Page 16 of Wonderland

“You get left behind?” I finished her sentence for her. Ava looked at me, alarmed, her red hair catching the flashes of light from the club. “It’s okay to be scared. I understand the fear of loving a rock star.”

“How do you do it?” Ava looked back toward Alex and the band. The press were busy taking photos and asking questions. “Alex is a freaking God! Everyone knows him, and most women want him. How do you control your jealousy?”

“That’s easy. The Alex I have behind closed doors is a version no one gets to see but me. They have to put on this show, Ava—they owe it to the fans—but as long as your relationship is true and strong, nothing will break you. Have you got a job to keep you busy while you’re on tour? I was Alex’s PA and that kept me busy.”

“I’m a freelance accountant. I’m always busy.”

“An accountant, you say? What kind of revenue are you in control of?” Alex and I had been looking for someone to add to the business.

“Why? Are you offering me a job?” she snorted, looking at the seriousness of my gaze. “Oh, fuck! You are? I handle multi-billion dollar accounts, mostly.” It looked as if we had our business accountant.

“That was a good call with Ava.” I’d explained everything to Alex on the car ride home. “Why didn’t we know sooner? I can’t believe she deals with some of the accounts from my advertising sponsors.”

“Yeah, her references are glowing. At least it will take some of the pressure off Oliver’s accounts team. Don’t get me wrong, I know he can handle it—he’s a multi-billionaire, after all—but having someone that can put all our figures into a report will be useful.”

“I don’t think Oliver’s team ever feels pressure, Nat. He runs a tight ship.”

“How are we looking at paying him back, anyway?”

“With the pre-orders for Central Demons, The Midnight Outcasts, and the small artists, we’re a quarter of the way there.” Wow, and that was in just a year! “Your skin is glowing. Do you know how beautiful you look right now?”

“You’ve been very charming this week.” Tilting my head, I could feel my cheeks blush. This pregnancy was making me look extremely healthy and I swear my breasts had gotten firmer.

“I’m charming every day, in my own way.” Alex winked as we stepped out of the car. Okay, he had a point!

Liv was waiting outside to greet Shane as we walked into the mansion together. “Did you see the breaking news?” Liv stressed, rushing over. By the look of worry on her face, it was something to do with either Alex or me. Fuck! The press couldn't have learnt about the baby, could they? Alex, the doctor, and I were the only ones who knew!

“What is it?” Shane asked, touching Liv’s face.

“Madison Lily is saying she’s having an affair with Alex behind Nat’s back! There are provocative photos of them everywhere!” That fucking bitch! Why did she keep popping up? I knew the pictures would be old, but the press and general public didn’t.

“You can’t be fucking serious?” Alex seethed. “That fucking bitch!” He turned to me with worried eyes. “You know, I’d…I’d never…”

“I know.” I soothed his panic by touching his lips with my fingers. “It’s got to be David or Matt behind this. We’ll work it out.”

“Liv, get on the phone with PR. We need to squash this bullshit…fast!” I ordered, grabbing my phone before heading to my office near the pool house.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Alex grabbed me by the arm. “Liv can sort this out. You need to rest!”

“I can make a few phone calls, Alex. I need to help figure this out. Stop worrying.” Motioning toward Liv and Shane, who were still standing by us, I widened my eyes at him. They would work out I was pregnant if he carried on.

“Holy shit!” It was too late; Liv had worked it out. “You’re fucking pregnant, aren’t you? I knew something was weird between the two of you!” Shane gasped before patting Alex on the back. “How far along are you? Holy fuck, you’re having Alex Harbour’s baby!”

“I think Nat is aware of that, Liv,” Alex snorted, rolling his eyes at her. “When are you going to see me as a normal human being?”

“That’s a stupid question,” I pointed out to Alex. “Does anyone see you as a normal human being?”

“Fair point,” he replied with a warm smile. “For the record, yes, Nat and I are having a baby, but it’s not going public for a few months.”

“I can’t take this much excitement,” Liv stressed, throwing her arms around me. “I need to do some work before I freak out!” Maddison Lily had her uses, at least. Tidying up her mess kept us busy for a few days while Liv and Shane let our baby news sink in.

The photos circulating were really old. It was easy to squash all the allegations when we pointed out that Alex didn’t have his new arm tattoo in the pictures the tabloid printed. We told them that if they took everything down, we wouldn’t file charges for defamation. Alex did a press release explaining that he’s never been in a relationship with Maddison Lily, and that she had simply been obsessed with him since they did a photo shoot together years ago.

She countered his press release by claiming that she’d been a victim of his rock and roll lifestyle. That he’d tried to get her hooked on drugs. It was ridiculous. With all the clickbait online, people made up their own minds about it. Of course, it was easier for most to blame the addict rock star for destroying the beautiful, up-and-coming model. I hated the human race, at times. They were so gullible. I told Alex to let it go. You can’t fight the media and win. If a story sells, they’ll keep going with it. The trick was to give them nothing.

Maddison’s fake news was forgotten within a month and hadn’t done much damage to Alex and me. We kept a united front. Anyone who saw the way Alex looked at me, had no doubt where his loyalty and love lay.

Our first doctor's appointment confirmed that I was now eleven weeks pregnant. Watching little bean on the screen and hearing a heartbeat, Alex and I were already smitten. Our thoughts were consumed with baby names, nursery ideas, and a whole future with our child. It was the healthiest addiction Alex had ever had.

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