Page 57

I didn’t see or hear from Nathan once in the past four days.

It was like he completely disappeared from the surface of the earth.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that because it meant that I had no idea what he was planning.

It worried me at first but I soon realized that I had enough problems of my own.

Thanks to Miles, things weren’t as bad as they could have been.

I had to increase the security around my building because it got terrible quickly.

When we landed, the front of the airport was swarming with people and I almost didn’t make it to my car.

I knew it would be hectic so I made sure I went out alone while my parents and the others went out separately.

Work wasn’t any easier because we almost always had a sea of people in front of the office. I wanted to send everyone home and close down for a few days but I knew I couldn’t and everyone knew what they signed up for when they agreed to work for me so they had no chance to complain.

So many ‘sources’ had come out with their own stories about how I had always been a fake and always used my skin to get job opportunities.

It was amusing but I wasn’t surprised by anything that had happened, annoyed, yes, frustrated, yes but not surprised.

I had expected this and a lot more to be honest.

I wasn’t surprised when I was branded violent for hitting that man.

No one seemed to focus on the fact that he had grabbed me in a public place without my permission and all I did was react to the situation.

What did surprise me was the fact that he didn’t sue me and neither did the company he worked for.

In fact, I got an apology in my email from them.

I knew Nathan had something to do with it and I planned to ask him about it whenever he decided to appear.

A knock on my door snapped me out of my thoughts and before I could say anything, Marissa rushed into my office.

She looked excited and she started speaking but she was talking too fast for me to understand anything she was saying.

I was too shocked by the fact that she was in my office to even try to decipher what she was saying.

She avoided me like the plague yesterday as if she was scared I was going to snap.

“Marissa,” I called and she instantly fell silent. “If you want me to understand you then you’re going to have to speak slowly. I didn’t hear a word of what you said.”

“I asked if you had checked your email. There’s an article I sent to you an hour ago and I think you should see it.”

“What is it?” I asked because the last thing I wanted to do was to see myself being dragged by the tabloids. If it was as important as she claimed it was then she could simply tell me .

“I think you should see it yourself. I swear it isn’t about you,” she paused as if those weren’t the right words to use and corrected. “Technically it is but it isn’t bad for you is what I mean. I sent you”

I let out a sigh and decided to check it on my laptop since it was already open in front of me.

I clicked on the article link and my brows furrowed because it had nothing to do with me.

I looked up at her but she urged me with her eyes to read it and I did.

The more I read, the higher my brows rose.

Somehow the media had gotten wind that Mark Vasiliev was under scrutiny for tax evasion and I don’t know how but they got a hold of his search history and found that he was very interested in brutal porn starring- you guessed it, women of color.

I was more curious at how they got their hands on that piece of information that I was at the information itself.

There was also evidence from a reliable source that he was famous for bribing and harassing a lot of the models he worked with.

The story got worse the more I read and by the time I reached the bottom of the article, I felt about ten years older.

I wish I could say I was surprised but there isn’t much that can surprise me nowadays.

“What does Mark Vasiliev have to do with me?” I asked Marissa because as enlightening as this article was, it has nothing to do with me.

“I’m so sorry; I sent you the wrong link.

Both articles went live around the same time and I must have sent the wrong one,” she explained.

“What I meant to send was an article that contained the original recording of what you said to Nathan. Nathan’s team also released a statement saying that the person responsible had been fired. ”

I allowed the words to settle in my ears but I couldn’t brush off what she said earlier about both articles going live around the same time. I didn’t know if I was reading too much into it but I couldn’t help but believe that they had something to do with each other.

Mark had spent so long without getting caught. What were the odds that his secrets would be revealed around the same time my name was cleared?

“Thank you Marissa,” I said and she smiled widely.

“I checked some of the comments and a lot of people were issuing apologies. I know it might not mean much but I think everything is going to be fine.”

“I think so too,” I looked up at the clock that read five minutes until five. “I think I’m leaving early today. Don’t stay in late.”

She nodded eagerly and I gathered all my things.

My phone was already blowing up with messages from people but I ignored them and looked for Olivia’s contact.

She hadn’t sent me anything so I assumed she hadn’t seen the articles yet but I saw that I had an unread message from my father so I opened it.

It was one simple sentence but it had me smiling. “Jeremiah 51: 10: The Lord has brought about our vindication; Come and let us recount in Zion the work of the Lord our God.”

I sent him a thank you message and sent a message to Nathan telling him we needed to talk. The message was delivered but he didn’t respond and I started to wonder what he was doing or where he was because the Nathan I know always has his phone with him.

I slipped my phone back into my bag and made my way down the stairs to where Miles was already waiting. Marissa must have told him that I was ready to leave because he was waiting by the door .

Miles drove in silence and for once I hated the silence because it gave my mind the time it needed to think about things I shouldn’t have been thinking about like why Nathan still hadn’t answered my message.

I checked my phone at least five different times during the half hour car ride but there was still no response.

I saw Miles glance at me through the mirror and I raised a brow in his direction.

“Do you know where he is?” I asked and he shook his head. “Somehow, I don’t buy that.”

“The last thing he said, although threatened is a better description, was that I should get you home safe. He didn’t say anything else and I didn’t ask.”

“When was that?”

“A few minutes after the article went live.”

I glanced at my phone again but there was still no response. By the time I got home, I was getting agitated because I needed to know if my assumptions were correct and if Mark really had something to do with what had happened or if I was just speculating.

I thanked Miles for driving me and as soon as I got into the house, I tried calling Nathan but he didn’t pick up.

That was when I knew that he was deliberately ignoring me.

I was about to scream when I heard a knock on my door.

I pulled it open to see a delivery man standing there with a small box in his hands.

“Are you Adira?” he asked and I nodded. “There’s a package for you, if you would just sign here then I can hand it over to you.”

My first thought was that I didn’t order anything and when I looked at the box, there was no sender address. I had half a mind to refuse but I knew that no one except close family and friends knew my address so I signed on it .

While I was signing, I saw Olivia’s car pull up and she practically rushed out of her car. She cast a confused glance between me and the delivery guy and I shrugged in response.

I took the package from the man and he left without another word. I was staring at the box in my hands like it held a bomb but I took it into the house and placed it on the living room table. I glanced at Olivia who had followed me inside.

“Do you know who it is from?” she asked and I shook my head. “What if it’s a bomb like in all those shows?”

“I doubt anyone cares enough to want me dead.”

“You never know,” she began and I shook my head at her as I retrieved my keys from the table to open the box.

I gently pried the tape off and I was shocked when I opened it.

There was one item inside and as I picked it up, I couldn’t help but remember where I last saw it.

The perfume bottle was small and transparent and I remembered when Nathan picked it up and put it back down.

I had thought it smelled horrible so why did he send it to me now?

I checked inside the box again and I saw a scrap of paper inside. I placed the perfume on the table and picked up the note and carefully unfolded it then I read the words on it.

You asked why I put this down that day and I told you not to worry about it; this is vanilla.

It’s the warmest scent you will ever come across.

It feels cozy; it smells like the long fall evenings, with a cup of coffee, wrapped up in a blanket with the person you love.

It’s soft and velvet, like a golden sunset.

It’s like sleeping in on a cool morning and reading your favorite book or watching your favorite show.

It feels like getting home after a long day.

It feels like a hug from your best friend.