Page 80 of Isabelle and the Beast

There are a lot more crude comments, mostly derogatory names for the women cited in the original article.

Anger rolls through my body, pulsing in my veins. “This is an outrage.” I look up at my dad. “You know this industry. What can we do now?”

He heaves a sigh. “There isn’t much wecando at this point. Adam’s name hasn’t been brought up in this controversy, but it hasn’t made Tristan look like the villain you thought it would. Despite all of this, I’m pretty sure the production company will still want Tristan instead of Adam.”

He looks down at his phone and grimaces. “Ugh. The weird commenters are back again.”

“Who?” I peer over his shoulder at the screen and read the comments he’s referring to.

Lionel: This is false!

Brigette: Tristan is a liar! We want Adam Stone back on screen!

Josephine: Don’t believe this!

I stifle a laugh, hiding my face behind my hand.

“Do you know who these people are? They were all over the first article, too.”

I nod. “It’s the staff at Stone Castle. I guess they’re joining the fight in their own little way.”

The side of my dad’s mouth lifts in a half-smile. “I should’ve known. I remember Lionel and Brigette. She seemed…very sweet.”

I nod in agreement. But the smile on my face slowly fades as I think about how Adam must be feeling right now. Does he even know what’s going on? I don’t know if he wants to follow everything online after I left. Whether or not he is, I want to be with him. The pull is so strong and so urgent, I grab my bag off the table and announce to my dad, “I have to go.”

“Go? Now?”

I nod. “I need to be with Adam. If this is the end of his career, I want to be with him so he’s not alone.”

My dad sighs. “As your manager, I have to highly discourage this. You need to have a public appearance and show that you’re not fazed by anything going on.”

My hands clench into fists. “I’m not doing the movie with Tristan. Iamfazed by what’s going on. I won’t just pretend everything is okay.”

“You didn’t let me finish.” He pauses. “As your manager, I would advise you to go forward and do the movie. But as your father…I want you to go to Adam.”

I rush him with a hug and bend down to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you, Dad. I’ll be in touch.”

“Drive safely.”

I nod and rush out the door to the one person I need right now.

Adam.

Chapter

Thirty-Five

ADAM

The rain continues to pour. Maybe Lionel is right about the myth, after all. Because my mood has never been stormier.

I’m almost tempted to break into the liquor cabinet. But I still won’t do that. Not after the promise I made to Lily. I can imagine her waggling a finger at my face.No sad drinking, Adam.

I close my eyes, resting my head on the wingback chair of the study. The fire roars in front of me. With my eyes closed, I can picture the night I found Isabelle in the forest, sitting here with her in my arms. The first night I truly let my guard down with her and knew there was something exceptionally incredible about the woman I held.

It almost feels like a dream now. She’s gone, and everything is back to the way it was. I’m alone, and I’ve ruined my career. Isabelle hasn’t contacted me in the last week, and how could she? We didn’t even exchange phone numbers. I could ask Jim, but that would seem desperate. I’ve stayed away from any news sites, knowing that any reports about her and Tristan would just drive me mad.

I figure she’s realized how ridiculous our little tryst was. Itwas a matter of convenience. She was stuck here, I’m a man, she’s a woman—isn’t that how all the storybooks go? They fall in love because there’s nothing else to do.

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