A Night Before the End

Hotel – Night Before the Final Shoot

The hotel had finally gone quiet, the last crew members drifting to their rooms like exhausted shadows. Behind the walls of two rooms, Sophie and Liam lay awake, the silence too heavy, too sharp.

Sophie curled on her side, staring at the dim glow slipping beneath the curtains.

Tomorrow. The final scenes. The end of everything tangled between them. Her chest tightened around the thought.

When the film ends… he’ll be safe. Away from Aleksander. Away from me. Away from all of it.

It should have brought relief, but instead a dull ache pulsed under her ribs. She pressed a hand there, trying to push the feeling down.

When this is over, he can move on. He deserves someone without enemies. Without shadows.

Across the hall, Liam lay on his back, arm draped over his eyes, breathing uneven. Wrapping a project was always hard, but this… this felt wrong. Too final. Like cutting off a limb.

One more day. Then she walks out of my life. Clean break. Easy. Just let go.

Except nothing about her had ever been easy.

He rolled to his side, frustrated with himself for caring this much. For wanting things he had no right to want. For letting her slip under his skin, into his bones, into the parts of his heart he thought fame had burned hollow long ago.

I have to let her go.

But his chest throbbed with a stubborn, quiet truth:

He didn’t want to.

Eventually, sleep dragged them under—restless, shallow—and the night moved too quickly toward morning.

Last Filming Day – Morning to Late Afternoon

The Jumping Competition Scene

Sunlight broke across the ranch early, warm and bright. By eight, the crew was already swarming the set: adjusting cameras, preparing the arena, checking costumes. Final shoot days were always chaotic, and this one stretched across the entire day.

By ten, they were blocking movements and angles. By eleven-thirty, Sophie was in costume, helmet under her arm, the horse already saddled. Liam stood at the edge of the arena as Ethan, posture calm, eyes anything but.

She’s fine. More than fine. I trained her too damn well.

Just before noon, cameras rolled.

Sophie urged the horse forward, clearing the first jump.

Then the second.

Then the third.

They repeated the sequence over and over for hours, capturing every angle: wide shots, close-ups, reaction shots, slow-motion passes. The sun shifted from overhead brightness into the mellow gold of late afternoon.

Near four p.m., Sophie mounted for the final take. She rode cleanly through every obstacle, nailing the last jump with flawless precision. The crew erupted into applause.

That was when the representative from the riding club approached her, offering a place if she ever wanted to pursue the sport seriously.

Liam, still in character but unable to hide it, stiffened.

Before he could retreat entirely, Sophie approached him as Emma, touching his arm lightly.

“I’d like to stay,” she whispered. “In your club.”

Ethan froze.

Her eyes held his. Warm. Brave. Too honest.

A slow smile tugged at his lips. “Alright. But someone else will train you. Not me.”

She nodded. “That’s okay.”

The air between them tightened in a way the cameras loved.

Ethan stepped closer. “Emma…”

Her breath hitched.

“Maybe we could… start over.”

She smiled softly. “I’d like that.”

The line wavered just enough to feel real. Only Liam noticed her tiny, uneven inhale.

He leaned in.

She met him halfway.

The kiss was soft, measured, textbook for film.

Perfect. Controlled. Emotionless.

And that was exactly why it hurt.

His lips barely pressed to hers, light as dust off the arena floor. Professional. Empty enough to pass for acting… hollow enough to carve into them both.

Sophie kept her hands steady on his chest, exactly where they were supposed to be. No trembling. No clinging. No mistake.

Something inside her folded anyway. Quietly. Like a letter never sent.

Liam didn’t hold her long. He pulled back with clinical precision, eyes shifting away so the ache inside him wouldn’t show.

She looked at the ground first. He told himself it was for the scene.

Neither let their breath shake.

Neither let their hands tremble.

Neither let the truth slip through.

It was the cleanest cut they could give themselves.

Director: “That’s a wrap on this scene!”

Cheers. Applause. Whistles. Relief spilling everywhere.

But the two of them stood still for a moment longer.

It’s over.

It has to be.

Sophie lifted a hand to fix her hair. Liam pretended to adjust the bridle, even though nothing needed fixing.

Only Claire and Max, watching from the shadows, saw the fracture running through both of them.

Ranch – Early Evening

Sophie crossed the arena slowly, her steps soft in the settling dust. Aleksander waited near the gate, composed and unreadable. Liam lingered by a horse, pretending to check straps.

Sophie knew he was watching her.

Knew he’d see everything.

Knew she’d hurt him.

It has to be done.

So why does it feel like my ribs are splintering?

She stopped in front of Aleksander, holding his gaze.

Then she kissed him.

Public. Certain. Sharp.

Liam saw it. She made sure he did.

“Would you take me to dinner tonight?” she asked, voice carrying. “Just the two of us.”

Aleksander’s smile shifted, faintly amused. “Of course.”

Liam’s hands curled into fists.

Sophie didn’t let her expression falter.

She turned and walked away with Aleksander, and Liam felt the world tilt, just slightly, like something inside him had been cut loose.

Liam dropped into the nearest chair, elbows braced on his knees. His chest tightened. His jaw locked.

Claire reached him first, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Liam… breathe. I know it hurts. But you’re not alone.”

He let out a cracked, humorless sound. “It looks like an ending to me.”

Max crouched beside him. “Don’t let him win by breaking you. You can’t control her choices. But your music? That’s yours. That’s real.”

Liam closed his eyes, letting their words settle around the crack in his chest.

It didn’t fix anything.

But it kept him standing.

For now, that had to be enough.