What a sick joke. Now was the time for Thomas to jump out from behind the curtains, yelling ‘surprise!’ Lacey’s laughter had subsided. Not because she felt calm, but because she knew if she continued, she would end up crying. And Lacey only cried when she was sad. At that moment she was devastated, but she wasn’t sad. She couldn’t be sad.
Manipulate… crazy… safety… left… divorce. Thomas’ words from the press conference were stuck in Lacey’s head in fragments.
“Thomas got a divorce because I’m a cheater and a manipulator.” Lacey repeated those words over and over, thinking that if she did that, they would actually become real. Or maybe she was a cheater and just didn’t realize it. A manipulator too. Or else, why would Thomas say she was those things?
Where Lacey was on the floor, she put her head to the ground. There was nothing to do. If she called her friends, they would only try to comfort her. Maybe some of them were laughing at her situation. Scrolling through social media was out of the question. From the brief time she went on to try and contact Thomas, she saw hundreds of comments on her page, and none of them had said anything nice to say.
Fans of Thomas were calling her all sorts of vile words. Those things hurt her, but only a bit. Afterall, those people leaving the comments didn’t truly know her. But Thomas did, and he’d said these things about her.
The ground was cool against her cheek. Staying there for a few more moments wouldn’t be bad, right? Agreeing with that, Lacey remained there, cheeks pressed against the floor, and replaying Thomas’ words in her head. Not just from the press conference, but from conversations spanning back years.
The first time they met, the day he first asked her out—Lacey refused the first time because she wanted to see if Thomas would chase her—the second time he asked her out—this time, she said yes—the first time Thomas told Lacey he loved her, the first time Lacey told Thomas she loved him, the day he asked her to marry him, the day they got married, their one month anniversary, celebrating birthdays together.
Numerous conversations, even ones that felt like a memory, hadn’t carried any warning about the future betrayal she was going to face. The heartbreak that came with losing a loved one wasn’t a feeling Lacey expected to face so soon. And definitely not with Thomas.
It went to show how things didn’t always go as planned. Maybe those classmates who called her crazy for getting married so young were right.
It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when Lacey heard the passcode to her door being inputted. Abruptly sitting up, she scrambled to her feet. Thomas! It had to be him. It was a crazy dream after all.
That excitement and hope was short lived as the door opened to reveal three people, with none of them being Thomas.
“Lacey! I was scared we would meet your lifeless body. Oh, thank goodness.”
Adi was the first in the room, then Sangah, then Maddy. Lacey stood facing her three best friends, who wore similar expressions of pity.
Maybe it was seeing people who confirmed that everything up until that point had in fact been reality, and not a crazy scenario she made up, or because the tear dams in Lacey’s eyes had reached their limit and couldn’t hold back anymore. Whatever it was, as soon as the tears started flowing, nothing could stop it.
“Lacey, honey.”
After that moment, Lacey had no idea what was going on. She only felt herself being pulled in a hug and being enveloped by a flowery smelling perfume. Maddy. Someone else was patting her back. The small hand felt like Sangahs’. Adi was stroking her hair. It should have felt uncomfortable, but to Lacey, it was like being placed in a protective box, where nothing could hurt her.
“I’m fine now, guys. I won’t cry anymore.”
Amidst the trio’s protests, Lacey moved out of the protective box, and back to her former position on the floor. Her friends gathered around her.
“Tell us what happened, Lace.”
“Let her calm down first, Adi.” Maddy berated her brother.
“It’s fine, Mads.” Lacey tried to smile, but it came out as a wince. “About what happened, I wish I could say.”
Interpreting Lacey’s words as her trying to hide the truth from them, Sangha said, “Don’t try to protect that asshole, Lace.”
Shaking her head, Lacey explained, “No, it’s not like that. I really wish I could say what happened, but I have no freaking clue. For the time Thomas was gone, I didn’t hear from him at all.” Her head was bowed as she felt bad for all the lies she told them. “When I told you guys he was doing great, I only knew that because of his social media posts. He never contacted me.”
They all grew silent, until Adi asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I was embarrassed, okay? He acted weird on the day of our six month anniversary, but I wrote it off as him being tired. The next day, he was gone. That was the last time I saw or heard from him. Until today.”
“None of his accusations are true, right?”
Adi smacked Sangah’s arm lightly at her question. “Do you even have to ask? Not to be that person, but we’ve always thought that there’s something off about him.”
Lacey didn’t respond to that. Her friends have always been open about their dislike for Thomas, only putting up with him because of her.
“In that case, why don’t we expose the lying asshole on social media?” Sangah asked, already taking out her phone. Before she could proceed with her plan, Maddy grabbed the phone from her.
“Have you seen the way his fans attack anyone who remotely tries to support Lacey? They’ll devour you. Let Adi do it instead. He has more influence than any of us.”
Adi was already nodding at his sister’s suggestion.
Lacey had quietly listened to her friends’ back and forth. “I love you guys and I know you’re trying to look out for me, but can everyone leave? I want to be alone.”
Two whole months had passed since the day Eliza left, and so far, Lacey had heard nothing from her. Not from lack of trying though. She’d called the other woman numerous times, but there had only been silence from her end. With that, Lacey left things as they were. How was she supposed to help someone who didn’t want to be helped? The news about Thomas had also seemed to die down, although Lacey had stopped paying attention to that. At the current moment, she was out of a job, and unsure about how to move forward with her life. That was where Jamie came in. More than ever, Lacey appreciated the presence of the older woman in her life. And to think that their first meeting came about because of jealousy. With Lacey’s mind made up to leave the entertainment industry, she needed other options. Thanks to Jamie, who introduced her to online business courses, Lacey had started taking lessons. For someone who majored in acting, it was interesting to start learning about something so new a
“Jonathan?”The line was silent for a couple seconds before Jonathan’s familiar, deep voice came through. “You sound tired…Did I wake you?”Lacey pulled herself to an upright position so that her back was resting against her pillow. For some reason, hearing Jonathan’s concerned voice immediately bettered her mood. A full smile bloomed on her face. “Hearing your voice is better than sleeping.” It had been quite a day for Lacey. She thought about how she’d originally planned to call Jonathan to tell him she was free to meet and to apologize for how she acted yesterday. Then Eliza’s issue came up, and she’d pushed it out of her mind. An awkward cough was Jonathan’s response. “You sound like you’re doing okay.”“Hmm.” “I’m close to the apartment. I want to see you. Can I come over?”“Ye–” Lacey’s first reaction was to agree, then she caught herself as she remembered her visitor. For Eliza’s privacy, she couldn’t let Jonathan here. It went the other way around too. Eliza would surely r
After telling Eliza that she could stay for as long as she needed, Lacey showed her to the guest room, then gave her a change of clothes, which she now had on. Later, she started on lunch. Sandwiches, Eliza had agreed too. She was almost through with it when a noise from the living room came. “What is she doing?” After plating the meal, Lacey wiped her hand on a napkin, then carried them out. As she appeared in the doorway, the sound coming from Eliza’s phone suddenly stopped as the woman put her phone away quickly. When Lacey placed one plate in front of her and raised her head, Eliza’s attention was on something as she deliberately avoided Lacey’s eyes. “Did something happen? I heard you shout earlier.” Lacey initiated. “Thomas, did he contact you? I hope you didn’t tell him where you are.”“Lacey.” Embarrassment and shame were visible on Eliza’s face when she finally met Lacey’s gaze. “Thomas released an apology video. That’s what it’s titled, but he doesn’t so much as apologiz
Jade Reign was one of the most interesting people Jonathan had ever met. Every action of hers wasn’t without meaning, no matter how confusing it might seem to others. They had finished breakfast long ago and were now in the middle of a discussion. Except they weren’t at Liam Tirro’s restaurant, Maria, anymore. With Jada’s direction, the two of them had walked over thirty minutes to the other side of the city, a place Jonathan rarely had cause to visit, to a place Jada called ‘Her Little Paradise.’ It was the first time in a while Jonathan had walked for that distance. But he wasn’t complaining. The weather was nice out and was just the right amount of cool, so by the time they reached their destination, he wasn’t a sweaty mess. Jada’s Little Paradise turned out to be the top of a bed and breakfast, a quaint home that gave off a wealthy air. The owner appeared to be familiar with her because she didn’t bat an eyelid when Jada and Jonathan walked past her with a simple greeting. T
This was way out of Lacey’s league. Stunned, she stared at the bruises on the woman in front of her. The choking marks around Eliza’s neck was just like what Thomas did to her also. Subconsciously, her hand rose to her neck. “Thomas did this?” Lacey's tone rose with incredulity. She shouldn't have been so surprised having experienced firsthand what Thomas could do when he was pissed off. But seeing the abuse signs on Eliza was an eye-opener. It wasn’t just something he did to only her like Lacey wanted to believe. Just who exactly had Thomas become? But more importantly, what was she supposed to do in a situation like this? Call the police? Call someone? Do nothing? While in thoughts, Eliza put on her mask again, hiding under the sunglasses and scarf. “You should go to the police,” Lacey heard herself saying. After running through several options in her head, that was her conclusion. “Report him for domestic abuse.”Before she even finished giving the advice, Eliza was already shak
It must have been due to a lapse of judgment, Lacey concluded. Or else why would she agree to meet up with Eliza? In any case, she was meeting her replacement in less than two hours. Over the phone, Eliza’s voice held something that sounded a lot like distraught, which was the only reason Lacey was moved. When it came to Thomas and feeling distraught, she knew the feeling all too well. Although, if Eliza’s fears turned out to be true, she was in a much better position than Lacey had been in. For one, she wasn’t married to Thomas yet. And two, she held as much, maybe even more fame than Thomas, so if he somehow decided to pull what he did in the past and call for a press conference, Eliza would be better positioned to defend herself. “What to wear?” Lacey pondered out loud as she changed out of her indoor clothes. Something simple. The weather today was much warmer than the day before, so she settled on a light dress. At Eliza’s request, their meeting place was an art gallery. This