CHAPTER 52 Starry Night Soirée
The gala’s venue was breathtaking. The theme had been perfectly translated into the design and decorative elements. William told me to look up, and I gasped. I knew we were indoors, but it felt like we weren’t. There were thousands of tiny lights that looked like actual stars. You could even point out the constellations.
“Look!” I pointed at the beautiful crescent moon shining in the middle of the fake sky above us. It looked so real.
William looked up and smiled.
“There you are!” My dad approached us before the hostess could lead us to our table. He kissed my cheek and hugged me, then shook William’s hand with one of his genuine smiles. The blushing hostess waved William goodbye, turned on her heel, and left. “Come, come! Nathan’s already waiting at the table.”
Of course, Nathan would be here. I kept forgetting they were business partners, and my dad mentioned that an important potential client was hosting the event. I had neglected to ask about Nathan’s presence.
William widened his eyes at me, which translated to, “Nathan is here?”
I replied with a “How was I to know?” shrug. Nathan was a thing of the past, but I knew William and Nathan disliked each other too much, and I feared the vibes would be awkward.
When we reached the table, Nathan was sitting alone. No Vivienne in sight. He was being his usual charming self while chatting with a couple around my dad’s age who sat beside him. My dad introduced us to the other guests sitting at our table, and we greeted Nathan last. Thankfully, there were two free seats across from Nathan, and we took them.
The man Nathan was talking to interrupted his conversation with him to ask William a few questions about his work. Nathan seemed annoyed about it. Maybe these people were important to him business-wise, and William’s presence was a distraction from his agenda. Everyone at the table joined the conversation, which inevitably revolved around William.
Minutes later, one of the hostesses approached our table and invited us to visit the various booths and stations prepared for us after briefly explaining what each of them offered. With champagne flutes on hand, we visited the Adopt-a-Tree booth first. William adopted ten trees to our names, and we received a personalized certificate with the GPS coordinates of our adopted trees.
One of the sustainability stations was empty, and the guests who approached it quickly fled after the young woman who was attending it exchanged a few words with them.
“Can we check that one out?” I asked, pointing at it.
“Of course.” William sipped his champagne and grabbed my hand to lead me there.
When we arrived, I quickly realized why no one wanted to participate. It was a Make-Your-Own-Seed-Bomb station. It provided clay, soil, and wildflower seeds to create a personalized seed bomb. And, of course, no one wanted to get their hands and elegant outfits dirty.
William sat on a stool without a second thought, and I sat next to him. It seemed like a fun activity. We could go wash up after we were done, so it was not a big deal.
We were provided with plastic aprons, which we wore to avoid getting any clay or soil on our outfits. William removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves before putting on his apron. Jackie, our station guide, seemed enthralled by William’s presence.
Jackie placed a large mixing bowl in front of us to share and walked us through the process. We added air-dry clay and potting soil to the bowl using a 5-part clay to 1-part soil ratio. Then Jackie gave us a few seed options to choose from. We ended up adding Black-Eyed Susans and Purple Coneflower seeds. We mixed in water gradually, aiming to create a cookie dough consistency. William was in his element. This activity was like cooking without food.
Before we knew it, a small crowd surrounded the station, watching us roll the mixture into small balls. The photographers quickly joined in and took photos of us participating in the activity. An older couple joined the fun, and by the time we were done rolling the last of the seed bombs, two women occupied the last empty seats.
William took one of the seed bombs and brought it closer to my mouth as if to feed it to me like a snack. I laughed and playfully pushed his hand away. He shrugged and pretended almost to take a bite, but I stopped him before he did. The photographers were having a blast. And the rest of the people at the seed bomb station were delighted with our interaction.
Jackie took our tray and told us she would keep them for the rest of the night and deliver a small bag to our table once they’d dried off a bit. But she told us to leave them out to dry for at least twenty-four hours once we arrived home and then store them in a cool, dry place. Before we left for the restrooms to wash up, Jackie asked one of the hostesses to help take William’s jacket to our table so it wouldn’t get dirty.
After washing my hands, I retouched my makeup and walked out to find William leaning against the wall, looking at his phone and giving his back to me. But when I approached him and saw his phone’s screen, I almost fainted.
“Who is that?” I whispered, my gaze confused and questioning. He was scrolling quickly through photos of a naked woman. Only it didn’t seem like a porn site. He was on the iMessage app.
William flinched. “Shit, you scared me.” He locked his phone. “It’s nothing. No one.”
“Nothing?” I scoffed. “Well, tell no one she has a great set of tits.”
I stormed off, not knowing where exactly I was going. I knew I couldn’t return to our table feeling this upset. People would notice, and I didn’t have the energy to pretend otherwise. God. I needed to get out of here. I needed fresh air.
Before I could take a third step, William’s hand closed around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. “Let go.” His grip was tight but not constricting in a way that was hurting me. Still, I tried wriggling away, but it was useless. He stood in front of me, all 6 feet 4 inches of him towering over me.
“That was Arabella,” William said, unwilling to let go of me as if afraid I would run away if he did. He wasn’t wrong. That’s when I spotted Aaron close by as he studied our interaction. I signaled our okay sign, and he backed off but remained vigilant.
“Let go of me before Aaron makes you.”
“Will you stay put and let me explain if I do?” William took a step forward, cornering me against the wall.
“Depends.”
“I can work with that.” William released me. “Arabella sent me a few texts followed by the nudes you saw after I ignored her calls. All I did was skim through them. And before you ask, the answer is no. I didn’t reply, nor was I planning on doing so.”
“Then why say it was nothing and no one?” My jaw felt so tight I was having trouble articulating the words correctly.
“I reacted poorly,” he admitted. “There’s nothing I can say or explain that would make me look good in this situation.”
I rested my head back against the wall and looked up.
“You don’t trust that I’m telling the truth.” A statement. Not a question. How dare he?
“I don’t trust you?” I let out an annoyed laugh that faded into a downturned smile. “I fucking signed off on two documents you sent my way on your birthday. Blindly. And you still won’t even tell me what those are.” I crossed my arms at my chest and sucked in my cheeks, releasing them with a soft click of my tongue. “So don’t tell me I don’t trust you. I’m fucking upset, that’s what.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that. I’ll handle it,” he said. “I understand why you’re upset.”
“Do you, William?” My eyes stung, but I blinked away the tears before letting them pool around the edges. “Just put yourself in my shoes for a second. She’s calling you non-stop, then sending you nudes. It looks bad, and as much as I trust you, I need to give my brain something to make sense of it. To stop it from making up scenarios and thinking the worst. So, you telling me it’s nothing or that you’ll handle it doesn’t cut it, unfortunately.”
“Whatever I say won’t be enough. Take a look at it yourself.” He unlocked his phone, pulled up Arabella’s thread. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
Without a second thought, I started reading.
Arabella:Just pick up the damn phone already and stop acting like a child. I know you rejected the project because
I was brought in. And I don’t know if you’re doing that to
pressure the producers into casting someone else for my part, but that’s absurd.
Arabella: Since when did you become so righteous? Rejecting projects to keep your girlfriend happy. Pathetic.
Arabella:The day you get bored of her, you will look back on this day and wish you had taken the role. My agent told me the producers are planning to launch an extensive Oscar campaign for this film. This is your chance to finally earn a nomination.
Arabella: I would NEVER make you feel like you need to reject a project as big as this one to keep me happy.
Arabella: You need to come back to reality. YOUR reality.
Arabella: This film doesn’t work without you in it. I was told the lead role was created especially for you. There’s a reason why we’re being cast together a second time. We make sense, and the public knows it.
Arabella:You know it, too.
Arabella: And I’m convinced we work great off-screen as well. I am okay with you staying with her. I can be discreet.
I’ll even sign another one of those contracts I signed the
last time.
Arabella:You can have it all. Don’t let it go to waste.
That’s where the nudes began, but I’d seen enough. I locked the phone and handed it back to William. There was so much to unpack in those messages. I didn’t even know where to start. It was as if the devil himself had possessed Arabella to tempt William personally. All he had to do was say yes, and he could have the role, the girl, more money, fame, and glory—and above all, an ironclad contract that guaranteed discretion to make that happen.
“All she wants is more notoriety,” William said, his tone low but confident. “She’s a revamped and more delusional version of Erin. Arabella’s celebrity status grew exponentially after the film we worked on together was released. Many others like her, men and women alike, are leeching their way to the top. And I know what you read was raw. Believe me when I tell you I wished I could’ve done it any other way. But you wanted the honest truth, and now you have it.”
My lower lip trembled, but I gnawed at it with my teeth to make it stop.
“Arabella doesn’t know me or give a shit about me as a person. She probably can’t remember if my eyes are green or blue. That’s how self-centered she is. We slept together twice. It meant nothing to me and even less to her. And I regret it because it somehow made her feel entitled to assume I’d be interested in her that way. Or in any other way, for that matter.”
I blew out a breath that inflated my cheeks. I hated this dark, twisted Hollywood world William was a part of. And even if I wasn’t na?ve enough to think this side of the business didn’t exist, there was still so much I didn’t know. So much William kept from me to protect my mental health. Still, it was shocking to have been able to get a glimpse of it when reading Arabella’s crude messages. The enormity of it all overwhelmed me, leaving me with a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty about my place in such a big, complex world.
“Guille?”
My mind was racing with horrible thoughts and scenarios. All I could think now was how many awful situations like this one William was exposed to on a daily basis and with whom. I knew I didn’t have a thick skin like he did, nor the stomach to endure any of this, and he knew it.
“Guille?” William said, louder this time, hauling me out of my thoughts. “Are you okay?”
“No.” I wasn’t. What good could lying do at this point? “Let’s go back. Dinner is starting soon. We’ll talk more about this later. I’m still processing everything.”
William unlocked his phone again, blocked Arabella’s contact, and deleted the thread. “I’ll ask Alice to get me a new number tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I replied in a neutral tone. I wasn’t mad at him. I was overwhelmed after the veils had fallen. “Thank you.”
He grabbed my hand, and the warmth and familiarity of it against mine offered me a sliver of comfort.
Three glasses of champagne and a five-course gourmet meal later, I managed to compartmentalize my previous interaction with William. I pressed pause on all the messy thoughts and feelings threatening to take over. They were now chained away in the deep confines of my psyche, threatening to pick the lock and wreak havoc if I got distracted.
William excused himself to the bathroom but left his phone on the table after asking me to keep an eye on it for him. It was a simple gesture to keep me at ease. A gesture I didn’t know I needed but highly appreciated. It was going to give me one less thing to speculate about.
My dad stood close to our table, chatting with Nathan and two other men. When Nathan realized William had left, he excused himself and sauntered my way, holding a short tumbler with whiskey in his hand.
“Is this seat taken?” he asked playfully with his crisp British accent. He knew that was William’s seat and that he’d be back in a few minutes.
“It is,” I replied with a playful smile. “But this one’s free.” I pointed to the empty seat to my left. The couple sitting beside me during dinner was dancing to “Fly Me To The Moon” on the dance floor.
Nathan pulled out the chair and sat, setting his glass on the table.
“Where’s Vivienne?” I asked, my curiosity genuine.
“She, um—” He smiled and picked up his whiskey, twirling the glass before taking a small sip. “There’s no easy way of saying this, so please don’t take offense.”
“She what?” I insisted with a laugh. “Tell me.”
He leaned in and covered his mouth to say, “Vivienne is not a fan of your father.”
He laughed. I laughed.
“You don’t say.” I shook my head and bit the corner of my lower lip. “But in all seriousness, did something happen? Was he rude? Did he do anything to upset her?”
“She thinks there’s an unfair balance of power between me and your father at the company, and that I work too much, among other things.” Nathan cleared his throat and sipped his whiskey.
“What other things?”
“Vivienne overheard him telling me how he still thought you and I were a great idea and that I should wait for you to come to your senses.” He lifted his eyebrows. “That was a while ago, but Vivienne, as you can imagine, isn’t a fan.”
“He did not!” I whisper-shouted, glancing at my dad, who was an expert at seeming like such a good, righteous man on the outside.
“Vivienne wants me to end my partnership with him,” Nathan sighed. “Please don’t tell him unless you want my head on a spike as a living room decoration. I’m sure your father would let you keep it if you insist he doesn’t toss it in the Hudson River.”
I laughed. “Oh, stop it. He’s not that bad. I mean, he can be—he has been in the past—but I feel like he’s trying to be better.”
“It’s been stressful,” he admitted. “Dealing with him. I’m so deep into our partnership that I can’t see a way out without losing everything I’ve worked for. But I can’t complain. It has brought me a great deal of money and experience, but not without its fair share of headaches.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I hope things get better.”
“Thank you.”
Talking to Nathan was so refreshing. We would be great friends if we weren’t exes and if things hadn’t been so painful and complicated in the end.
“Do you remember that photo exhibit you missed because you were stuck in D.C. with some clients?” I asked.
“I don’t think I’ll forget all the ways in which I failed you when we were together.” His words were sincere and his tone apologetic.
“Nathan, no. That’s not why I brought it up. I have nothing but good memories of our time together.”
“I do, too. Mostly …” He laughed.
“Anyway …” I laughed, too. “The photo I—”
“It was Vivienne,” he said, cutting me off. “I know. You gifted me that photo, and I hung it on my bedroom wall. And then I met Vivienne, and I couldn’t understand why she looked so familiar.”
That made me curious about how they met, but I would never ask. A part of me didn’t want to know all the details.
“I have more photos of her,” I revealed. “I printed a bunch before my teachers chose that one for the exhibit. So, I was wondering if you would like me to send them to you.”
“I—yeah.” He sounded surprised. “I would love that. Very much. Thank you, Murph.”
“Do you have the same address?”
“I do not, actually. I moved to a bigger flat.” He raised a cocky eyebrow.
“Of course you did,” I teased. “Text me your new address. I’ll have Aaron drop them off at your new place.”
“Of course.” Nathan stared behind my shoulder, and his smile melted. He looked away and sipped his drink.
I glanced over my shoulder, and two women, somewhere around his age, were clinging to William and taking selfies. He made eye contact with me, and I turned around and signaled the server for a refill.
“Have you grown tired of that?”
“Comes with the territory of being loved, desired, and admired by the entire world’s female population.” For once, I didn’t try to avoid sounding bitter. “And a significant chunk of the male population as well.”
“Incoming,” Nathan whispered. I could feel William’s presence approaching the table behind me, and Nathan didn’t flinch or even hint at wanting to get up from his seat. It wasn’t until William retook his seat next to me that Nathan stood. “It was nice catching up, Murph. I’ll text you my address.” He winked at me and nodded at William before he left us to join my father and the other men.
“Why is he texting you his address?” William asked, his brow creasing.
“I have a few photos of Vivienne, his girlfriend. I took them a few years ago at the ballet,” I explained. “And I offered to have Aaron drop them off at his place.”
“Such a small world.” He leaned closer and caught a strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger. “I’m sorry about those girls with the selfies.” He dropped a gentle kiss on my cheek and grabbed my hand. I let him. “I always try to be polite, but some people don’t know the meaning of personal space.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m getting used to sharing you with the world.” That came out sadder than intended, but I was tired of pretending. On a good day, I wouldn’t have minded seeing his fans getting excited about running into him. I never did. But he was leaving tomorrow, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like we were strong enough to endure the months of separation ahead of us. Or maybe he was, but I wasn’t. The feelings of doubt and insecurity were becoming too loud to ignore.
“I am yours, and you are mine.” He grabbed my chin and turned it toward him. “No one else’s. Never.”
“I don’t think I’ll survive losing you if I ever did.”
“Why are you talking like that? We’re fine. More than fine.”
His words made my heart ache. I wanted nothing more than to believe that with all my being. But I was so afraid. For the first time, I doubted our ability to overcome every obstacle life threw our way. The distance between us. The constant and ruthless temptations he would always have to face. The invisible threats in the form of people I didn’t even know existed, vying to come between us at any cost.
I absentmindedly twirled the stem of my champagne glass with two fingers. “I think I’m ready to go home.” We had things to discuss before he left, and the later it got, the less time we’d have to do so. The champagne making me sleepy and sad wasn’t helping either. We had to end this night on a good note.
“Thank fuck.” He stood and helped me up from my seat. “Let’s get you home.”