Chapter 23 Aiden
Chapter 23 AIDEN
T he rage that filled Nora’s beautiful eyes made Aiden shiver. “If you want me to leave, I’ll leave. But I’d appreciate it very much if you would just give me one extra minute of your day, Nora. Please.”
“Do you really think you deserve that?”
He lowered his head and turned to leave. Her message was clear enough.
“Why, Aiden?” Nora said in a low, pained voice. “Just why?”
He glanced at the door—what should he do?
“Because you treated me like a normal person! If I’d told you who I was right from the beginning, wouldn’t things have gone completely different?”
“Of course they would have! But isn’t this—your career—isn’t it part of who you are? Look what just happened!”
“That is not the truth! The truth is that you made me feel special for who I am and not for my public image, so I’m sorry if keeping that part from you was selfish—”
“It was! It was fucking selfish!” Nora raised her voice, her eyes wide.
“Right, I know.” He ran a hand through his hair, pulling the strands. “But once I realized you didn’t know who I was, I thought perhaps you could like me for who I am, not for... for my fame. And as the night went on, I developed feelings for you and—”
“Feelings?” Nora was yelling now. “None of that was real. You lied!”
“I did not lie to you!”
“You did! I told you I value my privacy and honesty, and you still didn’t tell me. There was literally a question about whether you’d want to be famous! Were you ever going to tell me? Maybe after you slept with me?”
Aiden gasped. “This has nothing to do with sleeping with you.”
He wanted her. He wanted her, and he wasn’t afraid or embarrassed that she knew it. But, more than that, he’d enjoyed every second of her company, and every second of getting to know her. It was unfair of her to assume it was all about sex when he knew it had been more than that for both of them.
He knew he should have told her. He’d had plenty of opportunities. But he just couldn’t bear to break the spell.
Well, it didn’t matter anymore.
Nora’s gaze was now fixed on the floor. She shook her head violently. “This is my fault, for wanting to believe in a fantasy. Congratulations, Aiden. You should receive an Oscar. I was right when I answered that question: fame does take away everything that’s good about a person. If there was anything good about you to begin with.”
It was a low, if deserved, blow. “Love, please—”
“I am not your—” Nora winced and reached for her lower back.
“Nora, what’s wrong?”
With her jaw tense and her hand on her back, she raised her voice. “It’s none of your fucking business!” She pointed a finger at his face. “I should’ve listened to my mother. Men lie, and cheat, and leave. You’re just like all the others. Did you lie to Kate, too?” She winced again. “Did that even happen? I bet you took that story from one of your damn movies. I bet you invented the whole thing just to play the poor-me part. Congratulations, Aiden, you had me falling for it.”
How. Dare. You . He knew she was mad, but how could Nora flippantly throw the deepest regret, the darkest moment of his life, against him? He felt gutted. The world spun, wobbling around a crooked axis; he couldn’t catch his breath.
He should have never confided in her. He should have kept his shame locked away. Look what good it did to open up to someone else .
Without a word, Aiden grabbed his duffel bag and left, making it a point to open the door himself.
He didn’t slam the door, didn’t say goodbye, didn’t look back. He just left, with blood pounding between his ears and behind his eyes. Blind with fury, he almost trampled a paparazzo. The furious clicking sound of their shutter made him snap.
“Disappear or I’ll make you regret it.” Aiden hit the photographer’s shoulder with his own as he passed. He looked back once, but the man had disappeared. The altercation would probably result in bad press—but that’s what Becky was for.
The streets were quiet. His feet moved on their own, leading him without direction or purpose, other than to get as far from Nora as possible. She had every right to be angry. But the things she said... she’d deliberately hurt him, using his deepest regret as a weapon.
After a few moments, Aiden found himself at one of his favorite boyhood haunts. Other than one woman walking her dogs, Sevier Park was uncharacteristically empty. Grabbing his phone, he called Becky to come rescue him.
Twenty-five minutes later, his savior found him on a swing too small for his frame. “You have some serious explaining to do, Aid. I leave you alone for a few hours, and you’re already all over the gossip sites.”
“Becky, please,” he said, pinching the skin between his eyes. “I’ll tell you everything, but not just now. Can we talk later?”
She offered him her hand. “Let’s get you out of this mess, shall we?”
Aiden took her hand and let Becky lead him into the car and out of Nora’s life.