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KATE
My phone started buzzingfor about the twentieth time since arriving at my parents’ house to hide out. I was about to shut it off when I saw Drew's name and photo on the screen.
"Hello?" I asked tentatively, not knowing what to expect from this call. Did he believe the gossip about me? Did he think I was only after him for his money, no better than Gwen?
Drew sighed, relief evident in his voice as he spoke. "I'm glad you picked up. How are you doing? I feel terrible about what's happening right now."
"I'm fine," I lied. I was a mess.
It had been like a nightmare when I got to work this morning and Oliver had asked me if I'd seen the latest trending story on social media. How had they gotten those photos of us? I still couldn't believe that my face was plastered all over the Internet next to Drew's.
And who was the insider who'd told the reporter all those private details about my life? I couldn't think of anyone that would have said anything about my divorce, not that many people even knew about it. I'd only told my family and Drew.
Had Nolan said something? Or his new girlfriend? And that’s when I realized I had no idea who Nolan had told about it, or what he might have said. He’d probably told everyone outright lies about the situation to save face for himself.
What a disaster this was!
"How was your conversation with Gwen? When Alexis sent me home, she said something about you calling her."
"Gwen took it pretty well after I told her I knew about Dion."
"Of course." I waited for him to continue.
"I, uh…" My stomach shrunk when he hesitated. Something was up, but I had no clue what it could be. He and Gwen wouldn't get back together, would they? He cleared his throat and continued. "Gwen suggested we stage an engagement, and when I told Alexis about it, she was all over it. Alexis is hoping to film it in Antigua next week."
What?
"And how do you feel about that?" I held my breath, not sure I wanted to hear his answer.
"I can see why Gwen and Alexis are excited about the idea."
"Yes, but how doyoufeel about it?"
The line was quiet for a moment before Drew finally said, "I'm not excited about it. But I think it could be worth it in the end. I mean, it’s not like I'll really be engaged, so I won't have to pretend in front of Gwen anymore. And I see it as a way to get the paparazzi off your back. I'm pretty sure they'll leave you alone after they find out nothing was going on between us."
Nothing was going on between us?A pang knifed at my heart. I'd thoughtsomethingmight be going on. At least, after that kiss last night and our plans to run away, I'd really hoped something was changing.
"Did I say something wrong?" Drew asked when I stayed quiet.
I swallowed and faked a happy tone. "Nope. I'm glad you've figured out a way to make everyone happy. I hope it all goes really well."
My phone started beeping with another call from a number I didn't recognize.
"Hey, my sister is calling me. I probably better answer it," I lied to get off the phone. I couldn't continue this conversation much longer before my voice would start breaking down. I already had more tears stinging at the back of my eyes, and a sob building in my throat.
"Okay," Drew said, sounding worried, and maybe a little confused. "Again, I'm really sorry about all this. Apparently, it's hazardous for anyone to be seen with me right now. I hope you have a better day."
"Mmm-hmm," I managed to say before hanging up. Then I put my phone in airplane mode. I couldn't handle any more people today.
Where didthey get all these old photos from? Who would give these out?I wondered as I scrolled through another article about Drew’s and my supposed affair the next day.
I had always hoped to see one of my stories make headlines—I'd just assumed it would be one I wrote, not one about me. But such was the life in Hollywood—you never really knew which story would sell.
But how had they found out so much about our past? Somehow, the celebrity gossip sites had found photos of us from years ago. One was a snapshot taken from Drew and Aiden's high school graduation. In the original photo, I had stood between the two boys with their arms around me. In the past, every time I'd looked at it, I would think,the three musketeers.But online, someone had completely cropped Aiden out of the photo, making it look like it was just Drew and me posing together.
How had they gotten that photo? The only people with a copy of that particular snapshot were Drew, Aiden, and myself. Maybe my parents too, but they would never sell them to a tabloid. Drew wouldn't have sold us out either. And neither of us had put those up on social media. And of course, Aiden hadn't leaked them.
Then something occurred to me. I quickly did a search on my browser to look at Aiden's old social media accounts. Sure enough, after minutes of scrolling, I found all of our old photos that were now being viewed by the whole country.
