Rebeca Verne could go years without landing a truly great project, but no one in their right mind ever doubted the weight of her name. She had the kind of presence that survived hiatuses, bad choices, entire market cycles. And the moment word leaked - only a rumor, at first - that she might be joining the cast of Bleach: The Arrancar Arc, the internet practically choked as if it had been hit by a shockwave.
It wasn't just "buzz." It wasn't just "hype." It was chaos.
In minutes, timelines turned into a boxing ring. People who hadn't watched anything in years crawled out of the woodwork just to have an opinion. Old fans, casuals, professional haters, drama tourists who lived to "expose" celebrities - everyone piled into the same loud basement of the internet, as if a casting choice were a political act.
One side was thrilled. And it wasn't small.
The other side… sounded like they'd been waiting ten years for an excuse to bite.
"Finally! After all this time, she and Mark in the same project again. I'm watching even if it's out of spite."
"Just hope they give Rebeca a role worthy of her… and for the love of God, give her more scenes with Aizen."
"No. No. No. Rebeca, stay away. Don't touch my Bleach. She's tanked too many things already - don't let her infect this."
"And Alex? Genius move bringing in a box-office curse."
"You think Alex hooked up with her and now he's paying her back?"
"Honestly? With how he is, I wouldn't even be surprised."
"Watch your mouths. You people cross the line way too easily."
"This is a Bleach fandom. If you want to protect your idol, go somewhere else."
"Let's be real - if it wasn't for everything else, Alex wouldn't look twice at her acting."
It went on like that. Poison after poison, comment after comment, like each one had to be filthier than the last just to exist.
In the back seat, phone in hand, the glow from the screen trembling in her eyes, Rebeca bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted metal. She tried to breathe. Tried to tell herself it was just noise, just the internet. But her chest tightened anyway. The kind of tightness that doesn't ask permission.
The tears came before she could stop them.
It was ridiculous. It was unfair. And at the same time, it was real.
She hadn't filmed a single scene yet. She hadn't even announced what role she'd play. She hadn't done anything besides exist inside that headline - yet it felt like people wanted to tear her apart in public.
"I… I'm doing a cameo and they still - " Her voice cracked, and the shame of crying only made it worse.
Alex glanced over, not exactly patient with internet hysteria, but far too familiar with how this machine worked. He'd seen it too many times: the crowd choosing a target just to feel alive.
"What do you want me to do?" he said, irritation aimed more at the spectacle than at her. "That's the cost of having a name."
Rebeca gripped her coat between her fingers like it could hold the world in place. "You're not… you're not taking me with you?"
Alex exhaled. "You're going home."
She blinked, like she hadn't heard right. "What?"
"Today's set isn't yours." His tone was flat, decisive. "Your material's in the studio. Different location. When it's your turn, I'll call you."
Rebeca tried to argue, but the logic was obvious - and still, it stung like rejection. She wanted to stay. Wanted to be near them, wanted proof she wasn't being pushed out. She wanted any excuse not to face that storm alone.
Her lip trembled. The tears came again, too big to pretend they were "just emotion."
"Hey…" Alex muttered a rough, impatient okay, okay, like he hated drama but hated watching someone fall apart even more. He lifted his sleeve and wiped her tears with the fabric - no gentleness, no elegance. No tissue. Just a blunt gesture that still carried a dangerous kind of intimacy.
Rebeca closed her eyes for a second, swallowing the sob, trying to pull herself together.
And in that tiny space - the silence after the crying, her breathing slowing, the car rolling forward with its steady engine hum - a thought sparked through Alex like a flicker of flame.
If he leaned in right now and kissed her… would she tell her mother?
The detail was simple, and that was what made it tempting: her mother wasn't in the car. This time, she'd been smart enough not to wedge herself somewhere she wasn't wanted - or practical enough to understand that with a driver up front, Alex "wouldn't do anything."
Old thinking.
Alex almost laughed to himself. The divider between the front and back seats existed for a reason. Drop it, and the driver became a ghost. And a driver who worked for people like this understood the rules: headphones on, eyes forward, curiosity dead.
What society pretended didn't happen… happened.
But Alex didn't do it.
Not because he lacked opportunity. Not because he was putting on some moral performance. But because there was an invisible line there - a mix of calculation, boredom, and a stubborn refusal to turn everything into conquest.
He leaned back and let the thought die, like crushing an ember under his heel.
When they reached the exterior set - a monumental, ancient structure cut against the sky, so imposing it looked built to challenge storms - Rebeca should've left immediately. Instead, she stared, like she'd walked into something she'd only ever seen in photographs. The place had that kind of silent grandeur that forced anyone to shrink their ego for a few seconds.
"I… I've never been here," she murmured, wiping the last trace of tears with her fingers, trying to turn curiosity into courage. "Can I… look around before I go?"
Alex shrugged. Not a warm yes, but permission.
Across the way, the main trio had been waiting for a while. Mark was there, relaxed posture, seasoned gaze - someone who'd been on enough sets to stop being impressed by anything… until something truly big happened. Emily was there too, and you could feel her sour mood from a distance, the energy of someone who had no interest in pretending to be friendly.
A third actor rounded out the core, carrying the same "professional on autopilot" look - the kind of person who already knew the day would be long.
Even if this arc gave less space to certain characters, the core cast carried the story on their backs. And Emily, especially, had a spotlight that sometimes eclipsed even major figures - something the direction knew how to exploit, and the audience responded to like addiction.
Mark noticed Rebeca and almost waved out of habit. It was muscle memory from older days, the instinct of an old colleague. But the gesture died halfway when he remembered the familiar shadow of her mother - someone who, in past productions, had turned a simple suggestion into a war. Even if she wasn't here, her presence lingered as a warning.
He decided not to strike a match near gasoline.
Emily didn't bother hiding it. She looked at Rebeca like she was a walking problem. It wasn't just ordinary backstage dislike. It was uglier - more primal: the feeling that someone else's shine was a personal insult.
Rebeca had been the darling. The perfect image. The public fantasy. And even after years of questionable choices, she was still treated like a star. That made certain people - people obsessed with effort, people who lived as if every day was a race - want to break the world.
Why could she fail and still stay on top?
Why did life seem to forgive Rebeca with a smile?
Those questions didn't come with logic. They came with resentment.
"Everyone in." Alex's voice cut through the air.
He clapped once, the sound echoing off stone and wind. The crew gathered. The cast lined up. Conversations died out, replaced by that taut attention that only exists when someone truly has authority.
Alex stepped forward.
His posture shifted. He wasn't just the lead actor. He wasn't just the director. He owned the rhythm. The kind of authority that didn't ask permission and didn't offer apologies.
"I'm going to make one thing clear from the start." His gaze swept over them, measuring each person by the weight of their silence. "There are no privileges here. No 'names.' No 'stars.' No 'my agent said.' I'm responsible for this. If you can't deliver what I need, you're out. Immediately. Understood?"
"Understood." The answer came in a sharp chorus - fast, firm. Even the ones itching to complain swallowed their pride.
Rebeca's stomach tightened. And somewhere in her memory, fear found a face: the past, when a mother could challenge a director, shout, threaten to stop filming… and still be heard.
Not here.
Here, Alex wouldn't negotiate.
And somehow, that both frightened her and… protected her.
Two weeks later, the world got what it really wanted.
The studio's official account and Netfi both released a fresh set of promo stills from Bleach: The Arrancar Arc. The first image was enough to make the internet shift gears.
Because at the front of it all was him.
Sosuke Aizen.
Alex - without the glasses that used to lend him that controlled, scholarly air. Without the "polite" mask of the earlier arc. His hair was slicked back now, precise, leaving only a single lock falling with almost cruel perfection over his forehead - the exact look of a man who had already chosen betrayal and would never turn back.
The wardrobe belonged to a different world too. No traditional uniform. Instead, a clean white coat, so immaculate it felt like provocation. In the still, Aizen sat on an equally white throne, his hand propping up his cheek with calm boredom - like even his indifference was power.
He didn't look like a villain trying to prove himself.
He looked like a king who had already won.
And the reaction was instant. It wasn't "comments." It was screaming.
The fandom detonated.
"Holy - this is unfair. That's too beautiful."
"That look alone just forced me to watch."
"Sorry, Emily… sorry to everyone who's ever fallen for him… I get it now. With that face, I'd fold too."
"The worst part is he's always been handsome - his talent is just so insane we forget."
"I rewatched the earlier arc and it's wild: take off the glasses, change the hair… and he becomes someone else."
"The only series where I actually root for the antagonist to win."
Within hours, those stills sat at the very top of trending lists - not in just one place, but across multiple countries at once. Headlines, reaction videos, frame-by-frame analysis, edits, millions of views explaining why "this Aizen" had changed the game.
In the end, the truth was simple and cruel - the kind the industry never admitted out loud.
The heat… still needed Aizen.
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