Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“I’m home.” I called to nobody as I dropped my keys into the nearby ceramic dish, shutting the door to

my apartment behind me. I let out a breath, glad to finally be home.

Only silence answered me as usual.

My apartment was basic with minimal furniture and only a few photos hung on the fridge. The faucet

leaked, the carpet was missing in some spots, and there was a dusty smell to it. But it was home.

I sighed, checking my phone for the hundredth time. I had not heard from Damon all day, and it was

worrying me. He was the one that insisted we get started on having a baby soon, it wasn’t like him not

to keep in contact with me.

I’d barely made it to my kitchen when I heard a firm knock on my door.

I frowned, warily grabbing the pepper spray I kept by the door at all times just in case. I thought it had

been silly, but Damon had insisted on getting it for me.

Now, I was glad he did.

I held my finger on the trigger as I opened the door, and to my surprise, it wasn’t a burglar. “Mrs.

Merryweather?” I asked, in surprise.

My next-door neighbor, a sweet old lady with a cheery disposition, stood at my door with a smile. “Oh,

hello, dear! Did you happen to get my mail yesterday?” she asked, smiling kindly at me.

“Oh, yeah, I did.” I grabbed the mail from my side table, handing it over with a grin. “Here you go, Mrs.

Merryweather.”

“Oh, you’re such a dear. Thank you!”

She left as quickly as she came. I sighed, shutting my door.

I threw the pepper spray on the table, feeling like an idiot. I headed to the kitchen, but again, a knock

on my door halted me in my tracks.

I sighed. Who could this be now?

Mrs. Merryweather never stopped by more than once.

“Yes, Mrs-”

I threw open the door, but all the words I was going to say died in my throat.

It wasn’t Mrs. Merryweather.

It was Ashton. He was standing there smiling cooly at me.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice turning colder than ice.

Ashton sneered at me but didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed past me and entered my apartment.

“Ashton, what are you doing? Get out,” I said firmly. The last thing I wanted was to see him.

“Still as small and ugly as ever,” he said about my apartment as entered without permission.

“I did not invite you!” I shouted, shutting my door as I ran after him, “You need to leave right now! And

you can keep your opinions to yourself, I don’t care.”

“Are you in love with that “sshole?” Ashton said, refusing to look at me.

Chapter 13

“What?” I halted in my tracks, absolutely dumbfounded, “Who?”

“Damon!” Ashton whirled on me, resentment in his eyes.

I stepped back out of instinct. Did he barge into my apartment because of this? Why did he even care?

He was marrying my sister, after all!

Some nagging little piece of my brain whispered that this was a trap.

I narrowed my eyes at Ashton, not letting him intimidate me as my temper flared up. He had some

nerve coming into my apartment and demanding things from me.

“Is that any of your business?” I snapped.

“Answer me!” Ashton growled, grabbing my wrist tightly enough that it hurt.

I glared up at him, just as furious as he was.

“Yes. I am.” I lied and jerked my hand out of his grasp.

My answer was short, concise, and clear; there was no room for hidden meanings or other

interpretations.

Ashton stepped back from me, his eyes once seeming so kind and patient to me were filled with an

ugliness I reeled back from.

“Fine,” Ashton spat. “You are a whore. Just like your sister said.”

I flinched, but then snapped. I was not going to let him speak to me that way.

“Leave or I will call the police,” I pointed at the door, firmly. No hesitation, no second chances.

Ashton sneered at me before heading towards the door, stomping in his boots. He threw the door open

with more force than necessary and it hit the wall- leaving a large hole behind.

“Don’t forget about the NDA, Adelaide,” Ashton reminded me darkly, and then he was gone, and the

door slammed behind him.

I raced to the door, locking and deadbolting it. My legs felt weak and my hands were clammy.

I was scared, I realized. Ashton was so different suddenly.

I fell to my knees, no longer able to hold myself up, and clutched at the cold floor. Ashton had never

spoken to me that way before. I’d never seen him so angry and bitter.

I wrapped my arms around my shoulders, wondering if he would come back-if he would send someone

next time. Who else knew where my apartment was?

What if’s raced through my mind, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. My hands were already.

dialing the number I had quickly memorized. I paused right before hitting the call- unsure if I should.

Maybe Damon was busy. Maybe he didn’t have time. Maybe he’d be mad at me for letting Ashton in,

even though I hadn’t.

I curled up on the floor, leaning my head against the door as I realized how alone I really felt.

“Welcome home, Addie,” I muttered to myself.

“Ooh, what about her?” Jenna snacked on a popsicle as she leaned over my shoulder, pointing at the

photo of an actress.

“Too boring,” I shook my head. I flipped the page taking in the images of dozens more women.

They’d just delivered the potential actors for the role of one of our female leads in the movie, but I

Chapter 13

had yet to come to a decision. All of them seemed wrong for the job.

“She’s pretty,” Jenna pointed at the blonde on page 23.

“She seems like more of an action heroine. She might overshadow our lead,” I said, glancing over her

credentials, “Plus, she’s too young. She’s only 18.”

Jenna sighed, “You’re never going to pick a female lead at this rate.”

I rolled my eyes as I flipped to the next picture but paused in my tracks.

A pair of familiar eyes stared back at me from the photo.

Sure enough, on the top was written, ‘Corinna Summers.”

Corinna’s pseudonym as a model. She was already tormenting me in my personal life, no way was I

going to let her ruin my professional life as well.

“Oh, that one,” Jenna rolled her eyes, “The production team’s really pushing for her to join the cast. I

told them we could make her an extra or something, but they want her as a lead. It’s up to you,

though.”

“What’s up to her?” Gabriel asked, entering the tent with a confused look.

“The actress list for our female leads came in,” Jenna said, biting into her popsicle.

Gabriel looked over my other shoulder and spat out, “No way.”

Jenna and I both glanced up at him with surprised looks.

“Sorry,” he said, “but not her, please. She’s into some bad stuff.”

“You know her?” Jenna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Sort of,” Gabriel shifted his eyes away from her.

Jenna opened her mouth, probably to interrogate him, but a ringtone rang out through the tent. She

grabbed her phone, automatically answering.

“Go for Jenna,” she said casually, “Oh, Hi, Mr. Evans-”

Jenna walked out of the tent, the matter with us completely forgotten by now.

Gabriel sighed, taking the open seat next to me.

“Why do you not want her so much?” I asked, pointing to my half-sister’s portrait.

“Well,” Gabriel hesitated and then caved, “There was a rumor going around that she was sleeping with

a producer on the movie. That’s how she got on the call sheet. I don’t know if it’s true but…”

Corinna was sleeping with a producer? To get a part in a movie?

I was not even surprised anymore. I didn’t think she could do anything to surprise me at this point.

I shook my head, turning back to Corinna’s bright smile in the photo.

“Do you know anything else?” I asked, unsure if I wanted to know the answer.

“About Corinna?” he asked. When I nodded, he went on.

“I did see in the tabloids that she’s pregnant. They say that’s why she’s getting married so abruptly.”

Gabriel shrugged and said, “Personally, I don’t buy it.”

I stared at the photo of my sister in stunned silence. Could she be pregnant? I wouldn’t be surprised if

this was all fake and leaked by her, but what if she was already pregnant?

“I’m starving. Do you want anything, Director?” Gabriel yawned, getting to his feet.

Chapter 13

“No.” I shook my head.

“All right, then.”

Once I was sure Gabriel was gone, I pulled out my phone and quickly rang Damon’s number.

Corinna was pregnant? And Ashton barged into my apartment calling me a whore last night.

This was not good.

Damon needed to know everything, and I was surprised to know that I actually wanted to hear his

voice.

POV: *Adelaide