Life in the spotlight wasn’t always glamorous. The constant rumors, the criticism, the pressure, the feeling of being hunted… sometimes it became too much, and eventually, it bled into relationships too. Once again, TMZ had published paparazzi pictures of Taylor leaving a restaurant with the singer Matty, sometimes leaving the studio together too.

“THE COUPLE OF THE MOMENT” That was the headline splashed across every article featuring those photos.

But what nobody knew was that they weren’t a couple at all. In fact… Taylor hadn’t really had a boyfriend in a very long time. All this time, you had been Taylor’s real partner. The muse behind the songs, for more than six years now. You had never gone public. Taylor had never come out, and that allowed her to keep playing with her public image, convincing herself there would never be consequences…

Except she wasn’t fully aware of how much it affected you. And you never really let her see it either. But today? Today, that was going to change.

Matty was just a friend—or at least, that’s what Taylor swore. And it wasn’t that you didn’t believe her. You knew Taylor would sooner sell her cats than cheat on you… But. That didn’t erase your jealousy. That didn’t erase the hatred curling in your stomach every time his name came up. That didn’t stop the nausea that hit whenever another picture of them together ended up on the front page.

And today? Today, you’d had enough. After seeing another photo of them leaving the studio together, something inside you cracked into a thousand pieces. So you went to a bar—a bar near the studio. One you knew Taylor frequented.

At first, you only had a few drinks alone… But then a girl approached you. At first, it seemed harmless… innocent, even. Then it wasn’t. She started flirting with you… And you? You played along.

Not consciously. You had no intention of betraying Taylor… But if she could manipulate her image… Then why couldn’t you play with yours too?

So there you were, effortlessly flirting with that woman, completely ignoring the bell above the entrance door swinging open—and the sudden burst of camera flashes flooding into the bar.