always gotten along with Drake. I knew that the two of them were close, like brother and sister. But I never in a million years would’ve thought that she’d take his side if he cheated on me.
“Listen, I’m going to give you some tough love that you may be resistant to. All I ask is that you receive it in the spirit it is intended. And this is coming from a place of love, so please accept it with an open-heart chakra.” She took a deep breath. “Sometimes you can be so dramatic.”
I mean, if that’s not the pot calling the kettle black…
“Everyone is the star in the movie of their life,” she continued. “And we write our own scripts.”
I sat there momentarily speechless. “What are you talking about?”
“I just think that sometimes when the spotlight isn’t on you, you write an act where you are center stage playing the role of the victim for the attention.”
Note to self: Find a new best friend.
“Okay, well, please accept this observation in the spirit it is intended.” I kept my tone even and strong. “If you actually believe that, then you are as delusional as your character in Life of Lies.”
Gen had played a woman who lived in a fantasy world where she believed that she was European royalty descended from Queen Elizabeth when in reality she was the daughter of a truck driver and waitress.
“I don’t accept that negativity,” she spoke with an air of superiority. “And I’m absorbing your microaggressions with my light and love.”
It was a good thing she wasn’t standing in front of me because she would be absorbing my fist with her face.
“I’m here,” I announced as I pulled up to the address that I’d put into my GPS. I’d never actually been to visit Gam before. My mom never wanted to come back to her hometown, and once I was an adult, I flew Gam out to see me twice a year because she loved coming out to L.A. I’d tried to convince her to move to California for years, but she insisted on staying here.
“I have to go.” I disconnected the call before I said something that I couldn’t take back.
I sat in the car trying to tamper down the anger and betrayal I was feeling from both Drake and now Gen. I slid the mirror open on the visor and lifted my sunglasses. I barely recognized the woman I saw staring back at me. My dark hair was pulled up in a bun with stray strands falling out. My blue eyes were piercing against the red-rimmed edges of my swollen lids. My round face was puffier than usual, which was saying a lot. My nickname growing up was Chipmunk Cheeks, which had been abbreviated to just Chipmunk and sometimes Chip or sometimes Munk. And my honey-toned skin was pale and chalky.
I looked like I was playing the role of the heartbroken woman, but contrary to Genesis’ opinion, this was my real life.
I checked my phone to see if Drake had responded to the text I’d left him saying we were done. He hadn’t. I did have a message from Hannah, my publicist. I’d let her know what had happened because she would be who the press would contact when they found out about this and I didn’t want her to be blindsided.
She messaged me saying I should be prepared for the very real possibility that he was going to come out of this smelling like a rose. And I knew that she was right.
Everyone loved Drake. He was outgoing, charming, charitable, and gorgeous. His smile lit up a room and when he spoke, his voice made women’s ovaries tingle. He had more fan pages on Insta than any other soap star, three times over.
That was one of the reasons that even though I’d been on the show twice as long as him, he made nearly twice as much as me. I’d been reluctant to have any social media for years because I was a private person. I was shy and introverted. That was part of the reason I loved acting; I could be someone else. My lack of social media presence was hurting my bottom line, and I hated it.
The truth was, I loved telling stories, but I hated fame. I’d spent hours, days, probably weeks or months of my life fantasizing about walking away from it and starting a new life. All I’d ever really wanted in life was a family. A real