The Vortex of Love and Hate
Chapter 1
I was on a reality show, and the host called me out to share the seventh photo on my phone.
I ended up flashing a pic of Summer Song’s super cute selfie.
Little Chase, the boy-bander, scowled at me:
“Seriously, Grant? I know you’ve got it in for me, but leave my girlfriend alone, dude.”
I blinked.
“When did she even get a boyfriend?”
Chase immediately FaceTimed Summer.
“Babe, someone’s trying to break us up…”
There was a pause on the other end. Summer’s voice was sharp.
“Who? Where? I’m hopping on a flight back right now.”
I was speechless.
The internet exploded.
[Knew it! Grant Nelson is always chasing clout!]
[Bet he didn’t think Summer Song would clap back this hard! He can’t touch her!]
[They’re so freakin’ adorable! Get married already and leave Grant to rot! ]
Seriously, what was going on? When did my little sister hook up with my arch-nemesis?
1.
My jaw-dropped expression quickly became a meme that took over Twitter.
[LOL. Does Grant actually think Chase is joking around? Like Chase needs to chase clout like he does?]
[Is Summer Song he can “clout-chase” with? This meme is the highlight of the year!]
[Feels so good to see him get wrecked! I live for Chase taking this wanna-be down a peg!]
The livestream chat was a blur of insults, I bolted from the stage to the green room.
[Running away already? ]
[I just love watching him squirm]
I slammed the green room door shut, then called Summer.
She sounded stressed.
“Grant, I’m kinda in the middle of something. Can I call you back?”
“Let me guess. Your boyfriend’s been whining to you about me?”
Summer was silent for a beat.
“How did you know?”
“Are you out of your mind, dating a guy like that!”
“Grant, you don’t understand. He’s the most genuine guy I’ve met in twenty-five years.”
I almost choked.
“He’s an actor! He can fake anything! Listen to me, I know exactly what Chase Ashton is like. Break up with him. Now.”
“He’s not faking it!”
Summer dug in her heels.
“He tells me he loves me even when he’s drunk!”
I nearly had a heart attack.
“That’s not hard to do! I could do that for an award. I love you! I love you! I love you!”
“Ew, Grant! You’re so gross!”
Summer hung up on me.
Furious, I whirled around, only to find someone standing in the doorway.
Chase Ashton. One hand on the doorknob, the other holding his phone. He looked surprised.
“Grant? Sorry, I didn’t know you were in here.”
I sneered.
“Funny, I thought I saw you watching me walk into this room.”
“Grant, you’re being…”
Chase put on a wounded expression.
The chat went wild.
[Eww! Stay away from Chase, you freak!]
[I hate this guy, he has a terrible personality, the movie is terrible, he’s chasing Chase’s fame through his girlfriend!]
I didn’t have time for this garbage. I turned and left.
But then, after a bathroom break, another bombshell landed.
Another trending topic. A three-second video of me “confessing” to Summer.
Headline:
Summer Song: “Ew, Grant! You’re so gross!”
Grant Nelson Tries to Steal Chase Ashton’s Girlfriend, Gets Shut Down Hard.
I almost passed out.
2.
The green room was soundproof and private, so the only person who could have recorded me was Chase Ashton when he opened the door.
The clip started right when I said, “I love you.”
It made it look like I was obsessed with Summer, only to get publicly humiliated.
That’s when I knew I had to confront Chase Ashton, I showed him the three-second video:
“Did you secretly record me?”
Chase put on his innocent smile:
“Grant, don’t get the wrong idea, I was taking a selfie, I didn’t mean to…”
“Why was your camera pointed at me during a selfie? If you didn’t mean to, why did you post it?”
Chase turned white.
He realized that admitting he filmed it was admitting that he leaked the video.
But he had to maintain his innocent image.
He teared up, suddenly looking pitiful.
“Grant, please, stop harassing my girlfriend, can you stop bothering us? I tried for so long to tell you to stop, but I didn’t want to fight, I didn’t know what else to do…
“This is the first time I’ve been so happy with someone, please stop…”
I cut him off.
“That routine might work on her, but not on me.
“If you keep up this charade you’ll be revealed for who you are, and she’ll dump you. I’d be careful.”
I walked away.
This reality show was set in a rural town, I was preparing for the next phase of the competition when my manager called me:
“What are you doing? This is the third time today! You are trending like crazy!”
I looked at my phone.
At the top was a trending tag:
Grant Nelson Threatens Chase Ashton
Someone claiming to be a member of the crew had leaked an audio recording.
It was the conversation I had with Chase.
I knew that only me and Chase were there.
My social media was swarming with hate.
[Hello, Grant, Chase is officially Summer Song’s boyfriend! You can’t hurt Chase!]
[Someone should end him]
[I know who it is, he’s trash, I hope Grant dies soon]
…
Meanwhile, Chase started a livestream in his car.
His eyes were red but he forced a smile.
“Hey everyone, please stop saying mean things. Grant and I have a misunderstanding.
“If I hurt someone, I would feel bad.”
His fans were heartbroken.
[Chase you are way to kind!! Grant is trying to attack you! Don’t talk to him]
[Baby is so good, I feel so bad呜呜呜! Time to go to Grant Nelson’s social media and tell him what’s what]
[Protect the world’s best person, Grant Nelson is a terrible person!]
Sitting in the car, I felt light headed.
I decided to call Summer again.
3.
“Break up with him, right now!”
I demanded.
Summer was confused: “Grant, I told you that this is real love.”
“Have you seen how he is manipulating the media against me? Have you even seen the trends?”
“Grant, you always get hate anyway, I’m used to it.”
……She had a point.
“Don’t worry Grant, when I get home, I will invite you out to dinner, and clear up any misunderstandings, Chase is a good guy, he is not like what you think.”
“I have more experience in the industry than you have contracts.”
“Don’t you just get hated when you are in the industry?”
“You……”
“Okay bye, just retire, look at your terrible movies.”
I debated.
“Why do you call them terrible! I put my heart in the movie!”
“Yes yes, you did put your heart in the movie, but your acting skills are like Mom!”
I fell silent.
Summer was gleeful:
“Just come home and join the family business, you would make more money than you do in the industry anyway, so I can relax a little, why are you hurting yourself?”
“No! I joined the industry to see Daisy Jones!”
“……”
4.
I don’t need to be in the industry.
My parents were trying to get me to join the family business and work with Summer to make the company bigger and stronger.
But I wanted to get close to my celebrity crush Daisy Jones.
I wanted to avoid any problems, so I didn’t tell anyone about my relationship with Summer.
I followed my mother’s name, Summer followed her father’s name.
No one knew we were related.
I didn’t think it would become a big mess.
I was regretting it.
I controlled who she could go out with as her older brother.
I should have let her date when she was younger.
I was sitting in the car covering my face:
“I should have let her date before!”
5.
But then, I was in a good mood.
Because I found out that today’s guest was Daisy Jones.
“Daisy?!”
I asked loudly:
“Was it her? Is it her?”
The member looked at me rudely, then turned around and walked away.
Because of my association to Chase Ashton the crew was not happy.
They were getting good social media engagement for how they treated me.
I didn’t care, I have seen this many times.
It was Daisy.
When Daisy came down from the car, everyone screamed.
I stepped up and gave her my card:
“Daisy, I’m a huge fan, will you sign it?”
She pulled down her mask and smiled:
“Ok.”
She grabbed the card and quickly wrote on it, then handed me the card.
I started to grab it when I saw the two words:
[Loser]
I stopped.
I looked up, she looked at me with a sneer.
“Chase!”
I got pulled from my thoughts. Chase Ashton’s car arrived.
When he got down from the car, Daisy ran to him.
Chase hugged her and spun her around before touching her head:
“You’re a guest? Are you not doing other filming?”
“Hehe~ I knew you were here, that is why I wanted to come, what do you think?”
Social Media went wild:
[She wants to see you! She wants to see you! She wants to see you!]
[So sweet]
Chase smiled and touched her head:
“You’re funny.”
Daisy pouted:
“You touched me! Humph!”
I frowned:
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Daisy stood in front of Chase and sneered at me:
“Chase and I grew up together, we have been there for each other since we were little.
“I hope you are not trying to say something about me.”
6.
The internet went crazy:
[She is right about you!]
[She knows you are just trying to break them up]
[They have been friends since childhood, you are saying the wrong things about people]
I wanted to say something when my assistant pulled me to the side:
“Grant, try to not get angry, she is going to be doing the main character in the next Hollywood film. Many people will be defending her, you will lose if you get into a conflict with her.”
“A big IP?” I laughed.
The assistant nodded: “Yes, a wealthy person likes her, they are investing money into her, I heard that they are doing a good job, if you offend her you will have to pay.”
“Is it because she is a good actress, what makes you think she can say anything about me?”
The assistant smiled, and pitied me:
“Do not speculate about what these wealthy people are doing.”
“I will not” I sneered: “I’m going to stop funding her.”
“What…”
The assistant sighed and shook his head: “You don’t know what you can do.”
He turned and walked away.
He saw some co-workers, who sighed:
“Grant is not doing too good, he is calling himself an investor of Daisy.
“Is he crazy? He is calling himself Chase Ashton’s girlfriend, saying that he is an investor of Daisy’s.”
I quickly called my assistant and said:
“Stop investing, I mean stop investing!”
The assistant was stunned: “But you like Daisy?”
“I was blind, stop investing, stop all money going into her!”
“Yes, sir.”
I felt better now.
I walked to the set, but I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Chase Ashton was drinking a milk tea, with Daisy’s lipstick on the straw!
He took a drink, and gave it to Daisy:
“A little too sweet.”
Daisy naturally drank it.
“I know, but since you bought it, I will drink it.”
“Cute.”
“Wait…”
I butted in:
“You have a girlfriend, shouldn’t you give her space?”
Daisy stood in front of Chase:
“I have said this before, do not accuse him of anything.”
I said: “If someone is dirty, then everyone sees it.”
“You!”
Daisy was angry.
Chase frowned:
“Are you saying we are dirty?”
I said: “Are there people here besides you two?”
Daisy’s face got dark.
The director saved us at the right time.
Because they were afraid of me doing something again, the crew gave me a single room.
I put the bags in, and someone told me:
“You don’t have to film.”
The assistant was shocked:
“Why? We signed a contract.”
The person didn’t care:
“This is what Daisy wants.”
The assistant gave up.
He turned around and sighed:
“It looks like we are leaving.”
I laughed:
“This is good, I have been in the industry for a while!”
That day, I became popular:
Grant Nelson is leaving the industry
7.
I went home.
Chase Ashton was trending.
After I left, Chase was being comforted by Daisy.
He called Summer and said he misses her.
In the call, Summer was being sweet:
“Don’t worry, I am at the airport, I will come see you soon.
“I will be there to help you.”
I felt like puking.
The social media was happy:
[I want a sister and a beautiful girlfriend!]
[A man has to live like Chase!]
[I want that kind of life, he has two girls?]
……
My phone rang, it was Summer calling:
“Grant, I’m back, when are you free? I want you and our parents to meet Chase.”
I told her:
“Mom and Dad are not going to like him, and I don’t like him either.”
“This is not true, I have never seen a man that I like as much as I like him, you will see what I mean when you see him.”
“……”
I hung up.
A few minutes later the trends changed.
Summer posted on social media for the first time.
It was a photo of her and Chase.
She wrote:
[Here’s my hand, take me home]
I commented:
[Terrible]
Then I got a ton of hate:
[This has nothing to do with you, they are going to see the parents soon!]
[Marry soon! Take that Grant!]
I replied:
[It’s up to me if he is marrying her]
The trends added another one:
Grant Nelson is crazy
8.
I called my parents.
They heard Chase’s name and said:
“We don’t approve!”
I sighed: “I can’t convince her otherwise, you guys have to come back.”
I met Chase at the entrance of the house.
He was on his phone:
“Yes everyone, I am meeting the parents today, I want to give them a surprise, what do you think of this outfit?”
Social media was wild:
[You are so handsome! If I was the mom, I would tell you to marry soon!]
The phone was slapped down by me:
“You can’t take photos here, didn’t Summer tell you?”
[What! He is also here!]
[The security here is good, how did he get in?]
Chase stopped, then frowned:
“Grant, I know you are not happy with me and Summer dating, but this is not your home.
Social media was on a roll:
[He is giving Grant a chance]
[Chase is the best]
I said:
“What are you talking about? Why are you telling me to leave from my own home?”
9.
[This guy is crazy, this house is hard to get, Daisy waited a year to get this house, how can he get it?]
[He is dreaming, he wants to be with Summer]
[I feel bad for Chase]
I said:
“I have art in the house that I don’t want you to see, stop recording if you want to come inside.”
“Who are you to tell me?”
A voice said.
I turned around.
Daisy got out of the car.
Social media went crazy:
[Daisy is here! She came to protect Chase!]
[Daisy is so pretty, she looks good even with a casual style]
“Grant, I have had it with you, either you apologize and leave, or I will call security.”
Chase had a sneer on his face.
It quickly disappeared.
He pulled on Daisy’s hand:
“Nevermind, Grant is in the industry too, it won’t look good if we call security.”
[Why are you so kind]
Daisy was upset.
She shook her head:
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
[I would die for these two]
……
“Security is coming, but not for me.”
I pointed at Daisy:
“It’s you.”
Daisy stopped.
She laughed.
Social Media also laughed:
[He thinks this is his house? She owns the property!]
“Grant, I am a resident, you are not.”
“Forget about whether I am, I am taking away your home.”
“What?”
Daisy thought she misheard.
I crossed my arms: “Why do you think you were able to get this home?”
Daisy froze.
She laughed louder.
She got her phone and called security:
“Come to house 88, there is a person, can you make sure that people like him don’t come in.”
“Huh? What are you doing here?”
A car parked at the door.
Summer got down from the car.
Daisy’s eyes went small:
“What did you call him?”
