Hal cleared a path, barking orders like a drill sergeant as Tom inched the car through the sea of flashing cameras. The gates finally creaked open, and we slipped inside just long enough for them to slam shut behind us.
Inside, I tried to shake off the unease. I opened my laptop, thinking some writing might distract me, only to be greeted by an email I hadn’t expected.
“Unfortunately, this piece is not a fit for us at this time.”
The rejection stared back at me. I hadn’t even remembered submitting the short story, a historical fiction piece about a failed revolution in 19th-century Poland. But seeing it rejected now stung more than I wanted to admit.
This wasn’t supposed to be the hundredth rejection.
I exhaled.
“Hey.”
I looked up to see Luke standing in the doorway, his eyes lingering on me with a tenderness that made my breath catch. “What’s wrong?”
I turned the screen toward him, waving vaguely at it. “Another rejection. I didn’t even remember submitting this story. It’s just, I don’t know. It’s silly.”
“It’s just one rejection,” he said gently. “You’re better than that.”
His kindness hit a nerve I didn’t know was raw.
“It’s not just one rejection. It’s my hundredth rejection. You don’t get it,” I snapped before I could stop myself. “You don’t know what it’s like to put your whole heart into something and have people tell you it’s not good enough.”
His jaw tightened. “I do know what that’s like, Anna.”
The silence that followed was thick and immediate; his words echoed louder than either of us had expected. Shame surged through me almost instantly.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, stepping toward him. “I didn’t mean that. I just…” My voice cracked. “I’m tired of feeling like I’m not enough.”
I wrapped my arms around him, resting my cheek against his chest. He hesitated for a second, then pulled me closer. I listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His hand moved gently up and down my back.
“You’re incredible, you know that?” he murmured, his voice low and soft against my hair. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You don’t have to be perfect for anyone. You’re already enough.”
His words hit me squarely in the chest, leaving me breathless for a moment. I swallowed hard and whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
He tilted my chin up, his gaze meeting mine. “You don’t need to apologize. I get it, Anna. I really do. I mean, I know rejection, too. Hollywood’s built on it. For every role I get, there are ten I don’t. For every glowing review, there’s someone saying I’m overrated.”
I reached up to touch his face, my fingertips brushing his cheek. “You’re one of the good ones, Luke.”
He smiled faintly. “And don’t forget that you’re one of the good ones, too.”
The tension in my chest began to ease as his words sank in. For a moment, the world outside didn’t matter. The rejection emails, the headlines, the noise. It was just the two of us, wrapped in a kind of understanding.
He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of my head, his lips lingering there. When he pulled back, his hands slid down my arms slowly, his thumbs tracing small circles that made my breath catch.
“You’re going to finish this book.” His eyes searched mine. “And when you do, the world’s going to see what I already see. That you’re brilliant and talented and absolutely incredible.”
“You make me believe that,” I said quietly. “When I’m with you, everything feels possible.”
“I mean it.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch so tender it made my chest ache. “I believe in you, Anna. More than you know.”
I reached up and covered his hand with mine, holding it against my cheek.
He leaned down to kiss my forehead, then the tip of my nose, making me laugh despite the emotion welling up inside me.
“There’s that smile,” he murmured, his own widening.
For a moment, we just stood there, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him, see the flecks of gold in his blue eyes. The rest of the world felt very far away.
