I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 50

He gently coached her.

"You know, in acting class, they teach us to 'truly listen, truly see, and truly feel'. You need to find a real memory and completely lose yourself in the emotion."

Sienna looked back up at Landon.

His eyes were bright, clear, and glowing with genuine warmth.

If she blurred her vision, he looked incredibly familiar—he looked exactly like Finn did back in college.

Sienna's gaze seemed to pass right through Landon, landing firmly on the ghost of someone else...

"Yes! That's the look!" Julian took a triumphant step back. "Hold that exact emotion!"

At that exact moment, Finn's application was fully approved.

A text notification popped up on his screen:

[Dear Mr. Fletcher, congratulations on being selected as an NPC for the Heritage Festival. Your role is "The Commander". Please report to the park entrance by 9:00 AM tomorrow to collect your wardrobe and props.]

He read the message and tossed his phone onto the table.

A fresh wave of gossip erupted from the flight attendants nearby.

"Oh my god, look at this new set! 'The Muse and Her Young Man!'"

"Their chemistry is absolutely off the charts. It's insane."

"Who is that guy? Is he an actor too? He's gorgeous."

Finn shot a glare across the room.

The flight attendant was holding her phone up, the screen angled perfectly in his direction.

Sienna was leaning affectionately against the younger man's shoulder. The guy was wearing a pale blue tunic, his fingers interlaced tightly with hers as they stood on the wooden bridge. The lake and the willows framed them perfectly in the golden sunlight. It looked like a masterpiece.

Finn stared at the photo for three agonizing seconds.

That was the kid from the theater incident.

Him and Sienna?

Finn's face remained terrifyingly blank, but his knuckles turned bone-white as he crushed his phone in his grip.

That kid was holding her hand. She was resting her head on his shoulder.

She was resting her head on his shoulder.

But that spot used to belong exclusively to him.

Memories from their three-year relationship stabbed into his brain like jagged glass, each memory slashing into his most vulnerable emotional wounds.

"Captain Fletcher?" The flight attendant finally noticed his death glare and froze. "Do you... know her?"

Finn's jaw locked as he violently shot up from his chair, the metal legs screeching aggressively against the floor tiles.

He didn't acknowledge a single person as he stormed out of the lounge.

The tips of Landon's ears were burning red.

Sienna took a deep breath.

"So it's just a fake kiss. No actual contact, right?"

"Correct."

"If there's no contact, I can do it," she rationalized. "I'll just treat it like a CPR positioning demonstration."

Landon choked. "...A CPR positioning demonstration?"

"Exactly. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation requires the exact same angle," Sienna stated, her tone as clinical as a medical textbook. "The only difference is I'd normally pinch your nose shut, but we can skip that step."

Landon opened his mouth to reply, then silently closed it.

The cameras started rolling.

Landon stood directly in front of Sienna, closing the distance between them.

He gently cupped her chin, his thumb resting softly against her jawline. Julian had specifically directed the pose, claiming it "established dominance and romantic tension."

He slowly leaned in.

He was so close she could see the exact curve of his eyelashes and feel the heat radiating from his breath...

"Get your hands off her!"