Page 48 of The Pucking Grump

“Hi, everyone! Welcome back to E! News. Today, we’re going to be talking with none other than our dear old pal, Faye Strummer.”

The camera pans to me as the pink-haired guy, Zach Something, gives a mock gasp.

I smile as easily as I can muster. “Hi, Kate. Hi, Zach. I’m excited to be here.”

First lie of the day. Maybe I can make a game of ticking them off.

“You know, we had your dad on the other day, and that segment was the most widely watched one we’ve had in years!” Kate trills. “People are desperate for news about you. I can imagine the world is holding its breath, waiting for your side of the story.”

“I understand.” I plaster another forced-but-hopefully-natural-looking smile. “I’m glad to be back.”

“And I’m loving your outfit!” Zach titters. “It looks so . . . casual.”

I glance down at the simple silk shirt and skirt I chose to wear. My hair is pulled in a sleek ponytail.

“You want to look as close as possible to the Faye they remember. Chic, expensive clothes, your hair sparkling. All of that good stuff,” Kevin had warned me, but I didn’t listen.

“I’m not coming back as the Faye they remember,” I told him. Zach eyeing my outfit tells me that Kevin was right. But from now on, I’m doing things my way.

“Thanks.” I flash a smile at Zach. He looks put out.

“Let’s start with the question on everyone’s mind,” Kate says. “Why didn’t you show up at your wedding? The flower mishap?”

I cross one leg over the other, my heart hammering. This is my chance to tell the truth, and I’m not going to waste it.

“Because I found my ex with another girl on the day of our wedding. I literally caught him in flagrante delicto.”

Their jaws drop to the floor in unison. They exchange glances with each other, and I can just tell what they’re thinking: that I’m only making up a story about Ben so the audience will be inclined to take my side.

Kevin warned me about this happening and told me what to do to counteract it. “Provide details. The kind that they know you’d be psychotic to make up.”

“I was already in my wedding dress, set to walk down the aisle, when I walked in on him buried deep in my stepsister. If you know what I mean.”

Kate’s eyes are wide with horror. “No . . . No, you didn’t.” She looks like she’s forgotten this is a public interview. “But . . . your dad . . .”

“He lied,” I cut her off. This is the first time I’m admitting this to anyone other than Blake, and it feels really good. So good, that all I want is to keep going.

“He made up the story about the lilies and everything else to make me look like a mess,” I add.

“Why would he do that?” Zach sounds like he’s still firmly on the side of disbelieving me.

“To control me,” I say. “My dad has been my manager since I was seventeen. I’ve never really had much creative control—or anything else, for that matter. He has the passwords to my social media accounts, handles my finances, and governs my romantic life.”

Zach whistles. “Wow.” The producer behind the camera makes some furious hand gestures, and he sits up and tries to maintain a more professional look.

“How did this all begin?”

I think back for a moment, realizing that I’m not quite sure. “I wanted to please him,” I finally come up with an answer. It sounds quite foolish, but it’s the absolute truth. “He’s my father. I have no siblings, and my mom passed a while back. I simply believed everything he told me was gospel.”

I expect at least one of them to quip about how stupid that sounds, but Zach merely nods, and Kate adds, “I grew up with a narcissistic mom. I know what that’s like—when they make you their whole universe, and you don’t have a personality outside of them. It’s hard to break free.”

The producer shoots another warning sign, so Zach clears his throat. “Tell me if we’re getting this correctly. Your dad wanted you to marry your fiancé—ex-fiancé—even after he found out that he was not faithful.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

I shrug. “He felt it would have been the better move for my career.” I pause, before forcing myself to say the complete truth. “I sort of felt that way, too. Because I’ve been singing about a love I haven’t felt for years. I didn’t want to let my fans in on the fact that it had all been a lie.”

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