“Oh God. My key. Melody. I turned my phone off. How could I have turned my phone off?” I muttered as I waited the small eternity it took for it to turn back on. When it did, my worst fears were confirmed. Four hours ago. She’d hit the panic button four hours ago, and I’d been too selfish to have my damn phone on. Jesus Fucking Christ.
I tried not to freak out. If she was really in trouble, it would’ve alerted emergency services, which is about the best I could’ve done too since I hadn’t been with her.
Before my phone had even finished updating everything, I called her, almost collapsing with relief when she answered immediately and sounded calm.
She said, “Hey, I’m so sorry for the false alarm. I hope it didn’t freak you out.”
“Why was it a false alarm? What happened?”
“Max came charging in and cornered me. I’ve never seen him like that. He was out of his mind screaming at me and threatening me. I freaked out and hit the button almost as soon as he came in uninvited, but then he left just as quickly as he’d come and nothing happened. I was shaken, but everything was fine, so I deactivated it and texted you to say it was okay.”
“So you’re okay? Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m home now and I’m okay. What about you? Have you been keeping up with the news?”
“No, I’ve kind of been hiding out. I don’t need to see it.”
“You should go look right now,” she said, sounding weirdly excited. “It’s not all bad.”
When we hung up, I did a news search for my name online to see what she was talking about. The first article that popped up was his rebuttal to my claims. The sentences I could read in the search preview were enough to keep me from clicking on it. I’d known it was coming, but it was awful and I didn’t need to read any more of it.
The next section started with the headline:
Kate Brannan, Melody Martin Accuse Maximilian Gates of Sexual Misconduct
Holy shit.I’d had my suspicions when Alex mentioned how much she hated Max, but never in a million years would’ve expected her to stand with me against him. In the article, she explained what he’d done to her, why she’d stayed silent all these years, and said she was finally coming forward because I’d been brave enough to speak up.
I was repeatedly referred to as “Alex Chase’s girlfriend” so he must have held off on issuing the announcement that we’d broken up. I kept saying I didn’t want my identity to be tied to being his girlfriend forever, but now I could see it wouldn’t matter if it meant I got to be with him.
I reached the section with quotes from Alex and started to cry. He vocally supported me, said he believed me, and had pulled out ofCrown of Swordsbecause he wouldn’t work with someone who treated women like Max did.
I’d walked away to shield him from the brunt of this and he’d charged straight into the fray to defend me anyway. He’d given up the role he’d fought so hard for and had forever tied himself to this scandal when he could have stayed quiet.
I’d made a terrible mistake and couldn’t get to my car fast enough to get to him.
48
Alex
“May I come over?” was all the text from Elena had said, so I’d been pacing while I waited for her to arrive, too afraid to hope. I was a wreck. I kept raking my hands through my hair and I knew it was probably standing on end by the time she finally pulled up in front of my house. I wanted to run out to see her, but I forced myself to stay rooted to the spot and calmly open the door only after she knocked.
When she came in, we stood in the foyer and I watched for her to give some indication of how she was feeling.
She said, “You didn’t release the breakup statement. Was that to help me because of Max or because you don’t want to break up?”
“Both.”
She looked close to tears. “I’ve fucked up your career and dragged you into a scandal and you deserve better…even if you’re such a dumbass you thought it was a good idea to use sex to prove I love you.”
“Elena, sweetheart, none of this was your fault. Can I hug you?”
She nodded almost hesitantly, so I pulled her gently to me. She felt stiff in my arms at first, but then she sighed and the tension drained away.
I kissed the top of her head and said, “I wish you hadn’t thought you had to face it alone, but I respect that you needed it to be on your terms. I’m so sorry I was a monumental asshole. I’ll regret the way I acted that night for the rest of my life.”
“Seriously, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking you’re everything I’ve ever wanted and I didn’t know how to fully trust that because of my fame and the way things had started between us. Then Max said all that stuff and it was the same day things were ending and it just felt like there was no time and I needed some kind of sign to know I was the exception for you or I was going to lose you. But that was unfair and I’m sorry. Trust is something I’m working really hard on, and being with you has helped me to grow, but I know I’ve still got work to do.” I was talking too much, but I needed to get all of this out, needed her to know. “And I’m so sorry I piled that on you when you were already struggling with Max. I don’t deserve you.”
