Page 49 of The Grumpy Actor

The blankness is gone, and the full force of her emotions is present in her eyes.

What am I supposed to say to that?

If she loves me, she shouldn’t be ending things. What mentality is she working with?

“I know you don’t want that, and I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want,” she says softly, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. “I love you too much to date you casually, Liam. So let’s end things here amicably.”

I remain stuck where I’m standing. Sophie smiles sadly at me, then turns and walks away. I watch her leave.

I can’t bring myself to make a move after what she just said to me.

She loves me?

Love is superficial, though. It’s not a real emotion, and I don’t want that. I shouldn’t pretend to want it.

So this is for the best, right?

“Won’t you go after her?” Julian asks.

I slowly turn around to face Julian. He’s confused, and I can’t even begin to understand why.

I ignore him and drag my feet back to my bedroom. I throw myself over the bed, hoping to sleep the confusion away.

Chapter 15

Sophie

“OneGrantspecialcomingup!” I call out in a singsong voice as I maneuver my way over to the table at the corner. I drop the tray on the table and arrange the food.

“Enjoy your meal.”

I slip the tray under my arm and walk back to the kitchen.

“Itisher.”

“Yes, it totally is! Let’s take a picture and post it.”

“How canshebe his first love?”

I pretend not to hear the conversation as I make my way back to the kitchen. It’s not the first time I’m hearing this, and it surely won’t be the last.

It’s been over a month since the scandal broke and I ended things with Liam. It’s also been over three weeks since Liam left Surfside Haven, yet the town is still raving about the news.

Our little town is bursting with more tourists than usual, and every one of them makes their way to Grant’s Diner just to have a look at Liam Ryder’s famous first love.

Even though the people of Surfside Haven have chosen to ignore the news and keep treating me as usual, it’s hard to live a normal life with the tourists gawking at me everywhere I go.

And it surely makes it harder to get over Liam when people keep pointing out that I’m his first love.

While the phenomenon of first love sounds romantic to them, it’s just a reminder that he was never in love with me.

With my heart breaking more and more every passing second I spend away from Liam, it’s overwhelming to deal with the incessant gossip.

“I told you that you can stay home for a while longer,” Mom says as soon as I enter the kitchen.

“I’m fine, Mom.”

I’ve stayed home far too long. All I did the first three weeks after our breakup was stay home and nurse my broken heart.

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