Chapter Twenty Six #2
Even though they were the very words she had used over the phone with her parents while he had silently watched, hearing Ethan repeat them on TV broke Priya’s heart.
It was like he was saying them directly to her.
A public, undeniable farewell. She knew she had no right to feel hurt; after all, she’d been the one to push him away.
But the pain came anyway, raw and overwhelming.
The word just nullified everything that had transpired between them, downgrading their embraces to just kisses, their conversations to just talks, their intimate moments to just sex.
It stripped their bond, diminishing it into something unremarkable and ordinary.
Priya’s parents exchanged a look of relief. Ethan’s words had given them exactly what they needed—a clean dismissal of any romantic link between him and their daughter.
“Maybe now the reporters will leave us alone,” Puppa said. “The calls are nonstop!”
“Shh.” Mumma pointed toward the TV as the interview went on.
“I don’t know…” The host raised an eyebrow, looking at the photo, then back to the audience. “Sure doesn’t look like ‘just friends’ to me.”
Laughter echoed in the studio.
Ethan leaned back with an easy grace, showing no interest in being lured into a discussion about his personal life.
“So how did you end up in this plaza with reporters hot on your trail?” the host asked, trying to draw out a new perspective.
“I was staying with an incredibly kind family while preparing for my next role,” Ethan explained. “I needed some new riding gear, and their daughter—who’s known me and my sister for many years—came along to help. We had no clue things would spiral out of control the way they did.”
“That’s right.” The host nodded. “You ended up in a pretty intense situation. Let’s look at what went down.”
The screen showed a clip of Ethan confronting the photographer. “Touch her again and it’ll be the last thing you do,” Ethan’s voice snarled through the speakers.
“Yikes. Wouldn’t want to be that guy,” the host quipped, mock-wiping his brow.
“Ah, but every woman wants to be the girl on that bike,” Sienna Deville chimed in, throwing Ethan a sultry look.
The host perked up. “Now, this is interesting,” he said, gesturing between them. “Rumor has it there’s major chemistry between you two in your new movie. Care to share?”
“Details about the chemistry or the movie?” Sienna arched an eyebrow playfully.
“Both, of course.” The host grinned.
Priya watched as Sienna and Ethan bantered with the host. They look so natural together, like two stars perfectly aligned.
“Alright, let’s have a sneak peek,” the host said. “Roll the clip!”
The trailer played, full of high-octane scenes and insane stunts, closing with an electrifying moment between Ethan and Sienna that left the audience buzzing.
“Is it just me, or did things suddenly heat up in here?” the host joked, fanning himself. “I think we need a reenactment of that scene. Who’s with me?”
The crowd erupted in cheers as Sienna gave a thumbs-up.
“I don’t know. I’m not feeling it.” Ethan raised his hand to his ear, playfully tuning in to the crowd’s energy. The cheering grew louder.
“Come on, Ethan. The people have spoken.” Sienna stood and pulled Ethan to his feet. They stood back to back, getting into character.
“And action!” the host declared.
The studio dimmed, leaving only Ethan and Sienna in the spotlight.
Priya’s grip on the suitcase tightened as they pivoted to face each other.
Ethan’s expression sharpened, a fire in his eyes that Priya knew all too well.
Sienna met him head-on, her stance full of defiance.
Their voices clashed in a heated exchange, each line igniting the next.
Priya could almost feel the intensity emanating from the screen, as if she were right there in the studio.
In the middle of their argument, Ethan’s gaze dropped to Sienna’s mouth, shifting the entire dynamic. A tightness gripped Priya’s chest as the space between them charged. And yet she couldn’t look away. The audience held its breath, expecting the moment to end where it had in the trailer.
Instead, Sienna closed the space between them, her mouth claiming Ethan’s in a kiss that stunned both him and the audience.
He recovered quickly, his hand finding her waist as the kiss intensified.
The spotlight bathed them in golden light, illuminating every angle of their faces.
It was breathtaking, a moment of flawless Hollywood magic—two beautiful people lost in a kiss that seemed to hold the promise of every great romance.
Priya’s heart splintered into pieces. This is just a scene…Just acting.
She had seen Ethan kiss on-screen before, but it was entirely different now. She knew exactly how his lips felt, how those kisses tasted. In the morning, they were warm and minty, edged with his first cup of coffee. At night, they tasted like wine and magic, leaving her breathless and raw.
Now, watching Ethan and Sienna kiss, Priya felt her composure crack. The sight of them was too perfect, too convincing. When Ethan finally pulled back and they returned to the couch, the audience shot to their feet, roaring with applause.
Priya felt an overwhelming urge to flee to her room, but the pull of curiosity held her in place. She remained frozen, drawn to Ethan’s every word, every glance.
“Well, well,” the host teased. “You two sure know how to make sparks fly. Is there a little off-screen chemistry at play here?”
Sienna leaned back, letting the suspense build with a playful pause. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell where the acting stops”—she gave Ethan a sly look—“and where real life begins.” Her smile was as captivating as it was calculated.
Priya told herself this was exactly what she needed to fade back into peaceful anonymity—a new rumored love interest for Ethan. Her parents could relax, and life would slip back to normal. No more intrusions, no more chaos.
So why did she feel like her soul had just been scraped raw? The numbness she’d been clinging to cracked open, and the flood of pain that followed stole the air from her lungs.