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“Oh my God, I can’t believe I said that. To my mother! In front of a room full of people!”
“I’m pretty sure,” I said between desperate gasps for air, “that’s the ballsiest thing I’ve ever seen someone do.”
“Axel!” Beth gave my arm a playful swat. “Stop laughing!”
We were halfway to the car waiting for us in the valet parking lot and I gathered Beth into my arms, brushing a lock of hair away from the corner of her mouth.
“You were incredible, Beth,” I said. “And I’m so fucking proud of you, I could burst.”
Her face softened and she lowered her lashes, suddenly bashful. She scrubbed at her forehead before placing her hands on my chest.
“Do you think I could stay with you tonight? I’m not sure it’s a good idea for me to go home after…that.”
I cupped Beth’s chin and tilted her head up, pressing a sweet, lingering kiss to her lips.
“You can stay forever, my beautiful, bold girl,” I whispered.
Chapter Eleven
Beth
I woke to Axel’s arm wrapped around my middle, our feet tangled together, the sheets slipping low around our waists. Even though we didn’t have a stitch of clothing between us, I was pleasantly warm with my chest pressed against his, my leg hitched over his hips, and my face tucked into the crook of his neck.
It was still early and the sun was barely up, streaming delicate rays of golden light through the window above Axel’s bed. My heart ached to see him like this, resting, peaceful, and all mine.
You can stay forever, my beautiful, bold girl.
The echo of his words replayed in my mind.Forever. The promise in that single word weighed heavy with meaning. I trailed my fingers down the column of Axel’s throat, tracing over the steady beat of his pulse beneath his skin. I skimmed lower, to the tattoos on his shoulder and down his chest.
The thought of marrying Lionel had made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.
But the thought of marrying Axel made me feel like I had wings on my feet and I could fly around the world.
The faintpingof my phone came from somewhere in the room, distant and muffled. For a few seconds, I ignored it, choosing to skim my lips over Axel’s jawline instead. He was usually clean shaven but seeing him with the shadow of stubble coming in made it even harder to resist him.
My phonepingedagain.
The memories of last night began to replay in my mind. Confronting my mother in front of everyone. The things I said…
Why didn’t I silence my phone when I had the chance? I knew there would be blowback for acting out. I knew social media would explode with gossip. And now my phone was going to sit there all morning, sounding off with endless notifications.
Swearing under my breath, I carefully slid out from under Axel’s arm. After our hasty exit from the exhibition last night, Axel and I had dropped by my mother’s house. I’d stuffed as many of my belongings as I could into a suitcase and hurried out before Mom came home and caught me in the act.
I dug through the suitcase now until I found a t-shirt and tugged it on. Then I found my phone in my purse, discarded beneath a chair. One of us had probably kicked it under there as we fumbled our way to the bed the night before.
Bracing myself for the onslaught I was about to see, I unlocked my home screen.
I was greeted with a headline from a celebrity gossip website that read:Princess Bethany Golde Throws a Tantrum at Exhibition.
Shame burned its way up my neck. I knew better than to get sucked into the twisted narrative of articles like this, but I found myself skimming the text anyway.
Bethany Marie Golde, 21, has taken the modeling industry by storm. Her rise in popularity is thanks to a hard-working and devoted mother, Donna Golde, who has advocated for her daughter at every turn, making numerous sacrifices along the way to see Bethany succeed.
I snorted in disgust at the blatant favoritism of the article. And yet, I couldn’t stop reading, either. This was my new reality now and I needed to know what I would be facing when I finally stepped out of Axel’s bedroom and greeted the world.
To celebrate her daughter’s success, Donna Golde coordinated an exhibition, inviting dozens of well-known guests who traveled from the far reaches of the globe to make an appearance. In attendance were representatives from designer brand names, including Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Prada, and Chanel.
When the exhibition was in full-swing, Donna Golde made a thrilling announcement—Bethany was engaged to marry multi-billionaire and financial guru, Lionel Holmes, one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. As a Harvard graduate with a taste for fast and flashy sports cars, hundreds of women have clamored for his attention in the hopes that they might earn a big diamond ring and bear the name Mrs. Lionel Holmes.
