Blind Trust

“What do you mean, you’ve never met him or spoken to him, Claire?” Armi asked his friend. “Just what I said,” declared Claire.

Claire had met a man online and had been chatting with him for months now. She told her best friend Armi about all the time they had spent texting this man. What she had neglected to tell him was that he was an up-and-coming celebrity actor.

She had never heard of him until one day she came across a reel posted on her social media and made a simple comment on it. As she continued to scroll through her friends’ posts, her page refreshed, and an instant message appeared in her inbox. Claire was shocked when she opened her texts and realized it was the very actor she had seen on the reel.

Luciano immediately introduced himself, thanked Claire for her support and comment, and asked how long she had been a fan. She had to admit she had not heard of him before and that it was just luck that she stumbled upon his post. This did not dissuade Luciano in the slightest. He laughed it off and asked for her name, where she was from, and whether she minded chatting with him a bit.

Claire was gobsmacked and answered his query, telling Luc, as he had said she could call him, that she would not mind talking. In that moment, she had a strange feeling about all of this, but she set it aside. She asked him why he would engage a perfect stranger on social media, and he eased her concerns by saying he liked to meet, infrequently, his fans and get to know them. He was interested in keeping in touch with real people and staying grounded that way.

Claire understood that need to feel real and normal. It made perfect sense to her. For months, they had gotten to know one another, or so it seemed. He gathered a lot of information about her, but she did not receive the same level of transparency from the actor.

Luc was vague and not very forthcoming, but she chalked it up to his status as a hot commodity in his field at the moment. After all, he had to protect his privacy. His attentiveness and attention to detail were so charming. He shared many of her hobbies and life experiences, which made talking to him even more comfortable.

Claire and Luc had very long discussions almost every day. He always initiated contact and complimented her in a way that made her feel warm inside. They never went a day without texting each other, and Claire was getting attached to him.

Luc, too, seemed to be growing closer to her each day, and he seemed so sincere. She just could not believe her luck in finding the one person in entertainment who was genuine and perfect for her. He was a dream come true.

A few months into their online relationship, he told Claire he was developing feelings for her. Luc said he had had trust issues for a long time because of a close relationship that ended due to a lack of trust, but that he felt secure and comfortable with her, as he had with no one else. He told Claire he wanted more than a friendship, asked if it was okay to be more intimate with her, and said he loved her. She was floored because she too had developed deep feelings for him.

Their secrecy was imperative, he said, because of all the paparazzi and tabloids, and Claire agreed. She told no one, but had just told her best friend about Luciano.

She described their conversations, what had been going on over the past eleven months, and how she now felt about him, shocking Armi in the process.

Armi looked at his bestie and felt sadness for her. He had had no idea she was this lonely and vulnerable to strangers. He felt guilty for not spending more time with her. Armi had heard and read about this kind of thing online. His feelings for his friend prompted him to step in and say something.

Armi sat in front of Claire, took her hands, and began to describe similar instances and stories from other women and celebrity matchups that sounded much like her experience. She didn’t understand why Armi was telling her this. Armi went on to tell her that, in the end, these celebrities wound up telling a dramatic story to their targets and asking for financial assistance from the women.

Claire immediately jumped at that and remarked that Luc had never asked for money in any way. In fact, he asked her if she needed anything, and she always declined. She did not need money at all. Emotionally, that was a different matter.

Armi, seeing she was bothered, dropped the subject after asking her to please be cautious. He told her he didn’t want her hurt. He cared for her deeply. Claire put the issue behind her and went on with her day after he left her house.

Having already spoken to Luc that morning and afternoon, she set about doing her routine chores and preparing for work the following day.

Upon waking, she noticed a notification on her phone from the media chat site she used with Luc and opened it to see a dramatic turn of events. Luc had a terrible crisis with his manager and needed her help paying for a lawyer. They had frozen his accounts, and he was asking her for $1000.

Her heart went cold. She replied that she did not have the funds to help him. He popped online and began asking why she didn’t trust or love him enough to help him, and Claire died a little inside. How had she not seen it, given what Armi had told her yesterday about scammers?

Luc cut her off and said he’d talk to her later. When she hadn’t heard from him later that day, she texted to ask if he was okay. “Account Not Found” lit up her screen. She cried.

Claire called Armi and told him what happened, and his heart broke for her. That night, he came by and held her as she cried.

Armi was this warm man who was always there for her. And everything shifted. She realized what she had missed all this time. She had the man of her dreams. Armi.

He looked at her and understood what was behind her stare. He smiled and said, “I wondered how long it would take you to notice you love me.”

“Claire,” he said, “I have always loved you. It’s time for us to give ourselves a chance.” He kissed her then, and she felt at home and secure.

She loved Armi more than she had believed and was ready to see what the future would hold, together.

(Published by What Is Love To You on Medium, July 2026)

#love #scams #disappointment #lies #loneliness 

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