Page 29 of Submitting to Them

Natasha and I chitchat while I walk.She’s still seeing the guy she went on the date with last week.His name is Gabe and he treats her like a queen.I’m stupidly happy for her, because as we’ve gotten to know each other better over the past few weeks, I’ve learned Natasha has an anxiety disorder and it’s hard for her to open up to guys and trust them.

By the time I reach Kingston’s building, Natasha has to get off the phone, so we say goodbye and I ride up the elevator, texting Kingston that I’m here.

I’m at Ironwood, going over footage, he texts back.

No problem.I miss you.

I miss you, too.

I sigh, staring at my phone screen.I hate that Kristin has been kidnapped—she’s got to be terrified, and I truly hope she’s alive and well.But I also miss my boyfriend, and selfishly, I just want this whole Kristin kidnapping situation to go away so I can have him back.

It’s a horrible thought.I should want Kristin rescued because nobody should be kidnapped, ever, and I want her to be safe.

Even if she was, for a minute, after my man.

The elevator opens and I step into Kingston’s penthouse.The luxury of it smacks me in the face every time I see it.

But this time, there’s more—Sebastian is waiting in the living room, a bouquet of roses in his hand.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hey, beautiful.These are for you.”

“Thank you—why?”

“To say congratulations.”

I cock my head.“For…?”

He laughs.“You haven’t looked at your VideYou channel in a while, have you?”

“Ugh, no.”I give my phone a disgusted look.“I’m too nervous about the whole thing.”

He holds up his phone.“Well, I’ve been checking in, and I think you should take a look at this.Two hundred thousandviews, princess.”

I hurry toward him and stare at the screen.My video is playing and I feel my face get hot at the sight of me, in front of the world, playing music on my own.This is different from the karaoke video getting popular, because that was all about Sebastian, and it wasn’tmysong.This one, though—this is all me.And it’s hard knowing that.

But two hundred thousand people have watched it.Two hundred thousand seven hundred five, actually.My brain can hardly make sense of it.

As I stare, slack-jawed, at the bright blue200,705number on the “times viewed” count, it automatically refreshes.208,018.

“What—what does this mean?”I ask.

Sebastian smiles and picks up my hand, kissing my knuckles before saying, “It means, princess, that you are going viral.”

Sebastian

The weekend passes fairly pleasantly.Ella works an extra shift for Maids in Heaven on Sunday, and when she’s finished, we head to the university to record another song for her VideYou channel.She’s hit the required number of subscribers to monetize her content, so now she just needs more content.

“Do you think I should dress up or something?”she asks.She changed out of her maid uniform after her shift, so now she’s in a worn pair of jeans and a pink, long-sleeved tee.

“Nope, you look beautiful.”

The light is different today, because it’s just before noon, so I decide to stand on the other side of her this time.I take a couple of photos and show her how it’ll look.

She nods.“Seems fine to me.Damn, this is so weird, though.”

“The more you do it, the less weird it will feel,” I say.“I promise.”