Page 55

My ears were ringing and they refused to stop.

Everyone was speaking at the same time and my ears felt like they were about to pop.

I could hear Olivia and Marissa and I could hear my parents, although I’m not sure when they arrived.

I could hear my name being called by at least three different people but I couldn’t make out the words that they were saying.

Without hearing, I could guess what they were all saying. Olivia was probably outraged and my parents were probably confused. Marissa was probably rattling off the things I should and should not do to ensure that it doesn’t get worse and I felt like I was going to scream if I wasn’t left alone.

“Can everyone just shut up? ”

The entire room went silent and it took me a split second to realize that the order came from me.

Everyone was staring at me with wide eyes as if they didn’t expect that kind of response from me.

I glanced at the headline on the phone once more, willing it to disappear but it remained the same.

I wanted to read through it but I wanted to do so in the privacy of my bedroom and on my phone.

I turned to Nathan who was staring at me with eyes full of guilt. I ignored the pleading look in his eyes and held out his phone to him. He didn’t take it immediately and I forced back the groan that climbed the back of my throat.

“If you don’t take it, I will let it fall to the ground,” I warned and he finally reached out and took the phone from me. “I’m going to leave now.”

“I am so sorry, sunshine,” he began but I turned away from him.

I didn’t want to think about what he did or did not do and how that clip got out to them. The only time I know that I said words even remotely related to that was during one of our sessions and he knew it too.

“I swear I don’t know how they got it,” he continued but I tuned him out and turned to face Olivia and Marissa who were looking at me as if I was one second away from combusting.

“If you’re leaving with me then I suggest you come now.

My advice is that you go out through the side door.

The front is going to be swamped and Miles can’t protect all of us.

” I rattled off orders ignoring the way they stared at me with wide eyes.

“Marissa, tell Miles to meet me at the front door.”

Marissa nodded and within a second she had dashed out to get Miles.

I ignored my parent’s probing stares and walked away.

It felt like I was in some sort of daze.

My feet were moving but my mind was completely blank.

It felt like static was playing on a loop in my head as I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened.

I met Miles and he didn’t ask any questions, he just led me out the front door.

I thought I had prepared myself for the assault I would face outside but I was wrong.

The amount of people standing there had somehow tripled and I was honestly amazed because that article dropped less than an hour ago.

I could hear my name being screamed from different angles but I couldn’t make out the words.

I knew they were asking questions about the article but I had somehow detached myself from what was happening.

I felt someone reach for me and his hands actually closed around my upper arm.

Miles was too preoccupied to notice so I acted on instinct.

I didn’t even realize what I had done until after I had done it.

I jerked my hand out of his grip and delivered a sharp elbow to his throat.

He went down gasping and it was like everyone zeroed in on what had just happened.

I heard Miles mutter a soft curse under his breath but I saw the corner of his lips lift slightly.

The crowd seemed less eager to touch me after that and it was a lot easier for me to get to the car.

Once I was in safely, I noticed Olivia looking me over with a concerned look.

Marissa was seated in front with Miles and she turned back to face me.

“You hit a man in the throat.” It wasn’t a question, it was an observation. “It is going to be on every gossip site you can find within an hour.”

“He shouldn’t have grabbed me,” was my simple response. “It was a reflex action.”

“They are not going to let it go this easily.” I knew she wasn’t deliberately trying to annoy me further. As my secretary, it was her job to tell me all these things but it didn’t mean it didn’t annoy me to hear them from her.

“They can try.”

I was so relieved when I got to the hotel and it was quiet.

I knew it was only a matter of time before they figured out where I was staying and I sincerely hoped I was back home when it happened.

As soon as the car stopped, I wasted no time in getting out.

I ignored the curious stares and the stares of recognition and I made my way into my room.

I didn’t lock the door because I knew that Olivia would come in and sure enough I was right.

What I didn’t expect was for her to come in with the bouquet of flowers that Nathan had given me before the start of the show.

I had given it to Marissa before the start and she must have given it to Olivia.

She watched me carefully as she placed it on the table but I was determined to ignore her and the flowers.

I turned around so she could help me out of my dress and as soon as it was in a pool on the floor, I wasted no time in locking myself in the bathroom.

I was supposed to attend a dinner after but this scandal had put a permanent dent in my plans.

I spent longer than I would have liked under the shower.

I tried to think about what to do next but I couldn’t come up with a solution.

For the first time in my life, I had been bested by someone else- Joseph didn’t count.

I hadn’t heard what was said on the clip yet but I knew for a fact that it had to be during one of Nathan’s interviews.

I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Nathan would do that to me especially after knowing what had happened.

A na?ve part of me hoped it was all a misunderstanding but the evidence was overwhelming. No one could have access to them, right? He did say that he was overseeing post production by himself .

It was like the longer I tried to think, the worse my headache began and at the end, I just turned off the shower and wrapped myself up in my robe. I got to the door of the bathroom when I heard Olivia’s voice. She sounded annoyed and like she was one second away from snapping.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” I heard her say and even before I heard the other person I knew it was Nathan she was talking to.

“I need to see her and explain.”

“Do you realize what you did?” she spat. “She hasn’t said a single word about this. She hasn’t cursed, she hasn’t yelled and she even hit someone in public with people watching. Adira would never do that. This is all your fault.”

“I want to see her.”

“There is no chance that is happening.”

I heard Nathan chuckle humorlessly. “I wasn’t asking, now move before-”

I decided to step out before it turned into an unnecessary argument. The last thing I needed was for someone to mention a disturbance. I just wanted to be alone and it didn’t seem like either of them was going to back down anytime soon.

“It’s alright, Olivia,” I said as I stepped out and I felt both pairs of eyes turn to me. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” she looked hesitant to leave me with Nathan but when I nodded, she sighed. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”

With one last harsh glance at Nathan that promised pain and suffering, she walked out of the room. Nathan stepped into my room and the clicking of the door as it fell shut sounded louder than it should have been because of how quiet the room was .

He reached for me and I took a step back and walked over to the bed.

I saw his jaw clench and he let out a deep sigh.

I ignored him as I lay down on the bed and I picked up my phone from where I left it on the drawer.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him walk over to the edge of the bed but I scrolled through the numerous messages I had gotten about the situation until I found one that had a link to the video and I clicked play.

I made sure my phone was on the loudest volume so he could hear it.

“I knew I was ashamed to be black,” my voice blared from the speakers. “As for the people, they can take a perfectly pink dildo and shove it up their ass.”

The audio recording stopped after that and I looked up at Nathan. Those were my words, yes, but that was not what I said. I didn’t even make those sentences on the same day. In one, I was talking about racists and in the other; I was talking about my childhood.

Someone had purposely taken different clips and sliced them together to make it look like I had said those things.

Anyone who knew me would know I would have never said that but unfortunately the internet isn’t filled with people who know me.

It is filled with people who have a perception of me and this just feeds straight into that.

I looked up at Nathan who had the guiltiest expression on his face. I patiently waited to hear what he would say. What excuse he was going to come up with for what we just heard but nothing came and that infuriated me.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” I asked. “You had a lot to say to Olivia and now you’re suddenly quiet. You wanted to see me so badly and now I’m right here but you’re not even speaking. ”

“Sunshine, I have no idea how that got out,” his eyes begged me to believe him. “Very few people have access to those files and I swear I will figure out who did it and why but I had nothing to do with it. I would never and you know that I would never.”