“What the hell were you thinking?” Julia inquired as she paced up and down the living room. Being my manager and best friend, my impulsive act had affected her the most.
I sat hopelessly on the floor, with my phone in my quivering hands. My tears had dried, and I had grown weary of crying.
“Why did you even have your phone on you in the first place?” Julia was furious, even though she felt my grief. “I get that you were trying to prove a point, but you didn't have to go that—”
Her phone rang suddenly, cutting her short, and giving me a chance to recover from the constant verbal hammering I was getting from her.
She stepped out of the room, to take the call, leaving me all alone with my thoughts of heartbreak and regret. I took up my phone to take one last look at the text which had me shattered.
“I'm deeply sorry that it had to end this way between us,” the text read, “but I just can't stand the sight of you anymore. I had been keeping it all this while just so I wouldn't hurt your feelings, but now I feel free…”
“You bastard!” I yelled as I broke out in tears all over again. How could he not stand Tamika Fisher, the celebrity crush of millions of people? It all didn't make sense to me.
In all my years of handling relationships, I still didn't grasp how two people could go from behind madly in love to being the worst of enemies.
Randy and I had been going strong and steady, and I had been expecting a proposal at any point from then. But it was all in ashes.
“Great…” Julia remarked sarcastically, as she stepped back into the room. “That was the last one of our supporters. They called to withdraw as well.”
I sobbed even louder at that. The one thing that I had managed to create for myself had vanished in just one moment of carelessness.
“Goodness, Tamika…” Julia said, sitting beside me, and putting her arm on my shoulder. “It's not the end of the world—”
“But it's the end of my career.” I couldn't see any ray of light at the end of the tunnel that I had suddenly plunged into. “It's the end of everything… everything I had worked for…” I cried, unrestrained.
“I'm suffering this as well,” Julia tried to get me to calm down. “We both worked for this…”
“And I blew it,” I said, trying to wipe the hot tears. “I'm the one everyone is taking shots at online… I'm the one suffering the worst of it…”
“Tamika… get it together. I put in a lot of funds and effort into this, and you blew it. But I'm not crying my eyes out—”
“That's what this is all about to you?” I snapped angrily, looking up at her with my teary eyes. “I'm the one with a tarnished image and a broken heart. My life has been screwed up, so don't act like you know half the pain I'm going through…”
“Wow…” Julia sighed, nodding as she stood, and made for her room.
I hadn't known when those venomous words had gone out of my mouth. “Julia… I'm sorry, I didn't mean—”
The door of her room slammed shut, echoing just how terrible I was as a person. Perhaps my insecurity had been part of the reasons why Randy had dumped me in such a horrible manner.
I broke down all over again, as my conscience lashed mercilessly on me. I realized that I was a terrible person, as I had no one to cry with me in my darkest hour.
***
“Another bottle…” I ordered angrily to the barman, who was a bit hesitant to act on my orders.
The drinks were the best way I knew to flush away all the pain from the day's unfortunate happenings.
I had come disguised to one of the famous hotels in town, just to help myself at the bar there. I just wanted to get wasted, as there was not a glimpse of hope in sight.
“Ma'am, I advise that you have no more of this,” the barman said, holding the bottle in his hand, but still refusing to place it in front of me. “This could—”
“Give me the bottle… you bastard…” I growled at him in my drunken state. “You want to create a scene? Hand me the fucking bottle!”
“I'm sorry, but I can't,” the barman, somehow had the guts to refuse.
If only he knew who I was, or rather, who I had been a few hours ago before the catastrophic phone call on a live broadcast. The thought of it made me want to drink until I passed out.
“I think you should go home, ma'am,” the formality in his tone didn't fail to annoy me. “You have had enough of—”
“Give the lady what she wants, or you might have just had enough of your job,” a strong, powerful masculine voice ordered from behind.
“Alright… sir,” the once confident barman was suddenly quivering in fright, and that had me curiously turning my head to see who it was.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said, with a welcoming smile forming on his handsome face, as we made eye contact.
Even though I was reeling from the shots I had downed that night, I could still see who I thought to be the most handsome man my eyes had ever seen.
He had to be about six foot two. His moderately muscular build suited his height perfectly. The smile that formed on his stern-looking face, was nothing short of magical.
His dark blonde hair was like a perfect crown for Prince Charming who was staring at me with his loving brown eyes.
It almost seemed like everything had come to a stop when we made eye contact.
“Hey, handsome…” I replied, not knowing when the words left my lips.
“Seems like you had a tough time with the barman,” he drew close and put his hand on my shoulder.
That sent a lot of fuzzy feelings through my entire body, causing me to giggle gullibly.
“No…” I let out suddenly, as I woke from a long nightmare where I had gotten in bed with a total stranger. In the naughty dream, we had a long steamy session together after he took me from the bar to the room, where we finally had at it. “No…!” I covered my mouth immediately I screamed, as I realized that my nightmare was actually happening to me. The same man I had seen in my dreams was lying beside me, sleeping peacefully. My terror was just beginning as I looked below the covers to see my body bare and naked. I didn't need a fortune-teller to tell me what had happened when my eyes caught sight of my gown and my panties littered on the floor alongside a white shirt and a pair of black trousers. It almost felt like I was staring at a crime scene, except that I was part of the scene. Everything suddenly began playing back in my hazy mind. “Damn it…” I had made the second blunder in the same day. Giving myself so cheaply to the man lying beside me, after ending my career in the mo
“Your stupid relationship advice turned my girl into a bitch,” he snapped at me, “And I finally have the chance to take out my revenge on you.”I was tongue-tied, yet again, as I recalled the story of the young billionaire who had gotten dumped by his girlfriend on the night that he tried to propose to her.The incident had gone viral almost immediately it happened a year ago, and it had been the talk of the whole city of Vegas. I could recall the comments I had made, which had clearly mocked the man who had been brutally turned down.If only I knew I would wind up with the man in the present moment, I would have commented much differently back then. But it was too late.“What do you want? Please…” I had to beg, as it wasn't something that money could take away. “Just say it.” I was desperate to save what was left of my reputation.He stared at with those cold, brown eyes, which I had thought to be cute when I looked into them for the first time at the bar. But then, his stare was not
“That wretch…” I impatiently counted the seconds, as I waited for my men to return with my soon-to-be wife. Amusing, how she thought that she could outsmart me that easily.I relapsed in my sofa, staring at the screen of my phone to track the movement of the tracking device I had put on her while she had been asleep.My mind reverted to the drunken one-night stand. I was beyond surprised when I found out that the drunk lady that I had taken up to my room had been Tamika Fisher, the relationship specialist.“Sir, Stuart and the men have arrived,” Taylor, my personal assistant and aide, said to me from behind the sofa.“Tell them to put her in one of the secure guest rooms and lock the door,” I ordered, putting the phone aside, as I prepared a speech for her. “No beatings or rough handling.”“Yes, sir,” Taylor replied, as he scurried avidly out of the living room.I wanted to get the contract signing over with, as soon as I could do, I could face even more pressing matters. A lot of thi
Two years?Two years of my life seemed so long, looking at those papers. My hands were shaking badly, as I held the pen. I tried my best to keep my tears from soiling the papers but to no avail. “Get on with it already!” Dolph yelled harshly, and impatiently, at me. “You're going to drench the entire contract with tears.” “Alright!” I snapped back at him impulsively. “I'm sorry… I'm just having quite a moment…”“Well, we don't have all day. We also have a wedding to prepare for, and a comeback to plan for.” Dolph retorted with a fierce look in his eyes that made it clear that he wasn't going to let me go anytime soon. I had indeed fallen into a trap. My hands scribbled my signatures immediately on the papers, and handed it right back to him, then dried my tears immediately. I wanted to build my resolve and face the consequences of my actions. “Wipe your tears, sweetheart,” he said, snatching the contract away from my hands. “We have just two years to go…” It was hard holding back
“She tried killing herself…” Taylor’s seemed like a lie to me at that point.“Mr. Martin, I’ll have to call you back…” I said, hanging up before my father could get a reply. My feet hurried after Taylor who was already running out of the room, showing just how serious it was. “Right this way sir…” Taylor said, as though I didn’t know where the room was. “That bitch…” I muttered under my breath, as I wondered what stunt she had tried to pull off that time around. In an instant, I got to the door of the room which was wide open, with two of my men standing by it. The sight before me was nothing short of laughable. “What the heck is this?” I asked, as I kept my eyes on Tamika who was standing on a stool, trying to hang herself with a piece of clothing that she had tied to the chandelier up above. “I told you I would help you get your career back, but I never remembered you showing any interest in theatrics.”“Stand back!” Tamika yelled at me. “That's what she has been screaming ever
The ride to wherever we were going was quiet. Even with the cozy air conditioning in the vehicle, the air between Dolph and I was stifling and sultry. It was almost feeling like I was being suffocated by his presence. We were seated in the backseat, with two of his men in front. They were always clothed in black suits with shades that made them look nothing short of emotionless. “So… where are you taking me?” I finally mustered the courage to ask the pressing question and break the long-standing silence. I turned to Dolph who had his gaze on the view outside the car. “Could you make this seem less like an abduction and tell me exactly where we are going?”“We are going somewhere, where we are sure that the media won’t miss you and I together.” Dolph, most definitely, wasn’t a fan of giving direct answers to my questions. “We are about to create some of the biggest stirs online at Caesar’s place.”“What?” I was finally making sense of why he had been so selective about my dressing for
“What the heck is he doing here?” I questioned myself out loud, as I wondered why everything had to be happening at that moment when I was about making my grand reappearance to the public. Did there have to be a touch of drama to whatever I did?“Who’s he?” Dolph turned, asking with a frown. The first display of protectiveness from him was both cute and scary at the same time. He looked like a lion guarding his territory from an intruding hyena. And a hyena was all I imagined whenever I thought of Randy. All he had done was to leverage on my fame and status to get himself a new girl after he had gotten tired of me. He was a real jerk and more. Why was he suddenly beckoning in me?I couldn’t care less about that. At the moment, I wanted to make him as jealous as I could, as I clung tightly to Michael’s arm. “That’s my stupid ex…” I replied Dolph, holding his arm. “Let’s continue, he’s not important.”With that, I was hoping that Randy would be sensible enough not to pursue me any furt
“Can I have my phone now?” I demanded impatiently, as I itched to see what was going on online, after what had happened at the mall that day. I was sure that there was fire, but then, I wanted to see it for myself.But Dolph seemed carried away by whatever it was that he had his eyes on his phone. He barely looked up at me or paid me any mind. “Are you being serious right now?” I pressed further trying my best to annoy him to the point where he would have no other option but to give in to my demands. “This is my career for crying out loud, I deserve to know what's going on at the moment.”“Tamika Fisher spotted with a new man...” he said, still scrolling through his phone, still without looking up at me. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?” I questioned in annoyance, as he seemed to be intentionally trying to get on my nerves.“That's what's trending right now everywhere,” Dolph said, as he put his phone away and turned his face to the other side of the car. “I will not take the