“We’re not doing this game,” I said. “You betrayed my trust.”
She was silent for a second. “Did I, though? You said you missed him.” I turned the volume down, worried Zane would hear her.
“So you thought sending me to him with no warning and then letting himkidnap mewas a good solution?”
“Look, you weren’t doing anything to get what you wanted, so your fairy godmother stepped in and did something. If you don’t like my methods, next time don’t ask for my help. And I said I’d tell you who it was if you wanted to know!”
I rubbed my temples in frustration. “I didn’t ask—” If I wasn’t careful Zane was going to figure out what triggered Ophelia to cooperate with him and I didn’t need the overbearing asshole to know I said I missed him in a moment of extreme vulnerability.
Ophelia cleared her throat dramatically. “Zane said you agreed to spend the weekend with him. If he lied, put him on the phone and I’ll deal with it.”
Ihadagreed to spend the weekend with him, but it was an insomnia-induced lapse in judgment. “Whatever, we can talk about it when I get home. I’ll text you as soon as I have my flight details. Picking me up at LAX can be the start of your punishment.”
“About that…” she said carefully. “It might be a good idea to lay low for a bit. A vacation may not be a bad plan.”
“What the fuck does that mean? If this is you pulling shenanigans again—”
“Nate did an interview. On the morning show.”
I took a deep breath, scared to ask.
It wasn’t about you. No one cares about you. You’re a nobody.
Ophelia was using her calm voice, which was usually a sign to panic. “He didn’t paint you in the most favorable light, and he’s a good-looking, charming white guy with D list fame. People bought into his story in a big way. The fact that he’s pulled himself up by his bootstraps and started his own restaurant seems to be hitting heartstrings.”
“Hisbootstraps?? I own that fucking restaurant and the only reason it survived and is profitable is because of me.”
“Doesn’t matter. The important part is that the internet mob has now fully turned on you. They’re on the hunt for dirt and so far all they’ve managed to find is pictures proving you rub elbows with a bunch of famous people. In the absence of anything juicy, they’ve taken to leaving one-star reviews for all of your businesses. Except Nate’s of course.”
I was shaking so badly I was having a hard time holding the phone. I was starting to feel like I actually had something to be ashamed of, like I’d done something wrong and I deserved this.
“I’m going to watch it and call you back,” I said, resigned. I needed to understand what I was dealing with.
Zane was still watching me, but I ignored him. Asking for privacy at this stage would be pointless. He’d figure out what was up eventually.
I pulled up one of the numerous texts that included a link to the interview and hit play.
The segment was framed around telling “his side” of the viral story. After the incident, we hadn’t even bothered to argue about it. We split our stuff and went our separate ways and neither of us put up a fight. I thought it had been pretty amicable, but according to his interview, I was wrong.
He said I’d misled him and he wished I’d just told him how I felt instead of humiliating him. According to him, I’d been frigid and refused to explain to him why I’d reacted like that.
He talked about how hard it had been for him since the video went viral, having to relivehishumiliation over and over and over again and wonder what he could’ve done differently to make me love him back. How it would be impossible for him to ever take that chance with someone again after I cheated on him.
I told him that’s not what I meant, but he wouldn’t believe me and said to just drop it.
At one point, he seemed to be overcome with emotion and said, “She was hiding…stuff about her past all the way through our relationship. I should’ve seen the red flags long before I did, but you don’t expect to fall in love with a—”
He cut himself off and shook his head, but I knew him well enough to know how forced it was. The host patted his hand and nudged him, “What kind of stuff from her past?”
I held my breath, but he said, “I can’t talk about it. I just want anyone who’s going through something like this to know that it isn’t your fault.”
Somehow, I’d become the villain in the story, as though I was supposed to say yes to a proposal simply to spare his feelings. If he didn’t want to be humiliated in public, perhaps he should’ve proposed in private like a damn grown-up. How could people not see through this? And why did anyone care this much about two random people’s relationship? I’d been a guest judge on a couple of cooking shows and he was mildly famous. We ran in a circle of famous people, but were by no means celebrities.
Had he seriously been about to out me as a sex worker? Was there a chance he still would?
I stopped the video and did a quick scan of my messages. Lots of people asking if I was okay. Lots of employees wondering what to do about the reviews and a bunch of fake reservations. I was a successful businesswoman who was used to seeing my way through challenges. This one was going to break me because I couldn’t control it. There was no reasoning with a mob.
Zane held out his hand and said, “Give me your phone.”
