Despite the secrecy of their relationship, Star understood Thornton's need to maintain the facade of being merely an artist and his manager to those who were unaware of the situation. It wasn't until the trial that Star uncovered the truth about Thornton's lies. Numerous facts were exposed in court, including recordings of Star sleeping with various producers and directors, which Thornton had intended to use as bargaining power if he couldn't get what he wanted for the one he truly adored. Star couldn’t believe he had been such an idiot.
You never loved me, Thornton. You loved money and that woman.
“You’re wrong,”said the voice.“I loved you and only you. Everything I did was for you.”
Star shot up from his bed, head thumping against the low ceiling, but the pain was nothing compared to the hurt of his heart. “It was you who didn't loveme,” he shouted, his voice full of emotion.
“Shut the fuck up!” someone yelled in anger.
“No one fucking loves you, asshole.” A few more inmates joined in, just as angry as the first. They added more and more insults, but Star paid them no mind. The voices escalated until a couple of correctional officers shouted for everyone to be silent.
Star had grown accustomed to the insults, his thick skin hardening over the years spent in the penitentiary. He sighed deeply, allowing himself to take a few calming breaths to steady his emotions.
“Hey, all right up there, Rueng?” Dent’s husky voice inquired.
“Yeah,” Star croaked out a quick response. “Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep.”
Dent hummed softly, and seconds later, the man was snoring again. Star smiled, envying his cellmate’s ability to doze off so quickly, but he always seemed alert at the first sign of danger. Dent had been given a thirty-year sentence for the murder of his business partner six months before Star arrived at the prison. Despite his conviction, Dent maintained that he was innocent.
Dent had no way to prove his innocence, yet no one seemed to take it into account. Having been a bodyguard before, Dent co-founded a real estate business with his late partner, Mellow Franklin, who was also a former bodyguard. Dent recounted to the police that he and Mellow had disagreed about a proposed merger and that Dent had walked out in a fit of rage; however, Mellow was still alive when he left the premises.
After leaving the office, he headed to a nearby bar where he encountered a stunning woman who invited him to grab something to eat, intending to get to know each other and perhaps conclude the night at a hotel. Unfortunately, the evening didn't turn out as he had hoped, and their date ended far sooner than he had anticipated. With some time to spare and not wanting to return to his empty apartment, he decided to return to his office. Just as he stepped off the elevator, Dent heard a loud bang emanating from Mellow's office, resembling a gunshot.
When Dent arrived at the entrance to Mellow's office, he was hit in the back of the head by something hard, which pushed him forward, causing him to hit his head and black out, never seeing who struck him. Upon regaining consciousness, the police had their guns trained on him. To his shock, Dent had a gun in his hand. He was uncertain of how it happened, yet the evidence pointed to Dent as the culprit; his fingerprints were all over the weapon used to take Mellow's life, and multiple witnesses had attested to hearing Dent threaten to kill Mellow, yet none had seen him leave the building, and the surveillance cameras showed no trace of his exit.
The investigators thoroughly interrogated the woman Dent went out to dinner with, and she adamantly maintained that she had never laid eyes on Dent before. He had paid for their meal in cash and had not kept the receipt, which only worked against him in court. Desperate to prove his innocence, Dent had appealed his case multiple times in the last seven years, but all his efforts were in vain.
Star felt sorry for Dent.
The man was built like a fucking truck and could probably bench press him with one hand, but Star knew under all that muscle, Dent was a gentle giant with a sweet soul. It might’ve been his naivete, but he believed in his cellmate’s innocence, unlike his own. Also, Dent had been protecting him from the day he entered the Dark Citadel Maximum Security Penitentiary. Star would have loved to hire a talented lawyer to help free Dent, but as it stood, he was so broke in and out of prison that he couldn’t even afford water.
Feeling more relaxed, Star reclined and glanced up at the ceiling, full of disappointment in his life. He had made a huge mistake when he got involved with Thornton Nash. Rolling onto his side, he curled up in a fetal position and pondered what he would’ve done differently if given a second chance. When Thornton had discovered Star, he was young and eager for fame. Even now, after spending seven years in prison, his longing for fame was still insatiable. His fifteen minutes of fame had lasted for almost two years, yet it hadn't been enough to quench his ambition.
Star had always dreamed of being in the entertainment business. He imagined his name in bright lights and fans' adoring screams as they chanted it. He was determined to make his dreams come true, so after graduating high school at seventeen, Star said goodbye to his best friends, Tanner and Jacob, took his savings from working part-time after school and full-time in the summer, and set off for California. His goal was to make his mark in Hollywood, but he never expected that his mark would be as a murderer.
Only a few days before his twenty-fourth birthday, he ended up taking Thornton's life. If only he had taken Vivienne up on her offer to go out for dinner after getting off the plane, instead of returning to his home and seeing his partner in an act of infidelity. Star hadn't spoken to Thornton in weeks, as he was in Paris for a fashion show. He was both exhausted and excited to see his lover.
Star was deeply in love with Thornton, but he could no longer ignore the truth of the affair. He trusted Thornton with his career and heart, following Thornton's "suggestions," believing that it would further his career. At Thornton's urging, Star would starve himself to dangerous levels, all to keep up with his lover’s expectations. He was blinded by his ambition and naivety, unable to see the true nature of the situation. It took Star going to jail for him to realize how truly young and dumb he had been. Star had often wondered, if he had been cautioned before his first mistake, would he have listened to the warning?
For whatever reason, a conversation came to mind, one he’d had with a stranger he’d shared a cab with on the morning he was supposed to sign a contract with Equi-Noxx Entertainment with their new modeling agency. Star had gotten in the taxi and rattled off the address to the company without noticing he was not the only one in the backseat until he smelled the expensive cologne.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Star said when he noticed the handsome man sitting beside him. “I didn’t know it was taken.”
The car stopped right in front of me when I hailed for one. I need to pay attention next time. Goodness, I hope he’s not a killer.
“You have nothing to worry about. I’m not a killer,” the man said, and Star looked at him, wondering if he could hear his thoughts.
“You mumbled your thoughts.” The man chuckled.
“Oh.” Star had a habit of saying his thoughts out loud when he was nervous, without realizing it.
The stranger smiled. “It’s quite all right. From the sounds of it, we’re going to the same place. We’ll share.”
Seeing nothing wrong with that, Star nodded and pulled out his cell phone, sending Thornton a message that he was running a few minutes behind.
“Are you sure you’re making the right decision?” the stranger said in a deep voice that was soothing, almost hypnotic.
Star was about to take out his headphones so that he couldn’t hear the man’s conversation with whoever he was talking to, but there was a tap on his shoulder, making him look up. The stranger was dark and handsome, with mysterious green-gold eyes that seemed to bore into him.
