I yank my gaze off my phone to glance at her, perplexed by the shock filtering across her pretty face. I look from her to the rest of the table, finding that all their eyes are locked on the stage. It’s then that I also notice the coldness of Nathan’s palm on my lap.
He’s no longer relaxed.
In fact, the entire grand ballroom has descended into silence.
What is happening?
I follow everyone’s attention to the stage. The large projector is no longer presenting the slides, but a message thread from someone’s hacked phone.
All the color drains from my face when I read the names.
Iris and Nathan.
“Oh no,” I utter in horror.
It’s them discussing their fake engagement.
IRIS: Let me help you, Nathan. It can’t be hard since we’re already fake dating. Everyone will believe it.
NATHAN: Think carefully, Iris. You’ll be putting your life on hold for two years.
IRIS: I am sure.
Each text is more damning than the last.
With it comes a single realization.
“Nathan.” He looks at me as the chatter becomes louder around us. “I think someone is out to sabotage you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Arya
“You hooked up again?” yells Noor.
Anaya’s mouth spreads into a grin, taunting, “I thought you hated him. And he’s a client. A douche. I would never let him touch me. Blah, blah, blah.”
I slurp on the soupy noodles and chew fast while glowering at my two best friends on the video call. “Out of everything I mentioned,that’sthe part you both focus on? FYI,” I point a finger at a smug Anaya, “I’ve never called him a douche.”
“Celebrities’ phones get hacked all the time,” says Anaya flippantly. “After the rumor about his engagement, someone was bound to search for proof.”
“It’s awful, though,” Noor says in a sympathetic voice. “It’s all over the news.”
“Trending,” adds Anaya. “Lucky for him, he has our girl Arya on his side.”
Noor’s hair shakes as she nods. The sunlight pouring in from the window behind her makes the strands shine beautifully. “How’s he doing? Did he sneak out without runninginto the media standing outside the hotel? They must be like a pack of wolves waiting to pounce on him.”
“Nathan was alarmingly calm and kept his emotions concealed,” I answer, still impressed. It shouldn’t be a surprise since he grew up in an influential family and knows how to handle a scandal. “Thankfully, he left before chaos erupted after a media personnel member sneaked inside past the bodyguards. The clip of his text exchange got taken down quickly, but the damage was done.”
I felt Nathan slip away and his walls come up around me.
The past mistake he’s trying to forget and move on from was thrown maliciously in his face. The situation between us became inconsequential.
It reminded me of what’s at stake.
We had gotten caught in a bubble before it got burst by the arrow of reality.
I’m his publicist.
