Page 65 of Hot Mess

My heart sank. I knew what was in that envelope, and I hated it. I hated that someone out there held power over me. I was lying to my mother, and lying to Nick, and Isaac. I wasn’t bored, I was broke. I needed to work so that I could have some money to eat.

With Nick away at his shoot, I wasn’t cooking him dinner. We weren’t ordering in, or going out. Without Nick around, I had to pay for my own food. Everything he was paying me I immediately forwarded to the blackmailer.

I hated how lonely I was without him. I had even called my cousin.

“I can’t believe you took so long to call me back,” Jessie said.

“Sorry, the whole move here has been overwhelming.”

“Oh, so Nick Sadler has nothing to do with you ignoring me?”

“What would Nick have to do with that?” I asked.

“I’ve seen you in the paps. You’re with him on the red carpet. That’s not something you can hide Kayla. Why don’t you just admit you have something going with him?”

“Because I don’t. I work with his assistant.” That wasn’t a complete lie. But I wouldn’t trust Jessie with aspects of my private life even if I wasn’t involved with Nick.

That particular lunch hadn’t gone well. She complained that I was being stingy and that I should invite her over to meet Nick. For some reason she seemed to think I lived with him. I hadn’t told her he bought me a house. I hadn’t told her anything.

“So, what’s this I hear, you’re engaged?”

Panic shot through me like lightning. The last thing I needed was for her to tell Mom. I started laughing because I didn’t know what else to do. If I reacted the way my gut churned, she would know something was up.

I shook my head. “Yeah, I heard that too. No.” I shook my head.

When we parted ways, I really hoped that would keep Jessie happy and off my back for at least another month. Hopefully longer. At least I didn’t have to deal with Gabe. Everything she told me about him just made him seem even more of a creep than I realized.

I closed and locked my front door behind me. I threw the dreaded envelope on the coffee table and went into my room to change. My clothes felt constricting. I should have been losing weight with how much I wasn’t eating, so I didn’t understand why things felt tight.

I checked my phone for the millionth time that day. It still wasn’t after nine. I could start texting Nick at nine at night. Before then, he wouldn’t see any of my messages because he was filming.

Changed, I walked back through the living room to get to the kitchen. I glared at the envelope.

I really should just look in it, see what they want now.

I hesitated.

No, it could wait. The last envelope had just been a reminder of what was at stake and that I needed to make the payments more frequently. I was already wiring them money twice a month. There really wasn’t a way to speed the process up.

I hovered at the entrance to the kitchen. No, I needed to know what they wanted so that I could do whatever online banking they required or call if that’s what the instructions were.

With shaking hands, I folded back the metal prongs that kept the envelope closed. I sat before I let the contents slip into my hand.

The cry that escaped my lips was one of shock and hurt. The photos were new ones. At least I didn’t have to look at my most humiliating moment captured on camera again. But somehow these were worse.

The photographer had clearly used a telephoto lens. The images were grainy, but it was obvious who the people were. Well, who the man was. I didn’t recognize the woman. She was perfectly Hollywood thin. With long legs and…

They had clearly wanted to have some privacy. That hadn’t happened. I had the proof in my hands. The shots showed a progression of the two of them hiking. The photographer had probably passed them on the trail and recognized Nick— I knew he thought he wasn’t recognizable, but he was— and then followed them.

I didn’t want to think about the rest of what I saw. Nick was fooling around with someone else. I closed my eyes against the sting. We never had talked about exclusivity, and I knew I was there to be a consistent person on the red carpet. That had never meant consistency in his bed.

I should have realized that my presence on the red carpet meant he could hook up with whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Logic did not help the hurt as my heart broke. I had fallen head over heels for the man. He was charming, and handsome, and made me feel special. Made me feel beautiful.

I looked around my living room and was hit by the realization that it wasn’t mine. I was allowed to live here, but it wasn’t mine. I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn’t the first time the nerves from having to deal with the blackmailer had upset my tummy, but this was the first time I actually had to throw up. After rinsing out my mouth I returned to the couch. The photos had spilled when I dashed to the bathroom.

As I picked them up, I saw one I had missed earlier. Nick leaving my house. Damn it. I shuffled through the stack and looked for the note. There was always a note.

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