Cut! My Revenge Arc Starts Now - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Terrence let out a quiet chuckle and fished a business card from his pocket.
Bruce took it, gave it a quick look—and immediately crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
"No way... this can't be real!" His voice trembled with shock. "You're the chairman of Eclipse Entertainment? I don't buy it!"
When he looked up at me, his eyes were bloodshot with desperation.
"This is some hired actor, right? Ysabelle, tell me this is all fake! Some sick joke!" He sounded like a kid throwing a meltdown over a confiscated Xbox.
"Ysabelle, I messed up. Please—don't do this." His fists clenched white-knuckle tight. "After everything we've been through, you can't just walk away."
"I'll dump Gianna right now. Let's just go back to how things were."
"I swear I'll never hurt you again. Please?"
He crawled forward on his knees, inch by pathetic inch, trying to close the gap between us.
Gianna grabbed his arm in panic. "Bruce, have you lost your damn mind? You'd toss me aside for her?"
Bruce wasn't listening. With an animalistic snarl, he shoved her away. "Get your hands off me!"
Gianna staggered back, her head cracking against the wall. A crimson stain bloomed on her forehead, but she barely noticed. Face twisted in humiliation, she scrambled to her feet and bolted.
I watched the whole trainwreck unfold, an ironic smile tugging at my lips.
When I wanted him, he treated me like yesterday's leftovers.
Now that I'd moved on? He was groveling at my feet.
Bruce stayed kneeling, his red-rimmed eyes locked onto mine. "Ysabelle, forgive me," he choked out. "She meant nothing—just some fun. You were always the one."
"You've always been... extraordinary. Since we were kids, you could conquer anything—no mountain too high, no challenge too tough."
"Top of your class. First in everything. Meanwhile I..." His voice cracked. "I was always in your shadow."
"That's why I kept testing you. Over and over."
"I had to know if your love was real."
He sounded utterly shattered.
But my next words crushed whatever hope he had left.
"No more tests needed," I said, voice steady as steel. "I don't love you."
The moment I said it, an unexpected weight lifted from my shoulders. Had I ever truly loved him? Or was I just clinging to the ghost of what we'd been?
Didn't matter now.
Terrence, sharp as ever, noticed my moment of vulnerability and subtly stepped closer—a silent pillar of support.
Bruce completely broke.
The sight of the girl he'd taken for granted, now standing beside another man, laughing like he was ancient history—it destroyed him.
"Ysabelle... I'm sorry..." Tears streamed down his face. His shoulders hunched like he carried the weight of the world, though there was nothing behind him but empty air.
I set my script down, turned on my heel, and walked away.
From this moment forward, Bruce and I were strangers.
Outside, the night air cooled my skin as I hesitated before turning to Terrence.
"Have we... met before?"
He stopped mid-step, then sighed like this was the hundredth time we'd had this conversation.
"Ysabelle, at this point you don't need an optometrist—you need a neurologist."
Reaching into his coat, he produced an ancient flip phone.
Curious, I powered it on. The screen flickered to life, revealing a treasure trove of forgotten texts. As I scrolled, memories long buried came rushing back.
Terrence watched me with patient warmth, his gaze impossibly tender.
"Once upon a time," he murmured, "there was a chubby kid in a back alley."
"Everyone's favorite punching bag."
"Day after day, he sat alone at that alley's mouth while other kids played."
"But even that was too much to ask."
"Shoved face-first into mud puddles. Locked in pitch-black storage rooms."
"Tripped. Mocked. Told he'd never amount to anything."
"That kid thought life was one endless dark tunnel."
"Then he met a girl."
"She was like him—but completely different. Where he saw darkness, she carried sunlight."
"When the bullies came, she planted herself between them and him like a tiny warrior."
"And every day after, she'd send him messages on her beat-up old phone—little lifelines of hope."
Terrence flicked my forehead gently.
"Ring any bells?"
I stood frozen as the past crashed over me like a tidal wave. We'd both changed so much.
Some people lose themselves chasing love.
Others preserve it carefully—like decade-old text messages saved against all odds.
Terrence exhaled softly.
"Guess I was always one step behind."
"But at least the universe is giving me a shot now."
His unspoken meaning hung between us, clear as day.
But for the first time in years, I hesitated—not out of fear, but clarity.
I'd spent so long twisting myself into knots for Bruce that I'd forgotten who I was outside that relationship. Before I could be anyone's girlfriend, I needed to rediscover Ysabelle.
"I... need some time," I admitted.