Rave & Roses {A Rema Fanfic}

38 - ZARA

The weight of it all felt unbearable. Each day seemed to pile on more and more until I was suffocating under the pressure. I'd been labeled everything from a "label wrecker" to a "gold digger," and the worst part was that the people who once supported me were now turning their backs. I could feel the world's eyes on me, judging me, tearing me apart in ways I didn't know were possible.

The news hit the tabloids like a bombshell. My depression, my anxiety, my constant battle with addiction—everything I had kept hidden for so long—was suddenly exposed for the world to see. The truth, the ugly, painful truth, was now on display for everyone to judge. The whispers of my struggles, the secrets I had buried, were no longer mine to control.

They called me a "junkie"—the term they so eagerly threw at anyone they saw as weak, anyone whose life didn't fit the shiny, polished image they demanded. The media painted me as a person who used drugs to cope with my personal demons, as if it were some kind of scandal. And the worst part was, they didn't just label me—they vilified me.

But it wasn't just me they were targeting. The tabloids turned their focus on Divine too. They twisted our relationship, suggesting that I had manipulated him, using him as a stepping stone for my own career. They called me a "witch," insinuating that I had used my charm to control him, to get the modeling gigs I'd always wanted. They questioned his judgment, wondering why someone as successful as him would be involved with someone like me. They had no idea what it was really like, what had really been happening behind closed doors.

I could barely hold myself together. The guilt of everything—my past, the addiction, the lies—I had to face it all, with the entire world watching. I had worked so hard to build a life, to escape the shadows of my past, and now everything was crumbling in front of me.

I had always known there would be a cost to being with Divine, but I hadn't anticipated how much it would affect him. Now, everything was under scrutiny—our relationship, my struggles, everything. I could see the toll it was taking on him. The questions, the doubts—it was wearing him down.

I remember one night, after the latest scandal hit the tabloids, we sat in silence, the weight of it all pressing down on us. Divine had always been the calm in the storm, the one person who made me feel like I could breathe. But now, it felt like he was suffocating too.

"Zara," Divine said, his voice softer than usual, his brow furrowed with concern, "I don't know how much longer we can keep doing this. The press, the rumors—they're starting to affect everything. I just don't want to lose you, but I don't know how to fix this."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I wanted to fix it, wanted to find a way to protect us both from the world's judgment, but how could I? How could I undo the damage, when everything was already spiraling out of control?

"I never wanted this, Divine," I whispered, choking back the tears. "I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to bring you into my mess. I thought I could control it all, but I've failed. I've failed you."

His gaze softened, though the hurt in his eyes was still there. "Zara, you didn't fail me. But this... it's too much. I love you, but I can't keep fighting against the world for us. Not when it's this toxic. I don't know if we can survive this."

His words were like a dagger to my heart. I had already lost so much—could I really afford to lose him too?

The more the tabloids dug, the worse it got. They didn't care about the truth. They didn't care about the struggles that had led me to this point. All they cared about was the scandal. They made me out to be a monster—someone who used people, someone who was weak. They didn't see the person behind the addiction, behind the anxiety. They didn't see the girl who had fought for years to be seen as more than just her demons.