AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once I got to my room, I threw myself on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, going over the night in my head. And just when I started wondering if I was the world’s biggest fool, a comforting voice called out.
“I heard about the fire on my way over. Are you okay?”
The wall around my heart cracked at the sound of P’s voice, and a guttural sound escaped my lips.
I rolled onto my side, allowing the tears to fall as I somehow mustered the energy to choke out the words: “I broke up with Thorne.”
“What?” P came closer. “Why?”
The bed dipped, and then I felt Penelope’s hand on my side, comforting me.
It was several minutes until I could speak through the frog in my throat. “We were never really together.”
“What do you mean? Like, he wasn’t around enough for you?”
I shook my head. “No. He was around plenty.” I glanced up at the ceiling, frustrated. “I mean, we were pretending the whole time. Faking it. I couldn’t tell you or anyone else because I signed a contract and an NDA.”
“I don’t understand.” Penelope met my gaze.
“It was a publicity stunt. Thorne wanted to change his image, so he suggested we pretend to be a couple.”
Penelope’s gaze shifted to the floor. “The business proposal,” she murmured.
I nodded. “In exchange, I got his legal team.”
Penelope rubbed the back of her neck with one hand while her brow wrinkled. “So it was all planned?” She dropped her hand with a thud. “But . . . I saw you together. There’s no way he was faking it.”
I sat up in bed and scootched back so that I leaned up against the bedframe. “He’s an actor, P. It’s what he does.”
“I don’t buy it.” P’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “No way his feelings weren’t real. You’re telling me he never had a conversation with you about how he felt about you?”
I glanced away from her, recalling how he tried telling me how he felt on several occasions. But then I thought about how many times he mentioned the contract. And how he said we were having fun when we kissed.
“Scar . . . ?” P asked in a warning tone.
“Okay, maybe he tried to tell me that he had feelings beyond our arrangement. And, okay, he said he wanted more. He was upset with me and didn’t want to break up, but . . . “ I trailed off, and the sting in my throat warned me I was on the verge of losing again.
“But what?”
I met her eyes, desperate for understanding. “But he has everything. I’m just a normal girl, with a normal life.”
“Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that he might think that’s a good thing?”
“I know, but what happens when the press dies down? Or he gets himself in trouble again? Or he falls for his next female co-star? Or realizes that his feelings were merely a result of us spending so much time together and nothing more? That they’re not real? I feel like he has everything to gain and nothing to lose, while I’m—” I cut myself off.
Somehow giving voice to my fear made it harder—hurt just a little more.
“You’re afraid of getting hurt and putting your heart on the line,” Penelope said.
I nodded and my resolve solidified. “Thorne will survive losing me,” I said, sure of myself. “As soon as the media buzz is over, the appeal of us will fade. He’ll move on to his next movie and another woman. One from his own world that’s five times prettier and already lives in LA. Someone famous, who can travel the world with him and understands the film industry. And where will I be?” I stared down at my hands, twisting in my lap. “Brokenhearted, that’s where.”
Silence stretched between us, and after a moment, Penelope asked, “Are you sure this is what you want?”
A lump lodged in the back of my throat. “I’m not sure I have a choice.”
“But what if you’re wrong?”
I exhaled a shaky breath, then raked a hand through my hair. My thoughts drifted to Thorne after the fire, how he’d spoken about everything we gained by being together, like our relationship was an asset and nothing more.
