Chapter 2

"You two should get back together now that Jason is back for good," Steven said. "Exactly! Since we're here, how about you two kiss and make up? We can act as your witnesses," Lila added excitedly. The atmosphere was harmonious and joyful. Sirius stood only a few steps away, but he felt cold all over. As Maisie's and Jason's faces drew closer, Sirius lost the courage to continue watching. He fled, lying to himself that nothing had happened as long as he hadn't seen anything. He only mustered the courage to head home late that night, wanting to ask Maisie how she would handle this love triangle. To his dismay, she wasn't even at home. She'd spent the night outside on Jason's first night back. The following day, Sirius headed to Seaworth Entertainment to see Maisie enter the building hand in hand with Jason. She said, "Jason is a new artist signed to our label, and our focus will shift to helping him gain popularity. Make sure to give him your full attention, everyone." Jason smiled at Sirius. "Long time no see, my dear brother. Thank you for caring for Mom and Dad in my absence, and I'm also eternally grateful that you've taken such good care of Maisie for me. I can't imagine how devastated she would've been without me if you hadn't been there for her." Despite his calm tone, there was no hiding the provocation in his words. He was almost telling Sirius to his face that he was a mere substitute. The employees were stunned and waited to see what Maisie had to say about that. To their surprise, she didn't rebuke Jason. Instead, she said, "That reminds me, Jace. You and Sirius have similar styles, so you'll clash. Sirius will adopt a different style in the future and walk a different path. He can pull off the sexy look, go for a fresh-faced style, or even go wild. Whatever it is, he won't be the same as you." The stark contrast in her treatment of Jason and Sirius made it clear how she felt about them. It also made Sirius' blood run cold. After that day, Jason kept taking Sirius' gigs because he knew he had Maisie on his side. He took Sirius' advertisements, variety shows, roles… Sirius had tried to fight back, but Maisie had only told him off for being selfish. Then, she'd given everything to Jason. Jason even wanted to take Sirius' manager and assistant despite having his own. When Maisie heard, she said without hesitation, "Jace has just joined the industry, so it's better to have more people watching out for him. As for Sirius, there's no need to waste resources on him since he doesn't have anything to do right now." Sirius had gained many fans throughout his five years in the entertainment industry. Maisie had instructed the PR department to shut them up by announcing that he was taking a break due to health concerns. … The sound of heels clacking on the floor pulled Sirius out of his reverie. "Do you know how much it means to Jace to get this role, Sirius? You're his family—why aren't you happy for him? Why are you standing here looking so downcast? For whom are you putting on this act?" Maisie snapped. Sirius found it ironic. It turned out he didn't even have the right to be sad when he wasn't the one she loved. He said calmly, "I'm not putting on an act for anyone. I just think I deserve to be sad when you've had me switched out for someone despite me passing the audition." A trace of guilt flashed across Maisie's face. Just then, Jason hurried over. "We're brothers, Sirius, yet I didn't know you only thought of me as someone else. I must've done something wrong to make you hate me so…" He bit his lip, his sorrowful appearance tugging at Maisie's heart. When she turned back to Sirius, her expression turned into one of anger. "I can't believe you're heartless enough to hurt your brother's feelings, Sirius. Since you're not here to wish him well, you're not welcome. Get lost and reflect on your mistakes." This had already happened countless times. All Jason had to do was say a few words to make Maisie lose her rationality. She didn't hesitate to have Sirius kicked out while everyone was watching—she didn't care whether he would feel humiliated. However, Sirius no longer felt sad as he would have in the past. He merely turned away indifferently and left the banquet hall. Maisie was taken aback by his abnormal behavior. She couldn't help thinking something was off. Just then, Jason nudged her. "Come and have a drink with the director with me, Maisie." "Okay." She pushed the thought out of her mind. … When Sirius got home, he checked the trending topics on Twitter and saw one about Maisie and Jason. It went, "Maisie Seaworth and Jason Ford—a fairy tale come true!" There were various tweets about their mutual love. The online community lapped it up, cooing over their sweet interactions. There was also a trending topic about himself. It went, "Sirius Ford loses in love and his career." He and Maisie had never gone public with their marriage, so everyone mocked him for the current situation. They spread rumors about him being shelved because he'd tried and failed to win Maisie's heart. They also claimed he'd tried to get between her and Jason. This was now a common occurrence, but Maisie had never clarified the matter. She'd stood by and allowed him to get caught in the storm. Sirius locked his phone and silently printed out a divorce agreement. Since he was going to leave this world soon, he wanted to have a clean break. He would end this unacknowledged marriage and deregister his social security account. Once he left, Sirius Ford would cease to exist. The following morning, he called the relevant authorities to ask about the deregistration process. After finding out that he could apply for it online and get it done in a month, he immediately got to work. "It's perfect timing. The day everything is complete is the day I leave," he murmured. "What's this about leaving?" Maisie's voice rang out behind him.