Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
I nodded and thanked her. I debated going out to talk to her right then and there, but I knew Karl wouldn’t have loved that idea too much.
“Once she’s back, do you think you can ask her to come to my room to talk?” I asked Kate.
“Yeah, of course. Not a problem.”
“Thank you, Kate.”
“Welcome. And Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“People are dicks online. This isn’t your fault.”
My brows lowered. “What makes you think I’m blaming myself?”
“Because Hailee has told me a lot about you. If you’re the person she claims you to be, which I think you are, then you’re blaming yourself.”
I gave her a lazy smile and thanked her before disappearing to my room. The moment I stepped inside, I tossed off my jacket and paced my room. I took calls from my public relations team to see how to spin the story. My PR team told me to hold off and wait. To say nothing. Hailee texted me and told me she’d stop by my room during her lunch break.
The waiting was killing me.
It felt like every second that passed, more commentary went live online.
When Hailee finally showed up to my room, I opened the door and felt a wave of emotions as she stood in front of me.
“Hi,” she whispered, a small smile on her lips.
“Hey. Come in.”
She did as I said and closed the door behind her.
“Listen—” we said in unison. We both chuckled, and she gestured toward me.
“You first,” she offered.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I’m sorry this shit is happening again and it’s like some weird fever dream. I’m sorry for the nasty shit people are saying online about you. I’m sorry about it all. I’ve been talking to my PR team, and we are coming up with a plan to—”
“Don’t,” she cut in. “We’re just going to let it be.”
My heart sank. “What? No. People don’t get the right to talk about you in those ways. I know how hard it was for you five years ago, and your father was right. It’s my job to protect you from this kind of stuff. And if I can’t do that—”
“Aiden.” She walked over to me and took my hands into hers. “It’s not your job.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No. It’s not. If you feel as if you need to put out a statement on your behalf, by all means, do it. But if you’re doing it because of me, then I urge you not to.”
“But…”
“I’m okay,” she stated. “Did it shock me at first? Yeah. Was I transported back to those old insecurities that existed when I was seventeen? Sure, for a moment. Then I remember how far I’ve come. I’m not that young girl anymore, Aiden. I’m not broken and scared of what the world thinks of me, because I know who I am, and I’m so deeply confident in myself that the outside noise is nothing more than a slight buzzing sound.”
I swallowed hard. “I just feel bad about the things they are saying, and the only reason they are saying those things is because of me.”
She placed a hand against my cheek. “I choose you. Back then, I was blindsided. I didn’t know what to expect, but now I’ve had experience with the media, and I know how it works, how it moves. And this is me saying ‘okay’ to it all. I choose this life because I choose you. The stories will die down. The internet will find someone else to talk about. We will ignore it all, and we will be okay. We have to unplug from social media and live our lives. That’s how we win—by not playing their game.”
I swallowed hard and rested my forehead against hers. “But your father—”
“Is human, which means he’s not perfect. He reacted from an emotional state and feared watching his daughter suffer again, but I’m no longer suffering. I know who I am. I love who I am. I love this body of mine in all of its glory. I love my hip dips, and stomach rolls, and stretch marks. I don’t live in a world where people could create new insecurities for me anymore because my love for self is so loud that it drowns out their sounds. Do you know why I’m able to do that?”
“Why’s that?”
“Because of you.” She took my hands into hers and guided me to my bed, where she sat me down. She stood in front of me and removed her shoes and socks. She took the back of her hand and caressed her cheeks. “You told me that this was beautiful.” She then moved to her blouse and began undoing the buttons, revealing her bra and stomach. Her hands wandered across her arms, across her stomach, across her chest.
Her beautiful, luscious breasts…
I could stare at her body for the rest of my life, and it still wouldn’t be long enough.