Chapter 1 SCANDAL
Dandelion.
"Chase... please... I beg you... Delete it."
Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to force words past the knot in my throat. My hands trembled so violently I could barely hold the phone.
I had just walked through the door when I saw it—the news headline blazing across the flat screen TV mounted in the living room. It was Bold and Brutal.
DANDELION WILLIAMS EXPOSED: THE TRUTH BEHIND HER RISE TO FAME
My heart paused.
"Delete it?" Chase's voice came through the speaker, dripping with mockery. "Oh, sweetheart... it's too late for that. It's already everywhere."
My breath caught in my chest.
"I warned you not to leave me, Dandy," he continued, his tone shifting to something darker, something cruel. "But you're just so stubborn. Now you'll learn exactly why you shouldn't have disobeyed me."
"You expected me to stay?!" I yelled, my voice trembling with rage. "So you could keep abusing me?!"
He scoffed. "I apologized, didn't I?"
Apologized?
As if sorry erased the bruises I had to cover with layers of concealer. The fear and the nights I cried myself to sleep.
"Chase, please," I begged again, hating myself for it. "Tell them the truth. Stop this."
He laughed, low, cruel and satisfied.
"The world doesn't care about your side of the story, Dandy. They only care about the show. And right now, you're the star." Then the line went dead.
For a full minute, I stood frozen in the middle of my living room, trying to force my brain to process what was happening. My eyes were bloodshot, my hair a tangled mess, my phone trembling in my hand like it might explode.
This isn't real. It can't be real.
But my phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Notification after notification.
I closed my eyes, praying that when I opened them again, it would all be some sick joke.
But when I looked down at my screen, my breath left my body entirely.
#DandelionWilliamsScandal
#FallenStar
#SleepingYourWayToFame
#CheapSlut
#We'llNeverBelieveYourExplanation
#Exposed
Each tag felt like a bullet tearing through my chest, one after another after another.
My fingers moved on their own, clicking on the photos attached to the trending tags.
And there I was.
My face. My body. Half-naked, tangled in white sheets and sleeping in his bed. The camera angle was deliberate, edited to make me look as shameful as possible. Another photo showed us kissing, his hand on my waist, my eyes closed.
And above it all, his caption:
'She wanted the role so badly. I tried to help her career, but I guess some people will do anything for fame.'
That bastard. He planned this.
The photos flashed across hundreds of gossip sites, spreading like wildfire before I could even breathe. Some were blurred, but it didn't matter. The world didn't need details.
They'd already seen enough to destroy me.
My phone slipped from my shaking hands and clattered loudly on the floor.
"No!" I choked out, pressing my palms over my mouth to muffle the scream clawing its way up my throat.
I collapsed onto the floor. Tears poured down my face in hot, endless streams. The pain in my chest was unbearable, like someone had reached inside and crushed my heart with their bare hands.
How could I explain this?
To my family. To my fans. To my Agency. To everyone who believed in me.
He sabotaged and ruined me. With three photos.
Just an hour ago, I was Greenville's top actress, the youngest to achieve that status. But now...
Five years of hard work. Five years of sleepless nights, forced smiles, and endless auditions. All of it....gone. Destroyed in a single moment by a man I once loved.
Chase Brussel. The man I'd spent three years of relationship with. The man who became my nightmare.
The first year of our secret relationship was normal. Sweet, even. But the next two years... God, the next two years were hell.
He abused me physically and Controlled me. And I stayed because I was stupid enough to think he would change and also afraid that it would affect my career.
But when I finally found the courage to end the relationship, just this morning, he smiled. A cold, calculating smile that made my skin crawl.
And now I know why.
He'd been planning this all along.
Fresh tears burned my eyes as I pulled at my hair, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
How can I be so naive? So stupid?
We were in a relationship. A real relationship, but it was secret because of our status in the movie industry, Yes, we had sex like normal couples would, but it was never because of my career. Never.
He twisted the truth, manipulated everything. And now the whole world sees me as nothing but a slut who slept her way to the top.
How could he be so cruel?
I reached for my phone with trembling hands. The first message I saw was from my manager, Leona:
"Dandy, what the hell have you done!"
She didn't even ask what happened Or if I'm okay.
Just Instant brutal blame.
I dialed her number, my fingers slippery with sweat. The line rang once. Twice. Three times.
But she didn't pick up.
Then another email arrived. My heart sank further.
"Effective immediately, your contract with GK Cosmetics has been terminated. We cannot risk association with this scandalous behavior."
Scandalous behavior?, As if I wanted to be humiliated.
I scrolled through my inbox, each message worse than the last.
Endorsements canceled. Commercials pulled. Magazine shoots dropped.
Rejection after rejection.
My career, everything I built, everything I sacrificed for was collapsing one notification at a time.
The sound of heels clicking against marble floor echoed from the hallway. Then footsteps.
My family, they emerged from the same direction.
"Congratulations," My stepmother, Margaret spat, arms crossed, her face twisted with disgust. "You've finally lived up to exactly what I always thought of you."
"Margaret, I didn't—"
"Oh, don't bother." She waved a manicured hand dismissively. "You don't have to lie. It's all over the internet. Now we'll have to clean up your mess."
Her perfume, sharp and suffocating, made my stomach turn.
She'd always hated me. Always. And now she had the perfect excuse.
I looked up at my father, desperately searching his face for something, anything that resembled understanding.
"Dad..." My voice cracked. "It's a setup. We were in a real relationship. I promise, I never slept with Chase for any role. He twisted everything. You have to believe me..."
My father's expression didn't change.
"You've embarrassed this family greatly," he said, his voice cold and flat.
"Dad, please—"
"I'm very disappointed in you, Dandelion."
He shook his head and walked away, Margaret following close behind with a satisfied smirk.
My chest clenched so tightly I thought my ribs would crack.
My stepsister Mildred stepped forward, crouching down to my level with a cruel smile playing at her lips.
"You always thought you were better than the rest of us, didn't you?" she whispered. "Daddy's perfect little princess. Well, now the world knows the truth. You've finally hit rock bottom where you belong."
I bit my lip hard, trying desperately not to break down in front of her.
Behind her, my stepbrother Malcolm leaned against the wall, phone in hand, a disgusting grin on his face.
"Wow," he drawled, chuckling. "Didn't think you'd actually end up like this." He looked me up and down slowly. "I must say though... you look hot in those photos."
My skin crawled.
I remembered the nights he used to sneak into my room when we were younger, The smell of whiskey on his breath and the way he'd laugh when I threatened to scream.
But no one believed me then either.
Mildred glared at him and left, but he stayed behind.
"Get out," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
"Oh, relax." He shoved his phone into his pocket. "We're family, aren't we? I just came to see if you wanted me to help you... you know, explain yourself to the press. For a price, of course."
Something inside me snapped.
I grabbed the nearest object, a glass vase, and hurled it at him with every ounce of strength I had left.
"You fucking bitch—" he growled, dodging it just in time.
The vase shattered against the wall, breaking into a thousand pieces.
Just like my heart.
Malcolm glared at me one last time before storming off.
And I was left alone, broken, ruined and drowning in pain.
My phone buzzed again.
Hundreds of notifications. Comment after comment.
"Knew she was fake."
"So that's how she won all those awards."
"Disgusting slut."
Why was I the only one being blamed? What about Chase? What about the monster who did this to me?
I tried calling Lilian, my best friend, the only person who might still care.
It went straight to voicemail.
"Please, Lilian..." I whispered into the phone, my voice breaking. "Call me back. I... I don't know what to do."
Fresh tears came hot and fast, blurring everything.
Greenville's beloved actress. Reduced to a public disgrace overnight.
I dragged myself up off the floor and stumbled to my bedroom, locking the door behind me.
Through my window, I could see paparazzi gathering outside the estate gates. Camera lights flashing. Voices shouting my name.
My life on display like a crime scene.
I closed the blinds and Curled up on the floor, how I wished, that I could just disappear.
Minutes passed. Or hours. I couldn’t tell, but the noise from the paparazzi had died down.
Then the pounding at the door started, I didn’t move, I was too weak to endure more blame and insults so I ignored it.
“Dandy! Open the damn door!”
It was Lilian’s breathless voice.
I raised my head stumbled up towards the door and unlocked it. She pushed inside, eyes wide, clutching her phone. The screen still showed my scandal plastered on the News headline.
Then she whispered with worry written all over her face, “Dandy… please tell me this is all a sick PRANK”