I got separated from Julian at the party when everyone surrounded him to wish him a happy birthday. I also see his parents, Rachel and Benjamin, at the corner, speaking to some guests. I realize this is my second encounter with his father, and I don’t know much about him yet. Rafael, his eldest son, bears a striking resemblance to him. I’m curious about him because I’ve already met Julian’s entire family.
The party is formal, well-prepared, and obviously exclusive, as evidenced by the familiar faces—most of whom are celebrities. I’m glad I dressed appropriately tonight. Everything Dean had arranged for me had probably come from Julian. Now I just have to get used to that fact and accept that he and John Pitch are the same person. And that I’m now engaged to him. This ring on my finger proves I’m not imagining things.
This is going to be one of the most unforgettable days of my life. It was incredible that a reporter could find the news juicy enough to warrant a full page.
I take a glass of juice from the roving waiter and chug it down. I was desperate for something to quench my thirst. I then look around for Lora, but I see the Stevens. I immediately turn away. I’m feeling guilty enough that I’m cognizant Kristoff is in the hospital, but I can’t tell them to respect his wish. I run into someone while walking quickly in a different direction.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry,” a male voice says.
I look up at the browned-haired man with green eyes and recognize him right away. “William… Scott?”
He gives a slow grin. “Anya Scott. What a surprise!”
“Is that you?” I gape at him. “Oh my goodness, it’s you!”
“Oh, come on.” He encircles me in a bear hug that lifts my insides. I returned his hug.
“How long has it been? I’m glad you didn’t forget me.” We release each other with a pat on the back.
His brow furrows. “Since high school graduation? I mean, how could I forget? You’re the only person in class who has the same surname as me. But you were the one who remembered me first. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, it’s a long story, Mr. Prom King. I’d been invited. What about you?”
“I just signed a first-time feature film project with Sebastian Pictures. My handler was invited, so he brought me. So, how about you? Doing well in Whitlock?”
“Wow! Congratulations. I recently signed a song to Sebastian Records. Don’t tell anyone just yet, and yes, Whitlock is fun.”
He nods. “We’re on the right track, then.”
“We are.” I return the smile. Oh, high school. It seems like only yesterday.
He cracks a half-smile. “Oh, hey, my manager is here talking to some people, so would you like us to find a spot so—”
“Anya!” Lora finally arrives, looking really pale. She looks horribly worried. “Oh my God, I thought you weren’t coming. I have something to tell you, and it was terrible—” She looks up as she realizes I’m talking to someone. She constantly has these moments. “—I’m so sorry. Am I interfering?”
“No, I was about to look for you,” I explain. “What is it?”
“Um, I think it’s probably bad timing.”
“Okay, then tell me later. Anyway, this is William Scott. We went to the same high school and ran into each other here.”
She frowns. “Scott?”
“It’s a coincidence, but we’re not related. And this is Lora McQueen, my best friend.”
William smiles at her and extends his hand. “Nice to meet you, Lora.”
“Oh, thank you.” She immediately shakes his hand. Her cheeks are blushing. “Oh, he’s so hot,” she says into my ear.
I laugh at her, then return my gaze to William. “What were you saying again?”
He chuckles awkwardly as he scratches his temple. “I was wondering if we could catch up or if you could introduce me to your friend. Have you eaten, girls?”
Oh, I see. Something has already gotten started. “I haven’t, but I’m also not hungry. But you’re free to go. I wouldn’t stay long anyway.”
“Where are you going?” Lora inquires. “I said I really needed to tell you this.”
“Later, okay?”
She grabs my hand. “But, Anya...”
“I’m only waiting for, uh, you know who. You can have a good time with William here. Right, Will? I’ll cut your fingers if you do anything stupid to her.”
Lora pinches me around the waist. “Or I could do something amusing to him.”
“Shh! Behave. Are your parents here?”
“And Candice, too. They’re talking to some boring people.” She sighs and rolls her eyes. “It’s exhausting.”
I laugh. “You’ll have to get used to it.”
“Hey, Anya,” William calls out again, grabbing my wrist.
“Yes?”
Then he pulls his phone from his pocket. “I was wondering if we could connect because I’m not sure when we’ll meet again. What are your social media handles?”
“I have a feeling this isn’t the last time we’ll meet.” I glance at him and Lora, smiling. “Sure.”
He hands over his phone to me. “Please help me find it. I tried, but there are several profiles with the same name.”
I type my username into the search bar. I quickly discovered mine. “My profile photo is of a black cat with a pink ribbon around its ear.”
“Oh, it’s our cat, but we lost her last year,” Lora laments.
“I’m sorry. My sister likes cats, too,” William says sincerely, smiling sweetly at my best friend.
I return his phone. “There.”
“Thank you. Don’t ignore my friend request, okay?”
“Certainly. I should leave. Other plans.”
“I’m sorry, okay?” Lora wraps her arms around me.
“For what?”
“I’m just sorry. Anyway, I’m hungry, so I’ll get something to eat. We’ll talk later!” She hugs me and walks over to the buffet with William.
“Who’s he? Did he just get your phone number?” Julian suddenly shows up by my side, and I feel his hand on my lower back.
“Seriously? Do you think I’d do that? He just followed me on social media.”
He smiles. “I’m just kidding.”
“He’s a high school classmate,” I say, laughing. “I suppose he’s now an actor. Sebastian Pictures had signed him.”
“Ah, yes. I recall. William Scott. He’ll be in a music-themed film that Jefferson and I are working on for next year.” He raises an eyebrow in Will’s direction. “Wait. A relative?”
“I don’t have any relatives here, but we always get the impression.”
“Mm. It just bothered me that you had the same surname despite not being related.”
I laugh. “Come on. Don’t get too serious.”
“It is definitely time to have yours changed.”
“Is that a punch line?” The flash of a camera suddenly strikes my eyes. I then realized we were being too close and in public. “Hey, someone might suspect.”
“I’ve been photographed with a lot of different people today. Nobody would ever suspect.”
“How about Stella? I haven’t yet seen her.”
“Rafe forbid her to come here.”
“I’m glad he understands now.”
“We’re preventing the media from spreading false information about us, and I’ve also already told my parents we’ll be leaving early. My mother wants to see you again, but she knows the situation, so she has asked that we come over to her house this weekend.”
I smile meaningfully, biting my bottom lip. “Is that the part where we’re going to tell your family about this?” I show him my ring-bearing hand. I wish I could jump up and kiss him silly right now. I’m so tempted to touch him.
“Dad wants to meet you, too,” he whispers. “But if you want us to take our time, I’ll just make an excuse.”
“Did you think we needed to take it slow?”
He flashes a luscious grin. “Oh, Anya. If you ask me, waiting has been difficult. It took me two years.”
“Me, too. I think my hair has turned white from waiting,” I joke, giggling. “But hiding in a different identity? So original. Do you still require a monthly report from me?”
“No.” He laughs. “Alright, then, this weekend. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, please, but I have to use the restroom first.”
“I’ll be in the car.” He leans in to kiss my head, but he stops. “I’m afraid I can’t do that right now.”
I laugh impishly. “No, you can’t.”
***
When Julian and I arrived at the hospital, Kristoff was moved to a regular ward. Dean is still with him.
Kristoff shakes his head when he sees us. “I have much to say right now, but I’ll try to keep it civil. What are you doing here?”
“We assumed you’d get sad because Dean probably can’t entertain you,” I joke as I approach his bed. “How do you feel?”
“It’s nothing serious, but it hurts a little.” He jerks his left shoulder.
“Hey, don’t just move the injured part carelessly,” Julian warns.
Kristoff gives him a long stare. I’m sure he has a lot to ask or say to him, but he probably just wants to keep it to himself for the time being. He averts his gaze.
“Are my parents there?” he asks instead.
“Yes,” Julian responds.
“Didn’t you tell them?”
“No, because you said you didn’t want to, but I think you should,” I clarify.
“We can discharge him right now, but he wants to stay until the morning,” Dean says.
“I’ll be fine,” Kristoff presses. “They don’t need to know.”
“Hey, guys, since you’re both here now, I suppose I should leave. It’s nearly midnight, and I still have things to do.” Dean stands up.
“Thanks for coming,” Julian says.
“Anytime.” Dean pats Julian’s back and leaves.
For a moment, silence envelops the three of us.
“So…” Kristoff resumes, breaking the ice. “Are you going to explain yourself?”
“I think you already know everything before giving us the opportunity to tell you,” Julian says matter-of-factly.
Kristoff sighs. “I guess so. I had only suspicions. I just want to hear it from you.”
“And what convinced you?” I ask.
“I was looking for you, but I ended up finding Lora in your apartment. I told her Julian is your benefactor, and she felt compelled to tell me everything before we spoke this afternoon,” Kristoff says.
That’s what happened, and that’s what she was trying to tell me earlier. She even apologized.
“We wanted to let you know, Kristoff,” I convinced him.
“But you didn’t. I’m not going to use this as a guilt trip because I made a mistake too. I had no right to be angry. But I expected more from you because I always thought you were better than me.”
“I’m sorry, Kris.” I sit on the edge of the bed and place my hand on his shoulder. “You deserve better.”
He nods. “Aren’t we still friends?” He also looks at Julian. “The three of us?”
I give him a friendly smile. “Of course.”
“How about staying at my place instead of staying here?” Julian suggests as he folds his arms across his chest. “I know you don’t want to go home. You didn’t want them to know Anya was with you.”
“Pretty much. “They were calling nonstop, so I had to turn off my phone,” Kristoff says.
I sigh. “Hey, you don’t have to do that for me.”
“Yeah, remember when Mom came to visit the school?”
Yeah, that was unpleasant.
“So, can I really go to your house?” He switches his gaze between me and Julian. “Given that ring on your finger, I’m guessing you two will spend the night together.”
I laugh as I gaze at my lovely ring. My heart flutters every time I see it’s really there. “We’ll tell you this first because we’re friends, and we owe you the truth.”
“Oh. So, when is the wedding?” Kristoff probes.
“After she graduates,” Julian responds.
Kristoff frowns. “Are you sure you still want to teach in Whitlock after all this? That is risky.”
“It’s not if it’s not Whitlock,” Julian says emphatically.
“What?” Kristoff and I react in unison. This is the first time I’ve heard of it.
“We can discuss that later,” Julian says. “For now, let’s get you to my penthouse.”
“Julian’s right. You’ve been hurt. You can’t stay here if no one is watching out for you,” I persuade him.
“Fine, I’ll go. What about you?” Kristoff asks me.
“I’m going to get a good night’s sleep in my apartment.”
Because it’s the selfless thing to do. We can’t be selfish right now, even though I really want to spend the night with Julian. But I think I need to calm my nerves first. We’d all had a long day.
“Thanks, I guess. Oh, and, um… Happy birthday.” Kristoff looks away, hiding his face, but I thought I saw him blush.