Page 155 of Harrison's Wedding

I smile as I open it with it angled away from everyone so they can’t see what’s in it while I unfasten the clasp and slip the ring off the necklace. I close it in my fist while I set the box aside, then turn to Heather again and hold it out to her.

“I believe this belongs to you?”

April

CAROL SAMPSON INTERVIEWS HARRISON AND HEATHER

Big viewing numbers are predicted for Carol Sampson’s interview with Harrison Fletcher and his ex-fiancée, Heather York, that will be airing tonight on Storyboard. Carol is well-known for her sit-down tell-all interviews on the prime-time show.

Promotion for the interview has touted it as a ‘shocking insight into their world.’ Many are speculating on what could be discussed, and whether we will be given more information on the couple’s rumored split due to infidelity issues in the relationship.

Harrison was also in a nearly-fatal car accident last week. His band, Cruise Control, appeared without him in interviews for the upcoming release of ‘Games We Play.’ They spoke during the interviews about their concern for his wellbeing, before flying back home to Chicago to be with their bandmate.

Many are wondering if a wedding announcement will be made through Carol, as Heather has recently been pictured with the engagement ring she stopped wearing in January on her finger.

With so many topics of discussion available, experts are expecting Carol to have one of her biggest shows yet.

25

The Primest of Times

I've only been home a few days, but we've had a busy week discussing with Cooper, lawyers, the police, and the television station that we've decided to do our prime-time interview with.

The crew has been in our apartment all day, moving furniture around and redecorating to make it look exactly how they want it to for the interview, and we're now sitting on the sofa that has been moved as well. The producers of the show insisted on filming in our apartment, which we weren’t sure about, but they were completely firm on it.

There’s a framed photo of myself and Heather, as well as another one of the guys on a table nearby where they’ll be seen easily by the cameras. The place barely seems like ours, but we’ve been assured that everything will be returned to where it belongs afterward.

Our interview is set to be aired on Friday night, and the rights were in a huge bidding war before we finally settled on Carol Sampson’s show. She’s well respected for doing these kinds of sit-down interviews, and we had discussions with her and the producers about what we were comfortable talking about. Especially in light of the pending court case.

Maddy is going to be here, too. Heather and I insisted that she receive eighty percent of the fee for the interview. Cooper almost lost his mind, especially when we said we wanted to donate our twenty percent to charity. At the end of the day, he couldn’t do anything about us negotiating a lower fee for ourselves, but we do have to pay out of pocket to cover his percentage of the fee we’re donating.

Heather and I were both fine with that, because the charity we’re donating it to helps people rehabilitate from using drugs. Brendan recommended the charity as one that really does a lot for people with substance abuse issues. We’ve talked about the interview and ways I can ground myself if I feel overwhelmed during filming. The show’s producers have also offered for us to take breaks during filming if need be.

The plan is for us to be interviewed first, then Maddy will join us later. As the interview begins, I hold Heather’s hand in mine, focusing on her warm, soft skin and the knowledge that, despite everything, she still wants to marry me.

“Thank you for doing this interview. I’m honored you chose me,” Carol says with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” I reply, “would you believe me if I told you that you were the only person who wanted to interview us?”

Carol gives a good-natured laugh, “No, I really wouldn’t, Harrison. Heather, I suppose we should start with the most obvious question here. We can all see that you’re wearing your engagement ring again, is the wedding back on?”

“Yes, it is.” Heather smiles before looking up at me.

“Was it ever really off?” Carol asks.

“I have a ton of lost deposits that say yes,” Heather tells her with a grin.

“What about the rumors of an affair between yourself and Sebastian Fox?”

This was one of the things we talked about with Carol because she wanted to know if we were happy to address these rumors. Heather and I agreed that if we were clearing the air, then now was the time to have our say on this since rumors are still flying around about them sleeping together.

“Sebastian and I are just really good friends. We’ve been friends for thirteen years; he is absolutely one of my favorite people on the face of the planet, but we’ve never been anything more than that. Harrison has only ever been the one for me,” I squeeze her hand as she says it.

“So, America’s favorite couple called it quits. You’ve been together for a long time, how was that for you, Harrison?” Carol looked at me as she asks the question.

“Terrible,” memories of that time wash over me, and I try not to let myself get lost in how awful it was, “Heather is the only woman I’ve ever loved. I’d made a terrible mistake, something I would never have done, normally, and we did try to get through it, but it was too hard to get past at the time.”

“Let’s talk about what happened,” she sounds curious, and it’s understandable because she didn’t want any information prior to the interview so she could ‘have a genuine reaction’ when we told her things, “there’s been a lot of speculation about that night, from the time it happened, through to the press conference that was given by the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Aaron Hamilton, and your manager, Cooper Powell. Even now, it seems as though we don’t have the full story. What can you tell us about that, Harrison?”

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