*Shelby*“How did you find all of these articles?” I asked Lin. “I searched Michael’s name instead of yours. Not all of the articles list you by name, probably so they won’t get sued for slander, but you know the internet. If people want to find out who you are, they will,” Lin answered.I scanned over the pages and pages of search results that popped up. All of which didn’t sound as though they were painting me in a very positive light. I clicked on an article titled “Astor's Secret Mistress Goes on a Drunken Ride.”The article had a picture of me right after I’d fallen off of my bike and was wandering into the little village below the castle rental. I was clearly bleeding in the photos, which were followed by a picture of me in the small cafe drinking wine. They painted a picture of me getting drunk on purpose, which caused the bike wreck. When in reality, I fell and then had a drink to calm my nerves. The entire article portrayed me as someone who was comm
*Shelby*The cold plastic chair pressed into my back as I waited anxiously to be called into my academic advisor’s office. Ms. Smith sent me an email the day before, alluding to the fact that there was something that needed to be discussed in person. I already knew that it had something to do with the horrible slander pieces being written about me since it came out that Michael and I were dating. “Miss Hatton, please come in,” Ms. Smith said, standing in front of her door to hold it open for me.I walked past her giving her a feeble smile, as I took a seat in the chair in front of her desk. She gently closed the door behind her and took her seat back in her office chair. She stared at me for a long time, creating an awkward amount of silence in the room. I knew she was waiting for me to bring up the articles, but I stayed quiet. Finally, she cleared her throat.“I’ve heard that you’ve become somewhat of an overnight celebrity. I just wanted to check in with y
*Shelby*With trembling hands, I reached for my phone and started to call Lin. She didn’t answer, and I remembered she was thankfully still in class. A sigh of relief washed over me once I realized she wasn’t home.That meant someone had broken into our house, which wasn’t an ideal situation either. Whatever happened had to have been recent. Surely someone would’ve stopped by if the door was left open for hours. Something was very wrong. My first instinct was to call Michael, but Bruce was the one who handled all security matters, so I rang him instead. I edged closer to the house, trying to hear if someone might still be inside.A feeling of absolute dread washed over me when I heard a phone ringing, the same one I was calling. Before I realized what I was doing, I rushed inside, stepping on broken glass and stumbling over a broken chair leg. Then I saw him.Bruce was on the floor, face down, blood pooling around him. An anguished cry escaped my l
*Michael*“I’m really sorry,” I said for the hundredth time. “I can assure you that Bruce is receiving the best medical care available. When he gets out, he’ll be given all the time he needs to recover and spend time with his family.”“Thank you, Mr. Astor. I was so worried, and I had no idea something had even happened to him. No one even called me! I’ll head down to the hospital now,” his wife said, her voice cracking. “I’ll send a car down for you immediately,” I said. “Text me the address, and they’ll be there as soon as possible.”“Thank you, sir,” she said and hung up on me.Yet another of the police department’s failures. What were they thinking, not alerting her to what had happened? If it wasn’t for my phone asking me if I wanted to start a workout session, I wouldn’t have realized that I’d just spent ten minutes pacing around my office. I was still thinking of the call with Bruce’s wife. Having to break the news of what had happened to her husb
*Shelby*The Express Air building was completely empty by the time I got there. It felt almost eerie to hear the sound of my own footsteps on the marble tile, echoing off the high ceilings. I pushed the button for the elevator, and the doors automatically opened, as if it was waiting there just for me. The lights were still on when I got out of the elevator on the top floor, and I could see Michael sitting alone in his office, staring across the empty room at nothing. Bruce being attacked had clearly upset him deeply.Michael took a slow sip of the whiskey in his hand as I walked through the glass doors that separated him from the rest of the office space.“Hey, Michael. Are you doing okay? Have you had any news about Bruce?” I asked.Michael flinched a little as I spoke; he had been so lost in thought that he did not see me come in. “Shelby? I’m so sorry I didn’t hear the elevator. I’m just trying to put the pieces together in my head. I don’t know ho
*Shelby***Two Months Later**“Honey, I’m home,” I called as I shifted sideways through the townhouse doors, my arms loaded with shopping bags.“I’m in the kitchen,” Michael called back to me, and I could hear him chuckling to himself at my endearment.I’d finally finished my last term paper that very morning and went shopping to celebrate. I’d been living at the townhouse as much as physically possible, only going back to Cambridge when absolutely necessary. For the last week, the house with Michael was where I’d called home. I walked into the kitchen where he was finishing up some last-minute work on his laptop. I unloaded the shopping bags off of my arms and onto the open countertop. Michael smiled, and with a small shake of his head, he clicked the top of his laptop closed.“What’s all this?” Michael asked.“It’s some stuff for our vacation. I needed a few more things for the warm weather,” I said, leaning in to kiss him. We were getting re
*Shelby*“The admissions department took into consideration your interest in criminal law. Based on this interest, we would also like to offer you an internship at Preston Associates, a firm that has been working with NYU for over a decade.”I couldn’t believe this. They offered me my dream job, plus an opportunity to get my degree at the same time. “Shelby, that’s exactly what you wanted. You’re accepting it, right?”My fingers were squeezing my phone so tightly that it almost flew out of my hand. “They need to know right away because the position gets filled up quickly. The email doesn’t specify a date, but I guess right away means as soon as possible.”There wasn’t much to think about, really. Harvard didn’t feel like the place where I was meant to be, and NYU was exactly the opposite. They’d added the dessert to what already was the main course of my plans. I stared at my phone for a while, my heart warm with joy. So much of my life right now w
*Shelby*“You’re right, it’s taking a little too long,” he said, quickly standing and walking away from the bed. “Let me go check on something. I’ll be right back.”I watched him leave with a mischievous grin on his face, which told me that he was keeping something to himself. But it didn’t seem to be anything I should worry about. I planned on staying in the stateroom to not spoil whatever he might be planning, but after a few minutes, I got antsy. So I went out to the deck, where something was definitely going on.The servers were going back and forth, setting out table and dining ware. Some of them greeted me when they passed, and a few exchanged quick glances. An event of some sort was definitely being set up, and perhaps they’d been told to keep it quiet or out of sight.I smelled the food before I saw it. The servers paraded several trays of seafood in front of me, setting them down on the table. This whole thing was beginning to look more like a feast t