Chapter Six

Jacqueline's POV

I did not sleep well.

The photo was still on my mind when I opened my eyes. That girl walking through the entrance with her face hidden. Alex beside her, tattoos and silver hair clear as day for every blogger and gossip page on the internet to see.

That girl was me.

I dragged myself out of bed and down the stairs. Alex was already up — dressed, phone in hand, jaw tight. He looked like a man who had been awake for hours managing something he was not going to tell me about.

“You’ve seen it,” I said. It was not a question. Alex knows everything that goes on and I was sure he had seen the picture.

He did not look up from his phone. “It’s been taken down.”

“How?”

“It’s handled.”

I stared at him. “That’s not the point, Alex. Someone was outside the house. Someone photographed us arriving and nobody noticed. Nobody stopped it.”

He put his phone down and looked at me then.

Alex scanned my face. He gave me a look that meant he was deciding how much to say.

“Pack your things,” he said. “We are leaving for Madonna.”

“Is going back to Madonna a good idea? I’ve already been spotted there.” My nervousness slipped into my voice.

“I told you it’s been handled and I’ve tightened security around the house.” He picked his phone back up like the conversation was finished.

I wanted to argue. I was tired and rattled and the last thing I wanted was to get back on that bike. But I had signed a contract that said I follow his rules.

I went to my room, freshened up and changed out of my pajamas into a lilac tank top and short denim shorts.

The denim skirt I put on last time didn’t make it easy to ride with Alex on his bike. Once I was satisfied I quickly packed my things.

I met Alex outside the house, his bike already parked and ready to go. He was adorned in all black, topping it off with a leather jacket. His silver hair stood out against his all black outfit.

He was holding a purple helmet. I bit my lips to hold in my smile. He looked odd with his silver hair and a purple helmet in his gloved hands.

“I never took you as a purple lover,” I snickered.

“It’s for you,” he handed me the helmet. “It’ll keep people from recognizing you when you’re on the bike.”

I collected it and wore it. He hopped onto the bike and started the engine. I hopped on and held onto his waist.

He drove off and I gripped his waist tight. Fear started creeping in. Even if Alex had handled the pictures, people had already seen it.

But I found comfort in the fact that Alex was looking out for me, giving me a helmet to protect my identity. It was ironic that my favorite color is purple.

Does Alex know this?

We arrived at the glass house. I got down and Alex followed suit. One of the house workers, the younger one who seemed to be my age, was in the living room waiting for us.

“Hannah has already prepared breakfast. You eat. I have things to attend to,” Alex said and walked out without waiting for a reply.

“Rude much,” I muttered.

Hannah gestured for me to go into the kitchen and collected my bag from me. She didn’t say one word but she kept giving me a certain kind of look.

I believed she played a role in that picture being taken because something felt off about her. I had had that feeling since day one.

I walked into the kitchen to see an array of food spread across the kitchen island — scrambled eggs, crispy sausage, potatoes and bread. The smell alone made my stomach grumble.

I wasted no time diving into the food. In no time I was filled. I didn’t even manage to make a dent in the food spread before me.

I walked back to my room. Hannah was nowhere in sight. I picked up my phone from my bed.

I had a total of nine missed calls — five from Jayden and four from Elliana. They had definitely seen or heard about the picture.

I called Jayden instantly. It rang but he didn’t pick up. I called a few more times but he still didn’t answer.

That was odd. It was eleven in the morning. He couldn’t be asleep at this hour and he hadn’t mentioned anything about a meeting today.

I called Elliana and she picked up after two rings.

“Where did you put your phone, Jacqueline? I’ve sent multiple texts and I have called. There’s a picture of you and Alex, it’s—”

“I saw it last night, Elliana,” I stopped her rambling. I rubbed my eyes as my lack of sleep slowly caught up with me.

“Alex has it handled already. The picture is down,” I continued, my voice coming out tired.

“Even so, Jacqueline, people had already seen it before it got taken down. You’re lucky your face wasn’t showing. I sent the picture to Jayden immediately I saw it. He was freaking—”

“WHAT?” My voice pitched out in surprise, cutting her off. I knew they were friends but Elliana was my best friend. She should have reached out to me first before telling Jayden.

“I needed to tell Jayden. I was panicking and worried about you,” her voice came out shakily.

I knew Elliana cared about me and she had done it with good intentions. I couldn’t be angry at her.

“It’s fine, it’s all been handled. You don’t have to worry about me. The past few days have been a lot,” I said, trying to hold in a yawn.

We spoke for a while until I couldn’t hold my sleep anymore. I ended the call and drifted off.

I woke up and the sky was dark outside. I had slept through the entire day. I rubbed my eyes and picked up my phone. No call or text from Jayden. There was no excuse he could give for this.

I wandered out of my room and headed down to the living room. Whispers stopped me halfway. I walked down carefully and saw Alex with a man in a black suit I didn’t recognize. The man handed Alex a brown envelope and I caught a glimpse of my name alongside ROD Industries on it.

My phone rang out loudly. It was Jayden. I quickly put it on mute.

“You can come in, Jackie. I know you’re there.” Alex’s voice came calmly from the living room.

Oh shit.