Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
ISABELLE
I ’m aware how monumental this moment is. Warmth wells in my chest, knowing that Adam has found enough of a reason to trust me now, and I resolve to do nothing to break his trust in me.
“Tristan and I were close friends,” he begins. “When I started acting, he took me under his wing and taught me all about the industry. I’m sure you’re aware he was a child star.”
I nod. I watched him on the Disney Channel as a kid.
“It worked well for a while. He introduced me to producers and directors, helped me make friends, and took me to the cool parties. But it all fell apart. A year in, he encouraged me to make some awful financial decisions—decisions that benefited him and his friend James Hook. There was some stupid app his friend created that he wanted me to invest in, and like an idiot, I listened without doing my own research.” He rubs his forehead. “I lost everything. And when I confronted Tristan about it, he literally laughed in my face. That was the end of our friendship.”
“But Tristan seems so…” I hesitate.
Adam narrows his eyes. “Kind-hearted? Hollywood’ s golden boy? Yeah, he’s great at deceiving everyone. It’s why he’s such a good actor.”
Adam’s words make me pause. Is he acting with me, too? Is this all practice for the movie we’re supposed to do together?
But it can’t be. He’s sitting here, telling me about his personal financial issues, and we haven’t even gotten to the part about his sister yet.
“How does no one know about Tristan’s behavior?” I ask.
“Because I’m the one who made the bad decision,” he says. “Technically, he’s not at fault. He’s sneaky like that.”
My sense of justice flares like fire. There are few things I hate more than bad people who get away with terrible things. And I have a feeling we’re not done.
“That was a few years ago. I’ve done my best to stay away from Tristan and not make any new friends in the business. I do my job—and I do it well—but I don’t make relationships with anyone and stick to myself. It worked out well. Until…”
“Until the Goldies,” I fill in.
He nods. “I was taking pictures on the red carpet, and Tristan sidles up to me, throwing his arm over my shoulder like we’re best friends again. He’s smiling for the cameras, and I’m…not.”
I snort a laugh. He’s being honest; he rarely smiles for pictures on the red carpets. It’s not in his personality to fake a smile, and I kind of love it.
“But under his breath, he starts telling me that he’s been getting close to my sister Lily, who was barely eighteen at the time. And he tells me details about her that no one would know unless they had really talked to her. I knew he had her in his clutches.”
A sick feeling twists in my stomach. Lily, the baby sister he always wants to keep safe, was in love with his worst enemy.
“Then he tells me that she’s going to meet up with him that night to run off and get married in Vegas, and I—I just snapped.” Adam exhales. “I punched him in the face.”
“As you should have!” I exclaim. “He totally had it coming.”
He gives me a half-grin, and my heart flutters despite itself and the serious conversation. “He did. But that didn’t give me the result I hoped for. I was seen as the instigator, and I got thrown in jail while Tristan ran off. With Lily.”
I gasp. “She went with him.”
He looks down at his hands, and the hurt in his eyes kills me. “She did. I called Henry, my younger brother, to bail me out of jail and start the search right away. As soon as I was out, we headed to Vegas. It wasn’t easy, especially while trying to keep the situation out of the public eye, but we did it.”
“Did they get married?” I ask, worried about the answer.
Adam shakes his head. “No. I don’t know why he postponed the actual wedding, but they weren’t married when we found them in Vegas. We found their hotel room, knocked on the door, and Lily was alone, so she opened it. When Tristan came back, it was almost like he expected us to be there. When Henry waved a check in his face in exchange for sending Lily home and never contacting her again, Tristan didn’t hesitate to accept.” Fury fills his expression and his fists clench. “He made Lily pack her things with tears streaming down her face; he was just smiling with his arms crossed over his chest.”
My mouth drops open. “What a snake!”
“No kidding.” He runs a hand through his hair, and I can tell he’s trying to calm himself down. “We took Lily back home and got her settled back in Silver Lake City, and I came here to the castle to hide out until everything blew over. We called our cousin Bethany, who’s a lawyer, and she got the ball rolling on all the legal agreements to make Tristan drop the charges against me.”
“Yeah, how exactly did you manage that?” I ask .
“My silence in exchange for him dropping the charges,” he says with a sad smile. “So no one will know how much of a scumbag he is.”
I furrow my brow. “Is that a fair exchange?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s just going to do it again, if he hasn’t already! How many girls will he take advantage of before he gets taken down?”
“I…I don’t know,” Adam admits. “I was just thinking about protecting Lily.”
“Doesn’t Lily want him to face the consequences?” I ask.
Adam shakes his head. “At first, she was completely devastated and kept telling us that they were in love, that we were wrong, and that we’d never understand what they had between them. After a few days, especially after Henry and Luna got together, she slowly realized that she had been manipulated and he never cared for her after all.”
“And now? Isn’t she angry?”
“Yes,” he says slowly. “But she’s not in any state to come forward about what happened to her. She’s still very fragile.”
I nod. I can understand that. If someone had claimed to love me then threw me away for a check, I’d be broken, too.
Adam shakes his head. “Besides, if she came forward, Tristan would retaliate for sure, whether against her personally or using the paparazzi against her. And she’s made it very clear that she wants nothing to do with fame.” He looks away for a moment. “Well, that kind of fame.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Lily was studying to become a professional pianist. She could have done it, too. She’s an incredible player and performer. But when everything happened with Tristan, she pulled out of all her classes and studies and has been staying in the family penthouse apartment in Silver Lake City. ”
“Wait, so she doesn’t leave at all?”
“No. It’s for the best. She needs to be kept safe.”
I twist my lips to the side, a little unsure about the way Lily has been locked up. But maybe she really is that fragile and broken and needs time to recover. Who am I to say how she should or shouldn’t react?
But anger still simmers in my blood. “So Tristan just gets to keep living his life, pretending like nothing is wrong, when we know he’s done this to an innocent girl.”
“I suppose so,” Adam says. “I haven’t really looked at it that way.”
“Something has to be done,” I insist.
Adam’s expression darkens. “Don’t get yourself involved,” he says. “That’s not why I told you about this.”
“I know.” I pause a moment, taking a step back from the heat of the moment and the story he’s told. “Why did you tell me?”
He holds my gaze a moment, but it’s not awkward. He’s thinking about how to communicate his words properly, and I like that about him.
He looks down at his hands. “I’ve been alone for a long time,” he finally says. “And I don’t just mean here in the castle. I mean alone, like how I live my life.” He looks back up at me. “But with you here, I don’t feel alone anymore.”
“Why, because I’m sneaking into your office and taking over the theater?” I ask, a smile on my lips.
He doesn’t return the smile. “No,” he says quietly. He shifts to face me with his whole body, lifts his hand to my face, and cups my cheek. “Because you’re sharing my life with me. And I didn’t know how much I needed that until now.”
I swallow hard, feeling the weight of his full attention on me .
When I first got here, Adam’s intensity was frightening. I put on a brave front, forcing my way through our interactions.
But now? His intensity burns a fire in my soul, and I’m pretty sure an inferno rages within him. But all I want to do is stoke the flames of these fires, not put them out.
“You make me feel human again,” he says. “I just…” He doesn’t finish that statement.
He leans in, crushing his lips to mine, and kisses me.
I was right about the inferno. Adam kisses me with a fire I’ve never felt before. Passion and emotion pour out of him. He holds my face gently, but his lips move with fervor and desire. I keep pace with him, wrapping my hands around his neck and digging my fingers into his hair. He uses his other hand to pull me close, and our kisses finally slow to something softer and sweeter.
“I don’t want to be your fake boyfriend,” he says, low and soft.
His words surprise me, especially considering the way he’s been kissing me. “No?” I ask, my voice breathy. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t want anything fake with you.”
My heart melts at his words. “So, what do we do instead?”
He gives me another half-smile. “I can think of some things we can do for real.” And he dips his head down, kissing me again.
“No, seriously,” I say with a laugh, pulling away from him. “What do we say—publicly?”
He sighs and leans his forehead against mine. “I’m not sure. I’ve never liked sharing my personal life.” He leans back and looks into my eyes. “The snow is slowly melting. In a few days, we’ll have to leave this place and face reality. Can we just…stay like this for a few more days? Enjoy each other and what we have, and ignore the fact that there is anyone out there wanting to hear from us?”
I smile. “That sounds perfect.”