Page 4 of Dreaming About Forever

As soon as she turned toward The Plaza, Ashton walked out the front door flanked by his security team.

Finally. He would tell her that there had to be a reasonable explanation why her parents would steal from her and her sister. He would calm her fears and even offer to be there while she called her parents to find out what was really going on.

If things were really as bad as they seemed, he’d help her get past the betrayal.

Ashton strode toward her, and her shoulders relaxed. His dark hair was perfectly styled, his strong jaw was hard and slightly lifted, and his light eyes that earned him all the close-up screen time in the movies made for the hottest A-list actor, were shadowed by the luxury hotel behind him.

Ashton Warner was arguably the most popular actor in the world, and they’d been together since they met on the set of her sister’s breakout movie, Tuscan Dreams.

Alicia checked to make sure Max and Will were ready to move before walking to meet him. “I need to talk to–”

Ashton raised his hand. “We’ll talk after the event.”

He didn’t slow his stride. He didn’t look back. He walked right past her and got into the back seat of a waiting car.

Lillian huffed and pulled out her phone. “Oh no. He’s not getting away with that. Your time is important, and he waits till we get all the way here to cancel. I don’t think so.”

Alicia watched as Ashton’s car drove away. The pressure in her chest rose was as if it were climbing stairs. How dare he walk past her like that!

They always rode to events together. They never left each other’s side during public appearances. Those were unspoken rules in the spotlight. It didn’t matter if your relationship was on the rocks or not, if the media reported it, it might as well be true.

The media would know immediately that something was wrong if they didn’t arrive together, and Alicia didn’t need to see the forthcoming headlines to know that a storm bigger than her parents’ deception was waiting for her at the red carpet.

2

ALICIA

Stacy’s shouts woke Alicia mere seconds before her sister barged into her dark room. Pulling the covers to her chest and sitting up, she tried to focus her vision and prepare for the whirlwind invading her penthouse.

Light filled the room, sending a piercing stab behind her eyes. “Hey!”

“They got a lawyer. They hired the Rosche Firm!”

Alicia scooted back to rest against the headboard and covered her eyes. Right. Their parents had stolen over twenty million dollars from them and were now doubling down with counsel.

To be fair, their parents kept the Rosche Firm on retainer. For emergencies.

Apparently, stealing from your daughters was an emergency.

Alicia blinked past the sleep that pulled her eyelids down. She’d been in the land of the living for five whole seconds, and the nightmares of last night flooded in like the Hoover Dam bursting.

Mom and Dad’s betrayal, Ashton leaving her in front of The Plaza, the brush-off at the Stars.

Her outburst. Yikes.

The bad afternoon had snowballed into a terrible evening. After arriving alone to the Star Awards, Ashton had reluctantly stood beside her on the red carpet–stiff and unyielding, completely emotionless. Anyone with eyes could see the tension between them.

“And don’t get me started on that jerk, Ashton.” Stacy held up a finger. “He’s on my list. He’ll pay for last night.”

Alicia stretched her neck from side to side. “Trust me, I want to pluck his eyebrows out one by one too, Sis.”

She’d won four Stars at the ceremony, but no one wanted to talk about the long days and sleepless nights she’d endured to get them. Her family drama and expired relationship took center stage.

The hits kept coming. The sting in Ashton’s voice when he’d finally addressed her, claiming he couldn’t be associated with someone tied up in a scandal like this, would be hard to forget.

“Pull yourself together,” he’d seethed through gritted teeth, careful not to let anyone around hear his reprimand.

She’d never cried in public. She hardly ever cried at all, but losing trust in your parents and the kindness of your fiancé in one afternoon was enough to break anyone. Thankfully, she could still hold her head up high and put on a smile as fake as Ashton’s hairline.

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