I feel great I guess?" Claire said. She was smiling happily.

She finally achieved all of her dreams and proved everyone who doubted her wrong.

Of course she feels happy.

"Well, what would you attribute your success today to? Five years ago, you were just an extra on the set. I'm sure that everyone would like to hear your success story. How you went from being just an extra on the set to an award winning script writer now" The MC said.

Everyone went quiet when the MC said this. But Claire still had her practiced polite smile on her face.

She knew what the MC was insinuating but she wasn't mad.

All her life, she had had people doubt her. Just because she's at the top now, doesn't mean that all the naysayers will stop.

"Well, if I had to attribute all of this to something, I'd say it was my hard work. I worked thrice as hard as everyone else to get to where I am today so yeah, I think that I deserve to be here today" Claire said.

The MC squinted his eyes. Clearly, he wasn't expecting such a response. He tried to smile but he could not help himself. His scowl got even deeper.

"I see. Many people think that you only got here because you're Reed Hathaway's fiance, what would you say about that?" The MC asked.

Claire still did not get angry. She was already used to dealing with people like this MC. Immediately she lost her temper, she will be playing his game.

"Is this what people think or is this what you think?" Claire asked.

The MC was stunned when Claire decided to make it personal. "No, no....these are just comments that we've received on our official website" The MC lied.

"Comments? I would like to see those comments. I will reply each and everyone myself properly!" Claire said.

The MC's face went pale. Usually when celebrities are accused of using men to climb to to the top, they will quickly try to end the conversation so they don't make even more mistakes while trying to deny it.

"Well....that's....." Claire did not give the MC the chance to continue.

"I won't deny that Reed has helped me a lot. If it weren't for Reed, the director wouldn't have given my work a second glance. I'm sure it would have ended up in the trash and I would have been buried before I even started so yeah, Reed has helped me a lot. But as for this award, I won it on my own. It was my own hard work, my own blood, sweat and tears. I deserve it. I deserve to stand on stage here today. I deserve this award. I deserve every single thing that I have today. You are all welcome to support my works in the future, but if you think that I won this award because I played dirty, then you can fuck off!" Claire said.

Immediately she was done, she took the award from the MC and walked back to her seat.

As Claire walked back to her seat, she was accompanied by loud clapping and cheers and the MC was left embarrassed.

Reed immediately got up when Claire walked over to her seat. He pulled her into a hug in front of everyone.

"Don't worry Claire, even if everyone in this world doubts you, I will never doubt you. I believe in you. I've always believed you" Reed said.

Everyone started cheering again.

There were sighs and whispers of envy from the crowd.

There wasn't a single female there who wasn't envious of Claire's and Reed's relationship.

Despite the opposition from everyone who knows Reed, Claire and Reed have come this far without letting go of each other's hand.

If this isn't true love, then what is?.

......

When the awards ceremony was done, Reed and Claire walked out of the venue. They were immediately ambushed by reporters who yelled out questions.

"Claire... everyone's calling you rude and arrogant for claiming that you deserve the award. What do you have to say to this?"

"Claire, are you saying that Reed has never used his influence to help you in your career? But he was the lead actor in your first script. You would not have gained recognition without that. Don't you think that it's a bit too much to claim that you have everything now because you deserve it?"

"Reed, you and Claire have been together for so long, don't you feel bad to hear her claim that everything is as a result of her own hard work?"

Claire was planning to ignore all of the reporters but Reed was having none of it.

He purposely stopped in front of the reporter who asked the last question. He looked the man in the eye.

"No. I don't feel bad. Because all of that is true. Claire is a great writer. She's simply getting the recognition that she deserves late. What is wrong with that?" Reed asked.

The reporters immediately went quiet after that. Since the person involved doesn't think that there's anything wrong, then who are they to complain?

Just then, a large RV van pulled up in front of them and a few bodyguards came out of it.

They blocked Reed and Claire from the reporters and guarded them into the car.

......

"What is the meaning of this?" Diana looked at Trevor, her husband of five years with shock evident in her eyes.

"You know very well, we already talked about it. We are getting a divorce. I can't continue this with you" Trevor said. There was a deep coldness in his eyes. But beneath all of that coldness, was relieve.

After five years, he is finally going to be free.

It's just....she won't need him anymore after all this time right ?

"And I already told you that I won't get a divorce! I don't want to get a divorce from you! I apologized! It was a mistake! It will never happen again!" Diana said.

She had given up a lot just to get married to Trevor five years ago. She had even used her life as a bargaining chip. How can she be willing to get a divorce from him now?

"I don't care about any of that Diana. When we got married, I told you. Don't give me a reason to divorce you. Because I will take it. And I will use it to the fullest. Now sign these papers and stop making a fuss. You don't want to wake Amelia up!" Diana said.

Diana calmed down a lot when she thought of thier daughter Amelia. No matter what, they still have a daughter together.

For the sake of the four year old Amelia, can't he just forgive her this time?

"Trevor...I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry....I never meant for things to get to this. I'm Amelia's mother! She's just four year old. She needs a mother in her life. For Amelia's sake, Please forgive me once!" Diana begged.

She definitely can't divorce Trevor!

All of her friends are going to laugh at her! And her family....they will never accept her if she doesn't have Trevor as her husband!

Worse....won't he just be going back to that woman if the both of them are not together? She will never allow that to happen!

"Don't even think about using Amelia to threaten me! You already used her when we got married back then! Don't think that you can use her this time! Besides, if you really cared about Amelia, you won't have done the things that you've done! Do you even seriously care about Amelia?! Do you act the way a mother should?! Just last week, I was unable to pick her up from preschool! I asked you to go pick her up and what did you do?! You forgot about her and went shopping with your friends!" Trevor said.

He didn't want to stay married to Diana any longer . This woman had completely ruined him five years ago.

Now that he has to chance to leave her, he will certainly take it!

The only person who has kept him going all these years is his daughter. He definitely won't let Diana stick around the both of them too much just so she can end up hurting Amelia some day.

"Trevor! Ultimately, this is just an excuse right?! You just want to divorce me! You just want to go back to her! But have you ever thought...will she even want you back if you go back to her like this?! She probably doesn't even want to see you! Why do you want to break up our happy family just for her?! When she doesn't even want you?!" Diana yelled.

She was slowly breaking down. After working hard for five years, she's just going to lose Trevor again?!

"Do you really think that we are happy family?! Besides you Diana, who's actually happy in this family?! Is it Amelia who's had to deal with the rejection from her mother since she was born or is it me who was forced into this marriage myself?! Who is actually happy?! Diana, the only person you've actually really cared about is yourself! You don't care about what happens to anyone else! Including your daughter! How can a mother be so selfish?! How can a person be so so selfish?" Trevor asked.

Diana finally realized that this was the end for her. Trevor doesn't even want to put on the pretense of being a happy couple with her anymore. He wants to end things with her......

The both of them went quiet for a few seconds.

They heard the announcement on television.

"Today, at the National Film Awards, Script writer Claire Hampton had won the best script award. However, she had said that it's all because of her hard work. Fans are divided, some think that she is right and some think that she owes everything to her fiance Reed Hathaway...... "

Diana quickly took the remote and turned off the television.

"Is this it? The reason you want the divorce so badly? Do you think that she will be willing to go back to you? You heard it just now. She's already moved on. She already has a fiance now! She doesn't need you!" Diana said.

Trevor frowned. "it's none of your business! Just sign the divorce papers!" Trevor said.

"What if I refuse ? What if I refuse to get a divorce from you? What are you going to do about it?" Diana asked. She was putting up her last fight now.

"I'll just have to reveal to the media what you've done. Diana you and I know that you value your reputation more than anything else. Are you sure that you're willing to see your entire reputation destroyed? Do you want to become the national enemy?" Trevor asked.

Diana glared angrily at Trevor. In the end, she picked up the pen and signed the divorce papers.

"You've finally got what you wanted for five years now. Are you happy?" Diana asked sarcastically.

Trevor smiled quite genuinely. "Actually, yes. I got what I wanted. You and I are no longer husband and wife. But you're still Amelia's mother after all, I'll let you see her from time to time if you want....." Diana did not let Trevor finish.

"I don't want that! You don't need to give me that charity!" Diana said hatefully.

Trevor frowned. "This is not charity! Amelia is still your daughter after all! Do you really not want to see her??" Trevor asked in shock.

"Yes. I don't want to see her. Why should I? We are already divorced. Why do I still need to pretend to be a good mother? She doesn't even like me anyway. Why should I still bother with her? You love her a lot so I'm sure that she won't miss me at all" Diana said.

Trevor looked at his wife...no...ex wife in shock. He already knew that she is a selfish person who will go any lengths to get what she wants.

But he never expected that she will so willingly abandon her own child! How can someone be so cruel?!

"You're really cruel!" Trevor said.

"Compared to you Trevor, you and I know very well that I'm a saint!" Diana said.

He had already forced her to this point, does he really think that she will abandon her life just to play mother to some kid?

Amelia hasn't even liked her before, so she won't miss her.

Trevor nodded his head. "Alright. I think it's perfect this way too. My daughter doesn't need such a mother in her life. The both of us, we do not need you!"

.......

"Look at this....look at this....Claire seriously what were you thinking?! Why did you have to say something like that in national television! It doesn't matter if you think that you deserve it or not!! Don't you think that this is too much? And you didn't even mention your fans even once! Don't you know this is basically saying that your fans aren't important?! What are you thinking in your head?!" Ivan, Claire's manager, was scolding her.

An entire night had passed since the awards ceremony and it was the next day now.

The both of them were in Claire's apartment.

Ivan was reading the comments online and half of the internet were basically cursing Claire out on the internet now.

"What exactly do you want me to do Ivan?! You said that I can do whatever I want when I become popular. I finally won the award, why do I still have to watch what I say?! And that MC, damn him! He was basically telling me that I only got there because of Reed! I worked hard to get here but he says that it's because of Reed?? How can he say that?? Is it because I'm a woman?! Is this misogny at play?" Claire complained.

"You know that he was just trying to do anything that will get people to talk about the awards! You still should not have said that! Besides, you know that Reed has helped you a lot. Without him, you won't even be here! He was the one who invested in your first movie! Is it wrong to give him credit?" Ivan asked.

"I gave him credit alright! Besides, what exactly are they saying that's getting you so worked up early in the morning?" Claire asked.

She took Ivan's phone and started scrolling through the comments one by one.

"Claire is such a bitch! She took advantage of Reed's position as best actor and even took advantage of his family and she still dares to say that she deserves it? What does she deserve?"

"I would like to know the kind of spell that she cast on Reed! Reed used to be free of scandals before he met her! Immediately he got involved with her, things went downhill for him!"

"Is Reed blind?! Even I am better than that rude and arrogant woman who doesn't know her place! Why is he still sticking with her? Is she so good in bed?"

"Actually, Claire didn't say anything wrong. She is right. She worked hard to get to where she is. Why do you people have to undermine her hard work just because she's with Reed? It's not like Reed wrote the scripts for her!"

"Yes. Claire may be arrogant and rude, but we love her like that! In fact, that's the reason we are her fans! We support her no matter what she does!"

"Yesterday, the movie she wrote won five different awards and you think that it's because of some guy who has his family supporting him behind the scenes? Claire is a queen and she doesn't need anyone to prove it!"

Among the haters of course, Claire still had diehard fans who were defending her despite everything.

Ivan took back his phone and glared angrily at Claire.

"Do you see what you've caused? Everyone's talking about how Claire is such a rude and arrogant bitch who can't even watch what she says!" Ivan said angrily.

"I still have people who are supporting me!" Claire argued back.

"Those people are your fans! They'd accept anything you do!" Ivan yelled again. He was starting to get frustrated.