She’s Dating My Husband

On a reality TV show, A popular young actress subtly hinted at countless romantic details with the "Crown Prince" of the city. The host asked about her relationship status, and she covered her mouth, smiling demurely. "My man prefers I keep quiet about it." The entire audience gasped. Only I, an unknown actress, glanced at the marriage certificate with the "Crown Prince" in my bag, and muttered to myself, "Are there two Crown Princes now?" 1 It was my third year drifting in Hollywood, waiting for my career to die a slow death. My agent, unable to watch any longer, shoved me into a wildly popular pet reality show overnight. Both I and the trending actress, Brooke Sterling, were invited guests for this season. Our debut immediately garnered immense attention from netizens. Why? The glaring disparity in our pets. She had a championship-pedigree, double-coated Golden Retriever by her side, gleaming like gold. Beside me was an unknown mixed-breed mutt, all dusty grey. [Hahahahaha, I'm dying. Does anyone still own a mutt these days?] [Where I'm from, mutts are practically dinner.] [Truly, like owner, like dog. Brooke's Golden Retriever is so handsome!] [No way, same hair color as the Crown Prince, hahahaha.] [Same hair color? What's that about?] Seeing the comments flood the screen, the host feigned curiosity and asked about it: "Brooke, you posted on social media before the show. What's this about 'father and son' matching hair colors?" Brooke giggled shyly. "It's really nothing. Just someone insisting on dyeing his hair the same color as Little Gem." The host knelt down and stroked the dog's head. "I know this is Little Gem. So who's 'someone'?" She looked bashful: "Oh... I can't say." But even if Brooke didn't say, the comments had already guessed. The production team even put up a huge screen showing a late-night post from Rhys Vance, the "Crown Prince" of New York's elite. Rhys Vance V: [So bored, getting the wife a new husband.] The accompanying picture showed his platinum blonde hair. A notoriously difficult hair color, yet paired with Rhys Vance's devastatingly handsome face, it didn't look out of place at all. Instead, it added a touch of rebellious charm. The comments section instantly exploded. [OMG! What a handsome face!] [So much hotter than any celebrity idol. Is the Crown Prince not considering a career in entertainment?] [It really is Little Gem's matching hair color!] [The Crown Prince is so totally in love! He even dyed his hair to match Little Gem!] [Hahahahaha, I can't imagine how much the Crown Prince spoils Brooke in private!] The host playfully asked: "Is 'someone'... Mr. Rhys Vance?" Before Brooke could answer, my dog barked excitedly, wagging its tail furiously. I soothingly patted its head. At the same time, my forehead creased with annoyance. It was all my fault for always calling him "Rhys Vance, Rhys Vance" at home, making the dog now go wild whenever it heard his name. [What kind of dog is that? Still barking?] [They're on a show, can't they train it better before bringing it out? I hate dogs that bark randomly!] [Why does this dog react to Rhys Vance's name?] [Stella probably taught it. She's definitely trying to cling to the Crown Prince's fame.] [Ugh, seriously. Instead of improving her acting, she's always pulling these cheap stunts!] The host also looked over: "What's wrong with your dog?" "Nothing." Actually, my dog had quieted down under my calming strokes, but the comments kept fixating on that random bark. Brooke laughed lightly: "Did your dog not go to training school when it was little? My Little Gem spent a few months in a training camp, and now his manners are excellent. He never barks or howls unnecessarily." "Mine doesn't bark randomly either," I clarified, adding, "That was an accident." "What kind of accident?" "..." I bit back the words, "The kind of accident where it thought its daddy arrived." 2 Rhys Vance was the "Crown Prince" of New York society, as the netizens called him, and I was an unknown actress in Hollywood. Worlds apart. But we were childhood sweethearts and had already tied the knot. It was my idea to keep our marriage a secret. Mainly because I found Rhys embarrassing. Take the hair dyeing incident, for example. His initial reason for dyeing his hair was because my current celebrity crush had that hair color. He wouldn't let me look at other men, so he dyed his hair the same color, constantly parading in front of me to compete for attention, even calling it "getting me a new husband." Just thinking about his recent boundless energy gave me a headache. Even more headache-inducing was that such things had happened many times before. Ultimately, he'd always end up tormenting me in bed... With such a childish and jealous husband, I kept him hidden, terrified of anyone finding out. Who would have thought someone would be so eager to claim a connection to him? The production team started playing a short video. It was a segment we'd been asked to send before the show aired, featuring cute moments of our dogs at home, so the audience could quickly get to know and love them. My video had been handled by my agent. While everyone's attention was focused on Brooke's video, I quietly messaged my agent: [You didn't expose Rhys, did you?] My agent gave me an "OK" sign: [Don't worry.] Only then did I feel comfortable watching Brooke's video. Undoubtedly, Little Gem was a very well-behaved and intelligent dog, but Brooke's video was laden with too much subtle manipulation. The camera casually panned over a matching wristwatch left casually on a coffee table. Then over the dining table, where a matching designer plate, which Rhys had once posted on social media, was visible. Not to mention the throw pillows on the sofa, the double pillows on the bed, and finally, Little Gem retrieving a tie that matched Rhys's in the video. It was all implied, all suggestive. The comments section was already swooning. [OMG! It's all the Crown Prince's stuff! Every item looks so familiar!] [Little Gem is rubbing against what looks like the Crown Prince's suit pants, right?] [Aaaaaah, our Brooke is going to marry into royalty!] [They're all common items, you can buy them if you have money. It doesn't necessarily mean they're the Crown Prince's, right?] [Father and son matching hair colors, sweetie.] In the midst of the joyful atmosphere, the production team started playing the video of my dog. After only two seconds, I had a bad feeling. The video truly didn't expose Rhys. In fact, many clips were ones I'd sent to my agent when I usually posted about my dog. But... it was too similar to Brooke's video! Coal, my dog, wagged its head around the living room with a toy, and the camera panned over Rhys's leather shoes. Coal bounced onto the sofa, running around, and the camera showed a painting on the wall that Rhys had once posted. Even when Coal was sleeping soundly in my arms, Rhys's wrist, with his watch, was visible in the frame. His voice echoed at the very end of the video. "Good boy, don't bother Mommy. Come to Daddy." The video finished playing. The comments section was silent for a moment, then erupted in a barrage of ridicule. [I'm not saying anything, but Stella is really trying too hard to cling to fame, isn't she?] [This is hilarious! Stella really thinks if she edits a video like this, we'll believe she's involved with the Crown Prince, right?] [Hahahahahaha, so absurd!] [If Brooke's video hadn't come first, maybe I would've actually believed it.] [Just quietly saying, that male voice at the end sounds pretty similar...] [Yes! Only you!] [Some people are such killjoys, can't stand to see anyone else doing well, huh?] [Stella's fans, stop struggling. You'll be quiet once the Crown Prince publicly shuts you down.] Brooke chuckled amidst the ridicule: "Stella's video is quite interesting." I frowned slightly: "What do you mean?" "It's obvious, isn't it?" she said innocently. "You just want everyone to misunderstand that you're involved with Mr. Vance, right?" I never imagined she would accuse me first! She was the one clinging to fame! She was the one playing games, and here I was, keeping things hidden, and I became the one being pretentious! Blood rushed to my head. I didn't care about anything else. Didn't care about our secret marriage, didn't care about Rhys being embarrassing... I looked directly at her: "Isn't your video the one implying that?" "But I'm already with Mr. Vance..." She paused slightly, then lowered her head bashfully. "My relationship with him, I don't think I need to explain it to you, do I?" I took a deep breath, maintaining my composure as I said to her: "I think you should explain, considering I'm Rhys Vance's wife in the eyes of the law." The comments section instantly exploded! 3 The atmosphere in the live stream reached its peak. [OMG! Did I just hear that wrong? What did Stella say she was to Rhys Vance?] [Wife?? Wife!!] [I don't believe it. If she really was his wife, why didn't Stella say anything before?] [This woman really just says whatever she wants!] [But her expression doesn't look like she's lying...] [Use your brain, there's no way! The top elite of New York society, how could he marry an unknown actress?] [Brooke is also an actress!] [Our Brooke is gentle, generous, cute, and kind. Who wouldn't want to marry her?] Amidst the chaotic comments, Brooke let out a light laugh. "Lying comes with a price, you know." I calmly looked at her: "That warning applies to you too." She smiled: "You say you're Mr. Rhys's wife. Do you have proof?" Suddenly, all eyes in the room were on me. I calmly pulled out my phone and went to my photo album. But it was my own fault for being too cautious; there wasn't a single photo of Rhys and me in my regular album. I could only open my hidden album. It was full of photos of Rhys and me. Some were even risqué, taken in moments of passion, the kind that would get the live stream shut down... My face flushed slightly. I found a few intimate photos that weren't too explicit but clearly proved our relationship, and handed them over to the production team to display. The moment the photos appeared on the big screen, the comments section erupted again. [OMG! It really is Stella! And it's really Rhys Vance!] [Stella, you eat well, girl!] [If Stella really is the Crown Prince's wife, then was Brooke lying all this time?] [And the "Crown Prince's matching hair color," don't make me laugh!] [The "clinger" always says others are clinging to fame.] [Side note... Rhys looks so satisfied in these photos. Did something happen when they were taken?] [Maybe it's photoshopped? Photoshop is so advanced these days, they can even make videos!] [Stella looks like a Rhys Vance fangirl, so creepy!] [Same goes for Brooke's fans!] [Don't judge without knowing the full story. I unconditionally believe Brooke.] Brooke calmly pulled out her phone amidst the dispute. She lowered her head, typed something, then looked up at me, a hint of challenge in her eyes: "But... I have photos like this too."