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Feeling a little relieved, I ask, “What did they say? Can they get all those videos and pictures taken down?”
He holds my hand in his. “I told them they had to, but truthfully, I have no idea if they can. I’m not even sure if they want to. ”
“I wondered for a second, but then I realized you would’ve told me about it if you knew.”
“I would. And I would have tried to stop them at all costs, just like I am now. I’m sorry this is happening, but I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to make this right for you.”
“They don’t want to lose you. I’m sure they’ll do anything you ask them to.”
Cupping my cheek in his large hand, he looks grim. “I wish that’s the way things worked, honey. I hate to tell you this, but it’s my label who’s behind all this. I swear I had no idea.”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
“I wish that I could say I didn’t expect something like this. Especially after Ty confronting you. But I never thought they’d scoop so low…” His eyes turn to stare at the floor, despair filling them.
“Wait. You knew they might leak pictures of me and our daughter without our consent to the paparazzi? You knew all this, and yet you didn’t seem to think that you needed to tell me these things before we took our daughter out and about?”
I’m about to explode.
“I didn’t. Apparently, it’s in one of the contracts they had me sign while I was drunk. But I set them straight. I told them neither of you is legally connected to me, so we would be seeking compensation for using your and Aurora’s image without consent.”
His hands move to my shoulders, massaging them carefully, trying his best to soothe the savage beast that’s woken inside of me. “I’m sorry, songbird. You have every right to be upset. This is all my fault, and I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to see me again. But we do share a daughter, so can we please try to deal with this thing together, as the couple that we are.” Smiling rather weakly, he adds, “The loving couple that we are, songbird.”
“This my fault too. I knew you were hot news, with all the pictures of you and all those women always on the paper. I was dumb to think it wouldn’t happen to me.”
Pulling me into his strong arms, he hugs me, rocking with me from side to side. “I am so sorry for all this. But this won’t be a problem much longer. If I don’t quit before that, my contract is due to renew in a couple of months, and I already told them I wouldn’t be signing with them ever again. Once this one’s up, I’m out.”
Pulling back to look into his eyes, I’m not sure I heard him right. “You’re out?”
Nodding, he smiles. “Yeah, I’m out of the band. I mean, I owe it to the guys to stay until the end of the contract I’ve already signed. But even that is up on the air now. I’m thinking about terminating the damn thing myself and going after the label for all they did and for trying to get me to start drinking again against doctor’s orders and at the risk of my own life.”
That band was everything to him. He left me to pursue his dream, and now he is just giving it up?
“And get this, without even asking me, they decided I should leave the band to become a solo artist. They wanted me to sign a new contract stating they still controlled me and how my branding would be. I wouldn’t have any control over my work or how I’m seen in the public eye. Like I haven’t done that for four years already. No. I don’t want that. I don’t want anything they have to offer.”
Wow, he is really standing up for himself. Good for him.
But on the other hand, as long as he is tied to that label, they’ll be pulling their little strings and he’ll have no say at all over his life or exposing ours. I don’t want that for my baby.
Hell, I don’t want that for him, but he is a big boy. If he wants to endure a couple more months, he can. My baby needs someone to be in her corner one hundred percent. And she shouldn’t have to endure even a single more hour of this.
“Apollo, I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“This. Us. I can’t have the world badmouthing me and our daughter because we are with you. All I did was open our lives to you. I did nothing wrong.” My voice is breaking, and I know I won’t be able to hold my tears back for long.
“Of course not. Please, baby, I don’t want you to worry about a thing.”
“I have to worry. Can’t you see that? It’s my responsibility to think about the future.” I sigh. “You know what? Maybe you should go. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”
“What? No,” he says as he gets up and tries to take me into his arms again, but I take a step back.
If he touches me, I know I won’t be able to resist him.
Stopping, he looks me dead in the eyes. “Lucy, please. I’m not going anywhere. We have a family now and that means more to me than everything else. You know what family means to me. And you know that you two and my brother are all I have left.”
He closes the distance between us and slips his arms around me. Our bodies snug against each other.
