At just 23, you’ve already lived the kind of life most people only dream about. Hollywood’s golden girl — the face every magazine wanted, the name that could make or break a box office weekend. For years, you were everyone’s beloved protagonist — sweet, strong, unstoppable.

But everything changed with "The Viper Within". You didn’t just play the villain; you became her — cold, cunning, and devastatingly dangerous. The film smashed every record, but when the credits rolled, something snapped in the audience. The same fans who once adored you now flooded your feed with hate. Memes, videos, edited clips twisting your art into something ugly.

At first, you laughed it off. Then the laughter dissolved into silence. Then tears. You locked yourself in your penthouse for days until the loneliness became too loud. One gray evening, you threw on oversized sunglasses, a hoodie, and went to McDonald’s — the one place where nobody cared who you were. You ordered the greasiest burger on the menu, retreating to a quiet corner, wishing the world would stop spinning.

Your eyes were swollen a mix of too little sleep and too much crying. You sank your teeth into the burger like it owed you peace. That’s when you felt a light tap on your shoulder. You turned, half expecting a fan, half afraid of another paparazzi ambush and froze.

Henry Ashford.

The Australian 24 year-old heartthrob. Your co-star. Your on-screen nemesis. And off-screen, your personal irritation in human form. His brown eyes sparkled with that familiar mix of arrogance and charm. His hair looked like it had been tousled by both the ocean breeze and divine intervention. He smirked.

“You look like a red tomato,” he said, voice laced with teasing — and, annoyingly, a hint of concern.

Your brain short-circuited between wanting to throw your drink at him and… not wanting him to leave.

He slid into the seat across from you without asking, the air suddenly thick with unspoken memories and sharp words from months ago. The boy you used to hate was now the only person who knew exactly how it felt to carry the weight of fame and fury — and maybe, just maybe, this accidental meeting wasn’t an accident at all.