The Ring That Expired

As Claire Bennett’s manager, I watched her transform from an unknown extra into a superstar. But Claire never gave me a title. She even made a point of telling the public she was single. Then one day, I saw her kissing another man passionately in her dressing room. Curled up in his arms, she threw the plain wedding band I had given her into the burning fireplace. “Ethan, your cheap ring was never enough to hold me.” Seven years together had lost to a diamond-studded ring. Later, when I saw Claire again, she raised her scarred hand and held that same plain band out to me, begging for forgiveness. I simply tossed it back into the fireplace. “Ms. Bennett, that ring expired a long time ago.” By the time I reached the dressing room, my stomach was already churning painfully. The two full bottles of red wine I had just drunk made my entire body feel as if it were burning. I had a fever and a terrible cold, but I couldn’t miss the event. I had fought hard to get Claire the female lead’s understudy role in Director Hayes’s newest film. The contract was still in my hand when I heard Claire’s breathless moans from inside. “Ryan, you’ll give me the lead role in that movie, right?” “With you being this enthusiastic, aren’t you worried your manager boyfriend will get jealous?” “What’s there to worry about? He isn’t my boyfriend. He’s only my manager.” As the bed creaked rhythmically inside, my hand froze on the doorknob. I knew the man in that room. He was Claire’s first love, Ryan Carter. I had never met him before, but I knew everything about their past. Ryan had been the one to dump Claire. Yet now, all he had to do was crook a finger, and Claire forgave him without hesitation. The seven years Claire and I had struggled together meant nothing to her. Once, while packing Claire’s luggage, I had found her diary. It was filled with all the secret crushes and romantic fantasies of her youth. Ryan was the only leading man in every entry. Our seven years together had never appeared in those pages—not even once. I rubbed the watch on my wrist. It was the only gift Claire had ever given me. I had always treasured it, wearing it only to important events. But now, it was obvious the watch had stopped keeping time. A watch that no longer told time was no different from a piece of scrap metal. I knew that when a watch was wrong, every second it showed was wrong too. The moans inside gradually faded, but I still didn’t have the right to open the door and walk in. Claire and I had been together for seven years, yet she had never given our relationship a name. Everyone close to us knew we were a couple, but she had never once acknowledged it publicly. After the sounds inside finally quieted, the door suddenly opened. I stood there frozen as Ryan stepped out, his clothes rumpled and half-buttoned. “Well, well. I didn’t know they kept a guard dog here.” I barely heard him. All my attention was fixed on his face. He looked remarkably similar to me. I stared at Ryan in disbelief. The shock in my chest nearly overwhelmed the pain. Ryan, however, seemed completely used to the reaction. He gave me a contemptuous glance and walked away. I turned toward Claire, who was awkwardly straightening her clothes inside the room. My voice came out hoarse. “Why… does he look so much like me?” Claire didn’t need to answer. I already knew. The kind of substitute-lover plot that only existed in romance novels had happened to me. For years, I had wondered why Claire—who was always distant and guarded with everyone else—had accepted my advances the very first time I showed interest. Our friends used to joke that I had won the ice queen over with my face. Now I understood. They had been right. It was because of my face. Claire had always treated me as Ryan’s replacement. I pulled my lips into a bitter smile and laughed. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes. Claire paused, then got up and walked over after smoothing down her wrinkled dress. “Don’t misunderstand. Ryan and I were only discussing business.” I looked at her flushed face and sneered. “Did business require both of you to take off your clothes?” I didn’t want to speak to her anymore. I turned to leave. Claire stopped me with one hand. Her cheeks were still flushed, but her eyes were filled with irritation. “What do you mean? You doubt me? If that’s how you feel, then let’s break up!” Whenever Claire and I argued, she used breaking up as a weapon. And every time, I immediately surrendered and begged her to make up. But not this time. I stared at her without expression as my heart slowly tightened. “Whatever you want.”Before today, I would have yelled at Claire and demanded to know why she had treated me this way. But now, I was suddenly tired. I was exhausted from living every day afraid of losing her. Seven years was enough to warm even a stone. Yet after all that time, I still couldn’t get Claire to acknowledge me publicly. After catching her cheating with my own eyes, the heart I had kept suspended for so long finally dropped. There was even a strange relief in it. At least the pain had come early. At least I could stop waiting. I handed Claire the contract and spoke with unusual calm. “This is the female lead’s understudy role in Director Hayes’s new film. I fought hard to get it for you. Consider it the last thing I’ll ever do for you.” Claire looked at the contract and laughed disdainfully. Then she threw it straight into the trash in front of me. “Ethan, do you really think I’m only good enough for an understudy role now?” She looked at me mockingly and tapped one finger against my chest again and again, as if she wanted to pierce straight through me. “Ethan, sometimes you need to understand how the world works. You could drink until you bleed from the stomach or kneel before someone like a servant, and it still wouldn’t be worth one promise from Ryan.” Every word she said was cruel, but none of it was untrue. No matter how hard I worked, all I could secure for her was a supporting role. Ryan only had to lift a finger to hand her the lead. I curved my lips into a bitter smile and stared at her hollowly. The eyes that had once looked at me with admiration and worship were now filled with contempt. They cut into the last scraps of my dignity like sharp knives. I sighed and picked the contract out of the trash. Under Claire’s disdainful gaze, I looked at her again. “This contract was secured through my own hard work. Since you don’t want it, I’ll give it to someone who does.” With that, I turned and walked away. When I reached the door, I saw several employees gathered nearby, clearly there to watch the drama. I glanced over my shoulder at Claire, who was still frozen in place. “I’ll discuss changing your manager with the company. It should be completed in about a month. Until then, try not to cause any trouble.” Claire might have been the company’s most pampered star, but she was also famous for creating disasters. Her blunt personality had offended countless industry executives and popular actresses. Without me smoothing things over behind her, her career would never have gone so smoothly. Claire’s face flushed. “Ethan, do you really think I can’t succeed without you? Let me tell you something—I’ll be famous with or without you.” I ignored her provocation and glared at the crowd. “Don’t you all have work to do?” Everyone scattered immediately. Although I was only Claire’s manager, I still carried tremendous influence in the company. I was the company’s top talent agent. There were countless performers desperate to work under me. I took the day off and went home to rest. After the business dinner, my stomach was still burning badly. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. On my nightstand was a photo of Claire holding up her award. The bitterness in my chest rose again. I had taken that photo myself the first time she won Best Actress. I first met Claire at a charity gala. Back then, she had a young, inexperienced face. She stood timidly in a corner, unnoticed by everyone. Yet from the second floor, I found myself drawn to her. I began watching everything she did, and a smile often tugged at my lips without me realizing it. Later, I noticed someone secretly slipping something into her drink. They wanted to get her drunk without anyone noticing. I had never liked interfering in other people’s business, so at first I planned to ignore it. But her tearful eyes stayed in my mind. In the end, I stepped in and saved her. She clung to me while crying and thanked me over and over. Not long after that, she naturally became the first performer under my management. I gave her everything I had—even my family. I was the sole heir to the powerful Hart family. But the Harts had one strict rule: before the heir turned twenty-eight, they could not accept any help from the family. They had to build their own success before they could take over the family business. Then Claire made one careless mistake and injured the beloved protégé of a powerful executive. She was blacklisted across the entire industry overnight. All her endorsements and appearances were handed to someone else. Claire lost all motivation and began drinking heavily every day. I knelt before my grandfather for three days and three nights, begging him to help her. Back then, I had sworn to him that Claire would one day become the future Mrs. Hart. Reality slapped me hard across the face. For Ryan, Claire had abandoned me without hesitation.I took a deep breath, trying to force all those memories from my mind. Then my phone rang with a special notification tone. I had set it years ago so I would never miss an update from Claire. Now the sound only grated on my nerves. Sure enough, Claire’s newest post on Ins showed a photo of two hands clasped together. The caption read: “Celebrating our tenth year together.” How ridiculous. I had been part of those ten years for seven of them. The comments were filled with fans offering congratulations and speculating about who had finally won the actress’s heart. Before long, Ryan’s comment was pinned at the top. “My heart has never changed. Neither have you.” As the CEO of Carter Enterprises, Ryan naturally had plenty of admirers. That kind of public acknowledgment was something I had never received after seven years of devotion. I stared at the photos of Claire and Ryan openly showing off their relationship. I had expected it to hurt. But I felt nothing. It seemed the heart that loved Claire had already died. I composed myself and handed over all of Claire’s projects to the company. When my assistant asked what should be done with the female lead’s understudy contract, I casually pointed to one of the company’s young actresses. “Give it to Mia Brooks. Her acting is excellent. She can handle it.” I had devoted myself to developing Claire all these years, but I had never ignored the company’s other performers. Mia was a rising talent I had recently discovered. Her acting felt effortless, and there was even a slight resemblance between her features and Claire’s. That was why I remembered her so clearly. I brought all the paperwork concerning Claire’s contracts to her dressing room. She still wore the same arrogant expression. Years of praise and indulgence had made her lose herself. The purity and resilience she once possessed were nowhere to be seen. Claire glanced at the contracts in my hand, looking irritated. “Ethan, are you really leaving me?” She still seemed certain that I would never walk away from her at her current level of fame. This time, she had guessed wrong. I nodded firmly and threw the documents onto her desk. “I’ve made up my mind. Sign them. Your future appearances will be arranged by another manager.” My cold expression made Claire laugh angrily. She signed her name on the contract with furious strokes. Then, right in front of me, she removed the ring from her finger. “This is the thing you gave me. I don’t want it anymore!” I watched as Claire threw the ring into the burning fireplace. A heavy ache settled in my chest. That plain band had been a prize we won by chance while celebrating her first leading role. It had little monetary value, but it meant everything to me. I had thought Claire would at least feel some regret over our seven years together. But looking at her stubborn, unrepentant expression, my heart finally went cold. I nodded without changing expression. “If it makes you happy, then fine. I’m leaving.” I didn’t look back. It felt as though my heart had been buried in the flames along with the ring. The moment I stepped outside, my mother called. “Ethan, you need to come to France right away! Your father… your father had a stroke. The doctor says he… he may not make it through the night…” Her sobs left my mind completely blank. My parents had lived in France for years, and the family business had gradually begun expanding overseas. I had spoken to my father only last week. He had been perfectly healthy. Now, everything had changed without warning. “Okay, Mom. Wait for me. I’m coming right now!”I didn’t have time to think. I hurriedly booked the next flight to France and managed to get the last first-class ticket. Claire came out behind me. She looked as if she wanted to say something. But I had no time to deal with her. I left the company and rushed to the airport. By the time I reached the gate, I was sweating heavily. After boarding, I sat with my hands clasped, praying that my father would be safe. I didn’t notice that the man taking the seat beside me was Ryan. He stood there, looking at my pale, sweaty face, and mocked me. “Well, well. Going on vacation too? If you can’t afford to travel, don’t pretend. Someone like you belongs in economy.” I closed my eyes and refused to respond. But Ryan wouldn’t let it go. He kept demanding that the flight attendants remove me. Seeing their helpless expressions, I took a deep breath and stood. “Fine. I’ll move to economy. Are you satisfied?” I didn’t want a confrontation. I only wanted to see my father one last time. But just as I stood, Ryan suddenly cried out and began patting down his clothes. “Where’s my watch? It was just here! Did you steal it? That watch is worth three million dollars. You must have taken it!” With only a few words, Ryan easily set a trap for me. I frowned and looked at him helplessly. “Where’s your proof that I stole it?” “You were sitting beside me the whole time. The moment you stood up, my watch disappeared. You stole it! I’m calling the police!” The delay caused the flight to remain grounded, and the surrounding passengers began complaining. Ryan didn’t care. He kept demanding that I admit to stealing the watch. “Don’t call the police! I’ll buy you a new one, okay? Just stop making a scene!” If Ryan called the police, the crew would remove us both from the plane—and I would lose my last chance to reach my father. I had reached my limit. I even agreed to his unreasonable demand. But Ryan only smiled triumphantly and waved his phone in front of me. “Too late. If you’re this afraid of the police, you must be guilty. I already called them. Now we just wait.” The police arrived quickly. Without giving me a chance to explain, they restrained me and dragged me off the plane. “Don’t touch me! I need to get on that plane! I need to see my father one last time!” No matter how hard I struggled, I could only watch the plane carrying my final chance disappear into the sky. I wouldn’t even get to see my father before he died. I was taken to an interrogation room while Ryan continued insisting that I had stolen his watch. Then my phone rang again. My mother’s sobs came through the speaker. “Ethan… your father… he’s gone!” My fingers went numb. The phone slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor. Ryan leaned close to my ear, his voice malicious and contemptuous. “Someone like you has no right to sit beside me in first class. You don’t have the right to compete with me for Claire either.” So this was his plan. Ryan had deliberately called the police and framed me so I would miss the flight. I could no longer contain my rage. I swung my fist into his face. Then another. And another. Each blow landed solidly. Ryan couldn’t fight back at all. We were only separated when Claire arrived in a hurry after hearing what had happened. She shielded Ryan and glared at me. “Ethan, have you lost your mind? How dare you attack Ryan? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” In Claire’s eyes, Ryan and I had never been equals. He would always be above me. I raised my bloodshot eyes to her. Even now, she didn’t ask what had happened. She simply chose to protect him. If that was how things were, then I had no reason to spare them any dignity. “Claire, we’re completely over. These seven years—I’ll consider them a gift to a stray dog.”