Damage Control

Damage Control
Scarlett's POV

The camera lens stared at me like a black eye that never blinked.

"Let's start from the beginning," the producer said. Her name was Sarah, and she had the kind of voice that pretended to be friendly but wasn't. "How did you and Kai meet?"

I sat in the hard chair, hands gripping my knees so tight my knuckles turned white. "I don't want to talk about this."

"You don't have a choice." Sarah leaned forward, her clipboard balanced on her lap. "Jake was very clear. Talk or leave. And if you leave, you pay."

"This is wrong."

"This is your job." She clicked her pen three times. "Now, how did you meet?"

My throat felt like sandpaper. "College. We met in college."

"Where specifically?"

"A coffee shop near campus." The memory hit me hard. Kai spilling coffee on his shirt because he was nervous. Me laughing so hard I snorted. The way he looked at me like I was the most interesting person in the world.

"And?" Sarah prompted when I went quiet.

"And we started dating."

"Just dating? Or was it more serious?"

I stared at the camera, hating every second of this. "It was serious."

"How serious? Walk us through the timeline."

The questions came like bullets. When did we move in together? When did he propose? When did I start planning the wedding? Each answer felt like peeling off a bandage from a wound that never healed.

"Tell us about the engagement," Sarah said, her eyes gleaming. "Was it romantic?"

Against my will, the memory flooded back. Kai taking me to the recording studio where he worked. A song playing through the speakers—one he'd written just for me. Him dropping to one knee with a ring he'd saved for months to buy.

"Yes," I whispered. "It was perfect."

"And three weeks before the wedding, you left. Why?"

There it was. The question I'd been dreading.

"I can't answer that."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

Sarah sighed and looked at someone off-camera. "We're not getting anywhere. Maybe we should bring them together. See what happens when they're in the same room."

Panic shot through me. "No. Please don't."

"Then answer the question. Why did you leave Kai?"

My mind raced. If I told the truth—about his manager saying I was holding him back, about choosing his dreams over our love—it would sound like an excuse. Like I was trying to play the victim.

But if I said nothing, everyone would think I was just cruel.

"It's complicated," I finally said.

"Uncomplicate it."

"I thought I was doing the right thing."

"By abandoning him?" Sarah's voice was sharp now. "By leaving him to wonder what he did wrong?"

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not on camera. Not for their entertainment.

"I didn't want to hold him back," I said, my voice breaking. "He had this incredible opportunity with a record label, but they said he needed to focus completely on his music. No distractions. No serious relationships."

Sarah perked up. "So his manager told you to leave?"

"His manager said if Kai wanted to succeed, he couldn't be tied down. And I saw how much Kai wanted it. How hard he'd worked. I couldn't be the reason he gave up his dreams."

"So you made the decision for him."

"I made a sacrifice for him."

"Did you?" Sarah tilted her head. "Or did you run away because you were scared?"

The question hit me like a slap. "What?"

"Maybe it wasn't about protecting him at all. Maybe you were just afraid of commitment. Afraid of being vulnerable. Afraid that if you stayed, you'd eventually get hurt."

"That's not true." But even as I said it, doubt crept in. Was she right? Had I convinced myself I was being noble when really I was just being a coward?

"Let's talk about now," Sarah continued. "Five years later, you're on a reality show playing the villain. Kai's here trying to find love with Madison. How does that make you feel?"

"How do you think it makes me feel?" Anger flared in my chest. "The man I loved is here to fall for someone else, and I'm being paid to destroy their relationship."

"So you still love him."

The words hung in the air like a confession I never meant to make.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." Sarah smiled like she'd just won something. "It's written all over your face."

Before I could respond, the door burst open. Jake Morrison strode in with his phone in hand.

"We've got a problem," he announced. "Kai's refusing to talk. He won't answer a single question about you."

Relief and disappointment crashed through me at the same time.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means we need a different approach." Jake's eyes gleamed with that dangerous light I'd learned to fear. "If he won't talk about the past, we'll make the present so painful he has no choice."

"What are you planning?"

"Tomorrow's group date. I'm pairing Kai and Madison for a romantic activity. Your job is to watch from the sidelines and do nothing."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"You heard me. No interference. No manipulation. Just watch the man you love fall for someone else." Jake leaned against the wall, looking pleased with himself. "And if you can't handle it, if you break down or run away, we'll have our answer about your true feelings. Either way, we get great television."

"You're a monster."

"I'm a producer." He pushed off the wall. "Now, let's talk about your options. You can stay on the show and follow my rules, or you can leave and owe us a hundred thousand dollars. What's it going to be?"

I wanted to walk out. Wanted to tell him where he could shove his show and his cameras and his manipulative games.

But I had no money. No job. No other options.

"I'll stay," I said through gritted teeth.

"Good choice." Jake checked his phone. "Now, tonight we're having a welcome dinner for Kai. Everyone will be there. You and Kai will sit at opposite ends of the table and pretend to be civilized. Can you manage that?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really." He headed for the door, then paused. "Oh, and Scarlett? If you think today was hard, wait until tomorrow. Watching them together is going to destroy you."

After he left, I sat alone in the interview room with the cameras still rolling. My reflection stared back at me from the dark screen of a turned-off monitor.

I looked haunted. Broken. Like a woman who'd made the worst mistake of her life and was about to pay for it in the most painful way possible.

The door opened again. A production assistant poked her head in.

"Miss Rose? Dinner is in thirty minutes. They want you in hair and makeup."

I stood up on shaky legs and followed her out. The hallway felt endless, each step heavier than the last.

In the makeup room, they made me beautiful. Fixed my smudged mascara, added color to my pale cheeks, made me look like someone who had her life together.

But inside, I was falling apart.

The dinner table was set like something from a magazine. Candles everywhere, crystal glasses, flowers arranged in perfect bouquets. Everyone was already seated when I arrived.

Kai sat at the far end, looking good in a button-down shirt. Madison sat beside him, her hand resting on his arm as she laughed at something he said.

The sight of them together felt like a knife to my chest.

I took my seat at the opposite end, as far from them as possible. Ryan sat beside me, and Marcus across from me, but I barely heard their conversation. All I could focus on was Kai and Madison at the other end of the table.

He was smiling at her. Really smiling, not the fake smile he'd given me earlier. She was blushing and giggling, clearly already falling under his spell.

This was my punishment. Watching him be happy without me.

Dinner lasted a lifetime. Course after course of food I couldn't taste. Toast after toast to new beginnings and finding love. Each word felt like a personal attack.

Finally, mercifully, dinner ended. People started moving toward the living room for drinks and conversation.

I tried to escape to my room, but Madison caught my arm.

"Scarlett! Wait! I need to talk to you."

My heart sank. "About what?"

Madison glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then pulled me into a quiet corner.

"It's about Kai," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I really like him. Like, really like him. But I need to know... is there still something between you two?"

The question I'd been dreading. The perfect opportunity Jake wanted me to have.

I could tell her the truth—that I still loved Kai, that seeing them together was killing me. I could warn her away, protect what was left of my broken heart.

Or I could lie. Could plant the seeds of doubt Jake wanted. Could destroy their connection before it even began.

Madison looked at me with those trusting blue eyes, waiting for my answer.

And I realized with horrible clarity that whatever I said next would change everything.