Page 119 of The Golden Scoop

“Emma stayed with us last night. Julia didn’t want her to be alone,” Harrison says, a little too casual for me to believe she’s okay.

That hurts more than anything he could’ve said about me. I hate that she’s upset, knowing I’m the reason she needed somewhere else to sleep. The toxic part of my job is spilling into every aspect of my life, corroding it before it has a chance to stick.

“You assumed the worst,” he continues, gently.

My head drops. I exhale and drag a hand through my hair. My feet move on their own, pacing in front of him. Two steps left. Turn. Two steps right.

“I didn’t,” I say. It sounds weak the second it leaves my mouth. “I’m not. But this—Emma, the article… it hit a little too close to home. I opened up to her. Thought she saw me.”

“How do you know she doesn’t?”

At this point, I don’t know anything anymore.

“My life’s been like a chain reaction since my dad died. Not long after, I realized being myself wasn’t enough. I adapted. Survival of the fittest, and all that,” I say. Harrison hums in understanding. “It’s crazy how quickly attention turns transactional. I started being valued not for who I am as a person, but for what I represent. Action star, playboy bachelor, sex God⁠—”

“Absolutely no one has ever called you that,” Harrison cuts in.

Ask Emma, I think. Our current position slips out of my mind only to hit back harder. I expect her to be here, where she belongs. But she’s not.

“There’s a version that sells and one that doesn’t. And in my life, it’s pretty clear which one’s worth something.”

Harrison huffs so sharply I stop and turn to him.

“Sit.”

Oh. No.

He’s angry.

“The industry doesn’t determine your worth, Matt,” he says. “If anything, the people closest to you prefer the shy, nerdy version of you a hell of a lot more.”

“Yeah, you, my mom, and Julia.” I scoff. “Everyone else I’ve ever met, men or women, has only been interested in fame.”

“Then the problem’s not you, it’s the people you surround yourself with,” he shoots back. “Tell me, do you actually think Emma fits that category?”

Harrison’s voice is slightly bitter as he spits out the question. I should feel offended, but I’m not. I’m glad she has people like him in her corner. A support system willing to defend her no matter what. I want to be in it too.

“No,” I say, my jaw tightening. “But you’ve read the headline. Maybe that’s all I was to her. Someone interesting to write about, another story… like she does for The Go⁠—”

I stop myself just in time. No matter how much this hurts, it’s not my secret to tell.

“The Golden Scoop?” Harrison finishes for me.

Wait.

“You know?”

He nods. “She slipped a while back, but she’s under contract. Not even her family knows. Pretty sure it’s just Julia and me.”

“Alright… I guess that makes it a tiny bit better. Can’t say I’ve read much, but I’ve come across it a couple of times,” I mumble. “It’s pretty ruthless.”

Harrison doesn’t dismiss it, but he doesn’t let me linger on it either.

“Maybe you should read them. There’s one thing about those articles: they’re always true.”

Right. Emma doesn’t do fake. She does brutal, inconvenient truth even when it might blow back into her face—like with her cousin. Then maybe that headline twisting the truth… it’s not hers.

“Let me ask you something,” Harrison cuts in. “Did you actually think she’d do something like that… or did you hit a problem and decide it was safer to pull back before giving her everything?”