I turned to Chris, my gaze cutting through the room to meet his.Seriously?That was it. I took a step toward the bitch, fists clenched, but stopped myself before I did something stupid.
Instead, I spat out, “Go suck a dick.”
I heard Chris stifle a laugh behind me. Then, he finally stepped forward.
“Vanessa, seriously, what are you doing?” He might as well have stayed silent if that was all he had to say.
Completely unfazed, she gave him a blank look.
“I’m making sure your…guestis fairly compensated forsigning this simple N.D.A.” Without hesitation, she took out some cash and placed it on top of the document as if sealing a transaction.
“She doesn’t need to sign anything,” Chris said, though his voice lacked the force I’d silently hoped for. I felt a flicker of disappointment. I was not sure what exactly I’d been expecting from him. Honestly, I was too tired to stress about his fuckboy attitude.
At least the orgasms were phenomenal. So, you know, not a total loss.
But Vanessa wasn’t done. “We need to be careful. We’ve worked too hard on the launch of your engagement. We don’t want infidelity rumors to start that soon, do we?”
No, no, no, no, no.The word hit me like a slap, knocking the air out of my lungs.
“Engagement?” It came out before I could stop it, almost a whisper.
The ice queen looked at me with fake concern.
“Oh,” she said. “You didn’t hear the good news?” I could barely breathe as I stepped closer to the table. My gaze landed on the magazine she had so conveniently placed on the side of the N.D.A. There, right on the cover, was a photo of Chris and some picture-perfect blonde in the park, locked in a kiss. The headline:“It’s Official! Chris Jones and Anna DeMarcus are Engaged!”
Chris rushed to explain. “It’s a PR thing. I’m not really engaged. I barely know Anna…”
Vanessa, like a professional hitman, went straight for the jugular.
“Oh, I wasreallyhoping things were becoming real after she spent that entire weekend at your apartment.”
I couldn’t take my eyes away from the magazine, my mind struggling to keep up with everything. Maybe old me would have jumped into bed with a hot actor without asecond thought, and I was glad to see a little of that reckless, carefree side of me surging again, but I would never be the girl who stays in the middle of someone else’s relationship.
How could this keep getting worse by the second? He lied about everything? Even the whole dreaming-about-us story? I’m guessing being a pathological liar was part of the Hollywood package.
“Shut up!” Chris finally snapped at the woman.
Why was I still standing here? I forced my feet to move, going towards the table. Vanessa’s face lit up in satisfaction. She was clearly expecting me to take the cash, sign the papers, and disappear from her sight.
I reached for the pen, my hands surprisingly steady despite the rage inside me. I didn’t look at her. I signed my name across the document in silence, then slammed the pen back down. The money? Untouched. My first instinct was to grab it all and shove it down the bitch’s throat. But I kept my dignity intact and walked toward the door.
“What are you doing?” I could feel Chris’ panic in his voice. “It’s not real. I’m not really marrying the woman.” He said while following me.
Behind me, Vanessa chimed in with that insufferable, sugary tone.
“You really should. She is a-do-ra-ble.”
I reached the door in time to turn around and see him cut her a sharp look.
“One more word, and I swear…” he said, and she gave him an innocent look and made a locking motion across her lips with her fingers, pretending to zip them shut.
Chris quickly caught up with me and called out. “You only have one shoe.”
I was still looking straight at Vanessa. I lifted my hand and gave her the middle finger. If the universe were fair, shewould trip over a rock later and go full faceplant onto the asphalt.
Then my eyes met Chris’. For a fleeting moment, I caught something. A flicker of regret, maybe even an apology. It was that same softness I’d seen in him last night. But whatever that glimpse was, it wasn’t enough. Because right behind it was the shallow, PR-controlled world he’d built for himself. A world I had no business being a part of.
I turned and stepped out.
