The Melody You Stole, The Heart You Lost

Tags: Rational Male Lead, Biased Female Lead, Toxic Ex, Satisfying Revenge, Betrayal, Music Industry On the eve of the music awards, an audio recording of my girlfriend accusing me of plagiarism blew up online. She demanded that I make a public apology to her golden boy. "You had the nerve to plagiarize him, but you don't have the guts to apologize?" I did owe someone an apology—myself, for blindly loving her all those years. I decided to let her go and never see her again. Four years later, at an industry gala, our paths crossed once more. I was laughing and chatting with my lyricist. My ex, now a mega-pop star, stood under the flashbulbs, looking at me with red, tearful eyes. "Chase... did you come back for me?" Reporters swarmed the red carpet. Their glances were packed with gossip and open disdain. Who could have guessed that I, a classically trained composer from a renowned musical family, would be accused of plagiarism by my own girlfriend on the eve of the awards? The supposed victim was Julian, an overnight indie sensation from the wrong side of the tracks. People always eat up an underdog story. The second the scandal broke, the court of public opinion convicted me. Because of my family's wealth and prestige, people assumed I looked down on Julian’s raw talent. They believed I had used my industry clout to crush him simply because my girlfriend, Bianca, had publicly praised his work. Julian, playing the fearless young prodigy, had supposedly triumphed over all odds six months ago, narrowly beating me for the top spot in a major competition. The audience finally got the grassroots victory they craved. They celebrated Julian’s win over me. Even though everyone knew Bianca was my girlfriend, people actively shipped her with Julian, painting me as the bitter obstacle standing in the way of true love. "I can't believe Chase is actually like this." "All these so-called elite composers just buy their talent with daddy's money." "We won't bow to industry privilege!" "Corporate money will never defeat genuine passion!" I wanted to fight back, to yell the truth into their faces, but a roar of cheers cut me off. Bianca stepped onto the red carpet, her arm draped through Julian’s. Together, they looked picture-perfect. I was left holding a dried-up Sharpie, ushered off the carpet before I could even sign my name on the media wall. "The copycat actually showed his face? Shameless." Julian stood outside the camera frame, nodding at me with humble grace. He casually gestured for me to sign the wall, as if granting me permission. "Julian is pure class, inside and out! Some people need to just get lost and stop hogging the spotlight!" Julian's fans screamed so loudly that a wave of secondhand embarrassment washed over me. I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Julian stepped forward, pressing a finger to his lips. "Guys, shh. Please respect all the artists here tonight. Focus on our music. We'll handle personal matters privately." With one polite sentence, he showed off his magnanimous image while subtly confirming to the crowd that the plagiarism rumors were true. I turned to Bianca, hoping she would set the record straight in front of the press and the fans. She didn't even bother to look at me. Instead, she clung tighter to Julian’s arm, her eyes full of tenderness and adoration. "I'm so sorry, Julian," she whispered softly. "I never thought he was this kind of person. You're too generous, still trying to protect him." We had known each other for years. When her family fell apart and her parents died in an accident, I begged my parents to sponsor her. She had a natural gift for singing. I wrote lyrics and composed melodies tailored specifically for her, pulling her out of obscure dive bars and putting her onto the main stage. I thought we shared a deep bond. But the words she muttered as she brushed past me dragged me straight to hell. "Being associated with a fraud like you is the biggest embarrassment of my life. If you apologize to Julian on stage tonight, maybe I'll still respect you as a man." I grabbed her wrist, my heart tearing in two. I couldn't comprehend how years of shared history meant less to her than six months with a stranger. "You know damn well I didn't steal anything." Bianca yanked her hand back, her face twisted in disgust. "Drop the act. Stop looking like the victim. The only one wronged here is Julian." My chest tightened painfully. Facing the flashing cameras, Bianca urged, "Chase, just apologize. It's because I'm your girlfriend that I can't let you keep going down this path." She turned and bowed deeply to Julian. "On Chase's behalf, I apologize to you. Julian, you've always been gracious. Please forgive him this once. He just couldn't handle his privileged ego losing to an unknown talent." My hands clenched into tight fists. I stared at Bianca in disbelief. She was completely destroying my dignity in public. "You're actually going this far for him?"Bianca tapped my shoulder, adopting a patronizing tone. "Chase, wrong is wrong. I'm not going to cover for you." I searched her eyes, desperate to find even a flicker of hesitation or pity. There was only cold mockery. She shoved me forward. "You had the nerve to plagiarize, but you don't have the guts to apologize to Julian?" Taking a deep, shaky breath, I pulled my phone from my pocket and played the track demo for everyone to hear. "This is the master recording for *Loving Bianca*. The creation metadata proves I'm the original composer." Snapping out of her daze, Bianca knocked the phone straight out of my hand. Her heel came down hard, shattering the screen. She didn't even care about keeping up appearances as she shoved me back with all her strength. I stumbled, nearly losing my footing. Confronted with the audio evidence, Julian’s calm demeanor vanished. His face went pale, his breath turning shallow and rapid. The fans who had just been screaming insults fell dead silent. The red carpet turned completely quiet. I stood in front of Bianca, naively hoping she would be relieved that my name was cleared. Back when we first started collaborating, Bianca insisted that as a musician, she had zero tolerance for intellectual theft. She claimed to despise copycats more than anything. Whenever she wanted to cover another artist's track, she always begged me to secure the proper licensing rights. I used to love that artistic integrity about her. Just yesterday, when she accused me of plagiarism and demanded I apologize to Julian, I booked a red-eye flight back home just to retrieve the original master track to prove my innocence to her. This song carried all my love for her. It was the proposal song I had planned to perform live for her tonight. Then I saw her pull an inhaler from her designer clutch, and I knew I had already lost. Even on the red carpet, her only priority was Julian’s health. Bianca glared at me, her voice dripping with venom. "Chase, I never realized you were so petty. Did you think giving Julian an asthma attack would make you number one?" "Everyone knows I hate art thieves. Just to beat Julian, you stole the demo he shared with me and reworked it. You've completely disgusted me." "I might be your girlfriend, but I'm an artist first. I won't turn a blind eye to your theft." Her self-righteous accusations pierced my heart like nails, leaving me numb with pain. The crowd erupted again. "And here I thought there was a plot twist! His own girlfriend exposed him! Girl, dump him, he doesn't deserve you!" "Talentless fraud! Who knows how many other songs he stole?" "Seriously! His family is loaded—they probably just bought other people's work and put his name on it!" With a few sentences, Bianca erased years of my blood, sweat, and tears. Standing in the center of the storm, targeted by a smear campaign orchestrated by my own girlfriend, I finally understood what true helplessness felt like. To prevent a scene, event security quickly escorted us to the VIP lounge. Right in front of me, Bianca fussed over Julian, supporting his weight with intimate care. Julian gently patted her hand and gestured toward me. "Bianca, please don't fight over me. Just talk it out with Chase." Only then did Bianca walk over, clearly annoyed. She looked at me with open condescension. "Chase, you're an adult. Stop acting like a spoiled brat expecting your family to clean up your messes. I know you're jealous of Julian, but making false claims is pathetic." I stepped back, feeling as though an invisible hand were crushing my heart. "Bianca, do you have any idea how long I spent on that song? You know how hard I work. Why won't you believe me?"Bianca scoffed. "Stealing someone else's work is what you call hard work? We spend all our time together, Chase. I never saw you working on it." "Julian, on the other hand—he brought his laptop to write music even during casual hangouts. People teased him for trying too hard, but he just rubbed his neck and said he had to hustle twice as hard because he started from nothing. You'll never hold a candle to someone with that kind of drive." She took another step closer. "Chase, I know you have an ego, but plagiarism is shameful. Julian already agreed to drop it for my sake. All you have to do is give him a sincere apology." I had spent every waking moment with her, never bringing up work because I wanted to be fully present. I only worked late into the night after she fell asleep. I wanted to surprise her. I had spent an entire year preparing that surprise. Yet the moment Julian entered the picture, she became a different person. She brought up his name constantly. She even used her official social media account to openly vote for Julian in competitions. I couldn't fathom how things had derailed so fast. Had I not treated her well enough? When she craved a specific pastry, I baked it from scratch and drove eight hours to deliver it to her backstage. Only to find her laughing and flirting with Julian. On my birthday, fans tagged her under my posts, waiting for her greeting. Instead, she attended Julian’s debut piano recital. I kept lying to myself, making excuses that Bianca simply admired his talent. Now I finally saw the truth: no matter how hard I tried, I would never measure up to Julian in her eyes. Suddenly, Julian let out a weak cough. Bianca whipped around instantly, completely forgetting she was in stilettos. I reached out to catch her as she tripped, but she shoved my hand away without even looking at me, rushing to Julian’s side to shower him with concern. Julian stood up and walked over, putting on a show of playing peacemaker. "Chase, don't hold this against Bianca. You know how sacred pure music is to her. Let's just leave it at this. Please don't blame her—she's only doing what she thinks is right." Tears welled in Bianca’s eyes as she looked at Julian. "You're the only one who truly gets me. You respect the craft. You're the one who deserves the Composer of the Year award." I swayed on my feet, swallowing the bitter taste rising in my throat. Bianca... you knew how much music meant to me. You knew how hard I worked. Yet for Julian, you wiped out everything I had ever done. "Did you ever love me?" I asked, my voice hollow. As she brushed past me, Bianca murmured under her breath, "If you hadn't gotten in the way, Julian and I would have been together a long time ago." "What did you just say?" Before she could answer, the stage lights shifted. The ceremony was starting. I sat in the center of the row directly behind the executive guests. Even though I was far from the general audience, the furious chants of Julian’s fans still echoed clearly in my ears. "Get the fraud out of the industry!" "We demand real talent!" "Keep trust-fund babies out of real music!" My knuckles turned white around the presentation folder in my hands. On stage, the presenter glanced awkwardly at the organizers, unsure whether to proceed. Receiving a nod from the director, the host finally cleared his throat. "And the award for Composer of the Year goes to... Chase Vance!" The hall went dead quiet. Every fan glowstick in the arena shut off in unison. I stood up and looked out at the sea of black, turning to Bianca in search of some comfort. All I saw was her holding Julian’s hand tightly, glaring up at me with pure fury. Surrounded by jeers and booing, I walked toward the stage with heavy steps. My original plan had been simple: after accepting the award, the screen would play a music video starring Bianca, and I would propose to her at the piano while singing *Loving Bianca*. None of that mattered now. The stage coordinator, following the original run-sheet, handed Bianca a microphone. Bianca’s outraged face filled the massive stadium screen. "I object to Chase Vance receiving the Composer of the Year award." Thunderous applause broke out in the venue. "Hell yeah!" She faced the audience with absolute righteousness. "Music should be pure. It shouldn't be tainted by privilege or corporate interests." Turning toward me, her gaze was filled with theatrical disappointment. "Chase, you plagiarized Julian’s work. Instead of apologizing, you shamelessly took credit for his blood, sweat, and tears. I'm utterly disgusted with you." I tightened my grip on the folder and the trophy, choking back the suffocating grief in my chest. Staring at the woman who had turned against me for another man, I spoke into the mic, my voice cold. "And what exactly do you want, Miss White?" Bianca blinked, visibly caught off guard by my formal address. Julian squeezed her hand, giving her a reassuring nod. She pulled Julian up beside her, her eyes brimming with tender emotion. "I watched Julian craft this melody note by note. Artists who create from the heart deserve a fair shot, regardless of their background." She turned back to glare at me, her tone venomous. "And a thief like you belongs out of the music industry—permanently banned!"