Page 5 of Stuck with the Billionaire Celebrity

Meanwhile, his girlfriend is screaming obscenities at both of us. I don’t even bother to change out of the clothes he let me borrow, so I grab my dress and purse.

Theo grabs my wrist and tries to get me to look at him.

“I thought she was a friend of a friend and allowed her to stay here. She tricked me into giving her a place to stay. She developed a crush on me and has become possessive and a little crazy. There’s nothing between us. I kicked her out of my house and changed the locks…”

If he changed the locks, how did she get in?

“I’m pregnant with your baby, and this…this is what you do to me?” Alexia gasps as she starts crying. “I just want to love you; why do you treat me like this? After you hit me the last time…”

Hit her? I can’t do this. I’ve been down this road before, and I can’t ever go back there.

“Alexia, stop lying,” he growls. “Grace, please.”

His eyes are so sincere that I want to believe him, but I can’t. I shake my head, fight back the tears, and push past him.

“Grace, please believe me. Please.”

“Don’tbelieve him,” the woman cackles behind me. “He pulls this all the time.”

I’m out the door before the tears spill down my cheeks. I fumble for my keys and race to my car.

I fell for a guy over a matter of hours, and he’s got a girlfriend that lives with him. That’s just great. It’s my own fault for falling so fast.

1

GRACE

TWO YEARS LATER

The lights from the cameras flash in quick bursts, blinding me momentarily as I step out of the limo onto the red carpet. The paparazzi are shouting my name, and reporters are calling out for a soundbite. I’m used to this. I thrive on this.

But right now, it’s a little overwhelming. Fake it until you make it, right?

I grin widely, turning on my sweet Southern charm and the award-winning smile that everyone loves. I wave to the cameras and greet people as if they’re my best friends while I pose in front of them, step-and-repeat.

I’ve trained for this moment: head high, shoulders back, act like everything’s fine. But I can’t ignore the chill running down my spine.

There it is again. It can only mean one thing. He’s here somewhere.

My eyes dart across the crowd, scanning for any sign of him.

It wasn’t until recently that I was even aware enough to look into the crowd to search for danger, but now, it’s all I doanymore. It only takes one time to make a girl extremely nervous to be alone in public.

You’re not alone, Grace. There are thousands of people surrounding you.

He’s standing in the shadows just outside the reach of the flashing lights, barely visible but unmistakable. The baseball cap, the greasy jacket, those piercing yellow eyes.

He’s not doing anything; he's just watching me, watching, like always. He smiles at me, and I immediately look away.

Those colored contacts are probably what freaks me out the most.

My chest tightens, and my hands start to tremble. Flashbacks of his texts race through my mind, each one more disturbing than the last.

“You looked so beautiful today in the café, Grace. You smiled at the barista. You should only be smiling like that for me.”

I remember feeling sick to my stomach when I read that one. I hadn’t even realized anyone had been watching me. I was just ordering a coffee.

“I’m closer than you think. One day, you’ll realize you belong to me.”

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