Page 49 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
Charlotte ended the call and walked to the window. Why had she spent so much time trying to retake a business that could easily be restarted? What was behind her loyalty to it? Yes, she loved her father, but he loved her enough that he wouldn’t have wanted her miserable.
There was still the issue of pretending to be Malakai’s girlfriend, and she’d finish that out. Her heart would be in shreds at the end, but he’d have his career back. Once that was done, she’d take a breath and figure out where she wanted to go. All she knew was that she was done being Octavia’s punching board.
Chapter 24
It was a good thing Malakai’s press conference was being held during the day. With the number of cameras going off, the flashes alone would have been too much for Charlotte. It was par for the course with Octavia. In her stepsister’s opinion, there was no such thing as too many reporters. Thankfully, Bella had slipped away before the reporters arrived.
Charlotte’s heart was thundering, and her head was pounding. How many times was she going to wipe her sweaty palms down her skirt before it needed to be tossed in the washing machine? Once this special slice of hades was over, she was going to need some serious bath time to relax.
Malakai stepped to the makeshift podium and pulled out the paper in his pocket, unfolding it. The press quieted down, and he silently continued to stare at the apology he’d written. He lifted his gaze, and his head moved as he looked over the gathered press.
Then he balled the paper up and tossed it. “I don’t need to read a statement to apologize. I am sorry. I’ve been demanding, entitled, hateful, and disrespectful. To family, friends, fans,”—he waved his arm over the crowd—“you guys. This is your job. You have families to feed. I don’t always appreciate how you do your job, but I apologize to you as well.” Malakai smiled.
“Mostly, I want to apologize to my parents for the pain I caused them. I’m ashamed of my behavior to my parents and my grandfather. They deserved better from me.”
He turned to Charlotte and held out his hand. “And this beautiful woman is a large part of why I’m here.”
Charlotte took his hand as she shook her head. “I really…”
He slipped his arm around her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “You aren’t the sole reason.” He faced the group again. “She was the catalyst for sure, but I’ve realized something since I came out of rehab. I want to be a better person. Not for anyone but myself. I don’t want to keep looking in the mirror and hating the reflection. I won’t say I won’t mess up again, but from this point forward, I’ll do my best to be a better man.”
Hands quickly went up with questions being shouted all at once. Malakai pulled his arms away from Charlotte and held them up. “Whoa. I’m right here, and I’ll answer all the questions.”
Malakai pointed to a female reporter. “Questions?”
“Who is she?” She tipped her microphone to Charlotte.
“Her name is Charlotte.”
The woman lifted her eyebrows. “No last name?”
He shook his head. “Where’s the fun in that?”
The group laughed, and hands shot up again. “Will Crush be on tour again soon?” one yelled out.
“I don’t know yet. I hope so, but that’ll be up to the rest of the guys and if they still want me in the band,” Malakai replied. Pointing to another that had just joined, he laughed. “Late to the party. Have any questions?”
The woman’s lips curled up on one side. “Just one. There’s a rumor floating that you didn’t cause the accident with Sunny. Is that true?”
Charlotte gaped. “Oh no.” She’d told no one, and she knew Malakai hadn’t told anyone else.
“I—” Malakai started and stepped back from the podium. He turned to Charlotte, a mixture of anger and shock written on his face. “I told you…how?”
She reached for him, and he pulled away. “I didn’t…”
His eyebrows knitted together. “I trusted you.” His lips twisted as he turned back to the reporters. “Conference is over,” Malakai growled. “In the golf cart, now.” He stormed away from the podium.
For a second, Charlotte hesitated before running to catch up.
The ride to the house was awkwardly silent. Charlotte had no idea what had happened. She hadn’t talked to Octavia at all without Malakai hearing the conversation. Squeezing her eyes shut, she remembered she’d spoken to Octavia the day before without him. But she’d said nothing. There was no way Octavia knew about Sunny. Did he think she’d leaked it to her stepsister or a reporter? He had to know she’d never do anything like that.
If he didn’t believe her, what was she going to do? How could she prove she hadn’t betrayed his trust? More importantly, how had anyone found out in the first place? There was no one in the house when he told her. What were the chances of him ever trusting her again even if she proved she was innocent?
When they reached the house, the moment they shut the front door, Charlotte grabbed his arm. “I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t even tell Bella. I sw—”
Malakai wrapped his arms around her and smiled. “I know. Something felt off about that reporter. I just didn’t want those guys out there to know until I figured out what was going on.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and blinked. He knew? How? “What? But…how?”
