Semua Bab The Actor's Contract: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Date = 29 May How quickly the same day can go from best to worst.Place = San Francisco (Inferno)(Enrique’s house)POV - AriaThe information is still sinking into my shocked brain — Amanda is pregnant. With Enrique’s baby.“So, how far along are you?” I ask sweetly, like she just mentioned she’s heading to the spa. I crouch to count beer bottles in the mini fridge, pretending to be casual. My hands tremble so hard I can barely touch the glass, and my brain has forgotten how numbers work. One, two … uh — but at this stage, my mind can’t, for the love of hell, remember what comes after two.“Eh … remember that night you and Mel went home early?”Oh, I remember. Her text on Enrique’s phone. The seven minutes.The night we had sex in his office. On his desk.“How long ago was that?” All of a sudden, my brain does lightning math, clicking off weeks and days like a calculator with a grudge. Seven weeks, five days.“About eight weeks,” I say.“Yes. That’s exactly how far I am then. Eight we

Date = 7 June I’ve been living in a painful bubble for a week now.Place = San Francisco (UCSF Medical Center)(Paws and Claws)POV - Aria“Are you okay, dear?” I blink up into a pair of warm brown eyes, soft and glistening under the harsh fluorescent hospital light. The elderly nurse’s face is round, kind, framed by a halo of silver curls that glint faintly like tinsel. She smells of cocoa butter hand cream mixed with the sterile bite of hospital soap. Her voice has the weight of blankets tucked tight on a winter night.For a moment, my throat seizes. She reminds me so much of my mother that I almost fling myself into her arms. Hell, what I wouldn’t give for those flabby arms right now, wrapping me up, squeezing me until all the jagged pieces inside stop rattling. A body soft and warm and safe enough to collapse against.But my mom is dead. And the ache of that fact punches through me so violently that I wipe my snot and tears against the sleeve of my hoodie like a pathetic pig. My he

Date = 11 June Four more excruciating long daysPlace = San Francisco (Inferno parking lot)POV - AriaI jerk — Jackson’s behind me. I never even heard him coming. He moves like a panther, silent and deadly.They all do.Lee spins around, eyes wide. Even he hadn’t noticed. But when Jackson prowls forward, something inside me loosens. If Mel was right, Jackson’s the twin you count on in deep shit. And right now, I feel as if I’m drowning in it.“S-P-L-E-N-D-I-D,” T-Bone drags the word out, turning his glare on Chloe. “Everyone is here except the one I need.” His face twists with irritation. Chloe, of course, just pouts like someone broke her doll.“She’s sick,” Chloe answers. Mel. He wants Mel. And Chloe is working with him.“Force them to call her.” Chloe accelerates in a high-pitched voice. “She needs to come.”“She’s not coming,” Jackson bellows calmly. “And these two were just leaving.”I turn around. I’m ready to go. More than ready. I pull Lee’s arm, but he stands as if stuck to

Date = 12 JunePlace = San Francisco (Inferno)POV - Enrique“AAAAAAAAaaaahh!”The scream shatters the air like ice, so sharp and raw it makes my skin crawl. For one petrified heartbeat, no one breathes. Even the fluorescent bathroom light flickers as if startled.“Mel!” we shout in unison, voices cracking, faces drained to the color of ash.We stumble out of the bathroom in a tangle of limbs, only to find the brat practically airborne — launching straight into Damion’s arms. Her mouth crushes against his, and suddenly they’re lip-locked, pawing each other like hormone-crazed teenagers.Alejandro scans his eyes over us, frowns, nods a greeting, and makes a beeline for the bar. Jinx, ever the shadow, pads right at his side, ears flicking back in silent judgment. Axel grimaces, mirroring my gag reflex, and follows D-Boy.“Yuk,” Jackson mutters to me with a face like sour milk. I can only shake my head in disbelief. Apparently, the brothers came here straight from the airport — straight i

Date = 13 JunePlace = San Francisco (UCSF Medical Center)POV - AriaThe air thickens again. My pulse won’t calm. My nails are crescents of white where they’re digging into the wall. I’ve heard enough to know the truth is even worse than the lies.‘Fire on fire would normally kill us, but this much desire …’ My phone blares in the quiet corridor, the melody shrill, too sweet for the suffocating tension pressing against the walls. I fumble in my purse with clumsy fingers, my heart ricocheting against my ribs.Shit. I almost drop the damn thing. Of course, it’s Mel. Only she would call at the absolute worst time, when I’m trying to stay invisible and eavesdrop.‘Together we’re winners, they say we’re —’ Finally, I manage to stab the button and shut it off, silencing the first song we’ve ever danced to. But the damage is already done.“Aria.”Lee’s head pokes around the corner like a mischievous jack-in-the-box. He grins, voice smooth with amusement. “You must be here to give your stat