Page 116 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Duncan…’

He raises sad, worried eyes. It’s like he already knows.

‘She slept with Miller tonight. By all accounts it was over pretty quickly. But it was consensual. She isn’t hurt… just… reeling from a not-so-great experience.’

He’s already pacing, both hands squeezing the top of his head, a muscle flinching in his jaw, like it’s raw anger that’s pulsing through his veins.

‘I’ll kill him,’ Duncan spits, and punches the wall. ‘I’ll knock his fucking lights out.’

‘Dunc, no. You mustn’t. You can’t do anything. There’s security around them, don’t forget. All you can do is be there for Meredith. Forgive her. She feels terrible for what she’s done.’

He’s still pacing. I’ve never seen him this angry and it scares me.

‘Promise me you won’t leave this room,’ I tell him. ‘I need to talk to Aidan then I’ll come back.’

‘Why were they all in your room?’

I swallow. I know I have to face the consequences of my decisions. ‘They know. They know about the covert filming, about the body cameras. Meredith let it slip to Miller by accident. They’re not happy.’

He raises his brow. I give a nod of acceptance, but equally, I feel sick. ‘I know. Boy band. Not a sweatshop. You did try to warn me.’

When I close Duncan’s door, I shuffle back down the corridor. Why did I not come clean? Because I should have, a long, long time ago. Outside my room, Aidan is still waiting for me, his legs apart, chin jutting out in a defiant stance, a look of palpable devastation on his face.

I approach him on jelly legs, nerves shredding the inner lining of my stomach. I need to justify my actions, and I need to do it quickly. Because if I don’t, judging by the resentment pooling in his pale blue eyes, I am dangerously close to losing the man I love altogether.

I hold the door open for him with trembling hands. He stalks inside.

‘Thank you for waiting,’ I say, once we’re alone.

‘You gave me no choice.’

The spotlights on the ceiling cast shadows over his face. He looks tired. There’s a lump in my throat. ‘Well, I appreciate your patience.’

I can see Aidan’s throat working, the same way it had when he was trying to explain away Taylor’s messages. His tone is almost businesslike. ‘I’m not just here for me, I’m here for the whole band. Because I’m still holding out hope that you haven’t been lying to us all this time.’

I step forward. ‘I… I didn’t lie to you… But I haven’t been entirely honest with you either.’

His jaw is set in a grim line. ‘Did you do it, yes or no?’

‘I knew that if I had cameras on you all the whole time, everything you did would be staged. I wanted to capture real people. Real reactions. Intimacy. Genuine moments. Truth.’

He turns his back to me. ‘Truth?’ he chokes out, his voice sounding strangled. ‘It’s a complete breach of our trust.’

‘Ziggy was telling me what I could and couldn’t film,’ I argue, trying to justify my position. ‘Professionally, I don’t do well on embargoes. I should have told you, I’m sorry.’

‘When?’ he demands. ‘When were you filming us when we aren’t aware of it?’

My mind goes blank, struggling to remember the different times I had wired myself – or Duncan, or even Meredith – up with the hidden body cameras.

‘The day Ravi came out to you. When Cal first watched the video of Bianca’s interview. The time you came and asked me to look at myself in the mirror.’

That last admission draws shock from him, and I know I’ve crossed a line. The look he gives me – that my betrayal is complete – sends a barb to my heart. I backtrack, trying to explain myself, yet I’m fighting a losing battle. ‘When you came to me… when I was still wearing a camera… it was by accident. It was never my intention to film you. It just happened.’

His silence speaks volumes. Disgust flares in his eyes and his gaze scrapes over me in contempt. ‘I don’t even know you.’

I forget to breathe. ‘Aidan, it’s what Ido. It’s how I work. I’m sorry. Please—’

He looks away. Without realising it, I’m sobbing.

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