Second Lead Syndrome

Theo Carver never believed in love.

He believed in control.
In ambition.
In winning.

He had always been good at walking away.

From expectations.
From people.
From anything that threatens to matter too much.

It's a skill that served him well long before anyone started recognizing his face on screens.

Fame, it turns out, is the easy part.

The hard part is standing across from the one person who can unravel you with a single look.

When he left Europe to study acting in Canada, relationships were the last thing on his mind.

Then he met Elio Márquez.

The boy everyone loved.

The boy with dark eyes that saw too much, laughter that made entire rooms soften, and a quiet confidence that Theo could never quite ignore.

Theo told himself it was rivalry.

Then fascination.

Then nothing at all.

But when Elio's career explodes overnight and the world falls in love with him, Theo finds himself watching from the shadows. Much closer than anyone realizes.

Running the fan account that caused Elio's fame in the first place, in secret.

Tracking every interview.

Every scene.

Every smile.

Because the truth is something Theo refuses to admit:

Elio Márquez is the only thing he has ever wanted and the one person he cannot allow himself to have.

And if Theo doesn't learn to let go...

He might destroy them both.