His Number Changed So I Changed My Life Chapter 02
After he won the Oscar for Best Actor, we had planned to finally go public with our marriage.
His PR team had already started the work of shifting his public image. They were just waiting for the right interview to make the announcement.
Before that could happen, he agreed to make a guest appearance as a grand mage in a streaming fantasy series, a favor to a producer who had helped him early on.
That was where he met Madison.
She played a young apprentice who falls in love with her mentor. She told anyone who would listen that she’d decided to become an actress after seeing his first film.
They became close quickly.
The set wasn’t far from our home in Westchester. When I had time, I would pack him a lunch and have his assistant, Danny, take it over.
He always used to finish every bite and tell me that night which dish he’d liked best.
One day, I went to visit the set and saw the lunch container I had packed sitting on the ground in front of a crew member’s dog.
When Danny saw me, he sprang to his feet.
“Charlotte, I… Madison bought lunch for the whole crew today, so…”
Which didn’t explain why my husband’s lunch was in a dog bowl.
Before I could press him on it, Madison walked over, pointing at me. “Leave Danny out of this. I told him to do it.”
I had spent the entire morning making Parker’s favorite sandwiches and pasta salad. Of course I was upset.
But I hadn’t said a word to anyone.
Yet the way she looked at me, you would’ve thought I was the one at fault.
I turned to Parker, who had just walked over.
“Did you agree to let my lunch be fed to a dog?”
He froze for a second. “No. I had no idea.”
All eyes turned to Madison.
A moment ago, she had been defiant. Now, her eyes immediately welled with tears. Biting her lip, she said, “Food that’s been sitting out all afternoon isn’t safe to eat. It would have been a waste to just throw it away. And you have no right to take it out on Danny.”
Parker saw she was on the verge of tears, and his tone instantly softened.
“It’s all right. You were just trying to help. There’s no need to feel guilty.”
Then he turned to me.
“Lottie, it’s just lunch. Let it go.”
My fingers dug into the edge of the empty container.
Madison knew I had made it, and she had still put it in front of a dog. He knew exactly what that implied, and he was telling me to let it go.
The assistant director came over to call the actors back to their places.
Madison tugged lightly on Parker’s sleeve and smiled. “The grand mage can’t keep the whole set waiting.”
I wasn’t about to make a scene in front of the entire crew. I picked up the container and left.
A few days later, he called to ask why I had stopped sending him lunches.
“Does the dog need more food?” I asked.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.
“Madison is new to the industry; she doesn’t understand professional boundaries,” he said. “I’m the senior actor on set. Was I supposed to humiliate her over a sandwich in front of everyone?”
“She didn’t mean any harm. Why are you holding a grudge against a girl who’s just starting out?”
The call ended in a fight.
He eventually apologized and promised it wouldn’t happen again.
But by then, I was already watching them.
When the number above his head finally changed, I knew my fears hadn’t been unfounded.