I knew I needed to find Barnett as soon as possible. If I put it off too long, I’d never get up the nerve to tell him the truth. I tried to find him at his apartment building, but no one answered the door when I knocked.I went down to the front desk, thinking I could leave some sort of message for him. The man behind the counter looked up as I approached. “Hi, Mrs. Leonard,” he said. “What can I do for you?”“I’m looking for Barnett, but he isn't here. Can I leave him a message?”“Oh, Mr. Cogsworth hasn’t lived here in a while. In fact, he rarely stays here. I think he’s been staying at one of his other properties.” Other properties? How many did he have?“Oh, okay. Never mind, then.”He gave me an apologetic smile before turning back to his computer. I trailed back across the lobby, my thoughts all over the place. If he hardly ever lived here, why was he around the whole time I stayed in that apartment? Was it just to be near me? Could Lily have been right about his intentions this
Julia moved closer, but she stopped when she saw the look on my face. She had nothing on but a silk robe. She hadn’t even bothered to put on shoes before she came outside. I noticed, with some satisfaction, that she had ugly feet. It was nice to know she wasn’t perfect everywhere.“What do you want?” she said.“Nothing from you,” I snapped. I didn’t know where it came from, but I couldn’t hold my anger back. “I’m looking for Barnett.”Her gaze darkened. “He’s not here.”“Fine. Do you know where I can find him?” It was a long shot, but I was getting desperate. He needed to know the truth.“He doesn’t want to see you,” she said, taking another step forward. “And you’re not welcome here.” She took out her phone and typed something into the screen. A moment later, a guard walked up.“Ms., I’m here to escort you off the property,” he said, gesturing for me to get back into my car. It wasn’t like I could refuse him. He was a wall of muscle.I glared at Julia. The embarrassment made my heart
Arthur put me in touch with his producers the next day, and I spent part of the morning on a business call with them.“We really want you on the show,” Mr. Cooper, the creator of the show, said. His co-producer, who introduced herself as Irene, nodded along with him. “Arthur has said wonderful things about you, and your work with Freyja has impressed us.”“Thank you,” I said.It felt weird to hear their compliments, and I had to remind myself to just accept t
We were leaving in two weeks, and I had to break the news to my other clients. The hardest was StarRise. She was my biggest client aside from Arthur, and even though it had been challenging, I had a great time working with her. She was a lot of fun to style.“I can’t believe you’re leaving me,” she said for the millionth time since I’d told her.“I know, but I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.”She nodded. “It’s going to be so huge f
Two weeks came and went, and suddenly it was the day before Arthur, and I had to leave for our first location. Nerves pricked at my stomach, mingling with the almost constant nausea. I really hoped the morning sickness wouldn’t be as bad during my second trimester. I didn’t think I could handle it much longer.There were a few things I still needed to do before I left, but I’d been putting them off. Lily was still in Egypt, and I hadn’t seen or heard anything from Barnett. Despite his office being in the same building, I never ran into him anymore. He was clearly still avoiding me. Maybe he’d never return to his office at all,
I stopped in front of the mirror and pulled up my shirt. A few months of filming later, and I was really starting to show. I kept having to buy new clothes as my size changed. Those jeans I worked so hard to fit into didn’t even make it past my thighs now.I dropped my shirt and looked over my outfit. I had on a pair of workout leggings, sneakers, and a form-fitting pullover that showed off my protruding belly. Arthur and I were hiking today for our segment. My hair was up in a high ponytail, and I had some natural makeup on. Without it, I had dark circles under my eyes from all the early morning shoots.
Lily found Barnett at his apartment. She had to knock a few times before he finally came to the door, a slight scowl on his face.“So, you’re back,” she said.He stepped aside to let her in. She closed the apartment door behind her and trailed him into the room. “How was Egypt?”“It was fine. Saw the pyramids.” He looked interested, but she wasn’t there to talk about Egypt. “Have you been online recently?”
He couldn’t stop looking at the pictures. He knew he needed to, but Barnett couldn’t turn away. They were all over the internet. Everywhere he went, the photos and videos of them taunted him. They were holding hands on a sailboat. Sitting together on a rock, their faces red from their hike. Having dinner beneath the stars in some far-off place with just trees and mountains for miles, looking far more intimate than Barnett would have liked.One headline caught his eye as he scrolled, and he sucked in a breath.PREGNANT FITNESS INFLUENCER ANNA LEONARD TRAVELS WITH FAMOUS BOYFRIEND ARTHUR STARDUSTHe finally forced himself to put down his phone. Agonizing over it wasn’t helping him. Anna was happy without him. He just had to accept that somehow and move on, even if it seemed like an impossible thing to do. She was clearly in love with Arthur.Just as he placed his phone down on his desk, it rang.He picked it up without checking the Caller ID, half-convinced it was Anna calling. That he’