“Is that what they told you that you had to do?”
I see Olivia’s eyes dart up at the question, and I’m glad she’s paying attention. She needs to know what a piece of shit this guy is, so she never hesitates to keep Bee away from him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here because I want to be.” His eyes tell me otherwise as panic briefly flashes across them.
“Come on,” I goad. “We both know they own you. Once you drop to your knees, they will blackmail you until the day you die.”
His face turns white as a ghost, and I realize I’ve hit the nail on the head.
“What’s he talking about, Mark?” Olivia whispers.
“He’s grasping at straws, is what he’s doing.” An uneasy laugh escapes him as he tries to play it off. “Let’s just go, Vee. I’ll take you to dinner, and we can sort this whole thing out. You don’t want to be with a guy like him. Heopenedfor me for Christ's sake. He couldn’t even handle being on the road and quit like a pussy. You deserve better than a has-been. I can give you a better life and more things than he ever could.”
“A guy like me?” I laugh. “I would rather bust my ass for years to make it big, which we did by the way, selling more albums in a year than you, I might add, than drop to my knees and suck a dick to climb the ladder faster.”
I hear Olivia gasp next to me as my words sink in.
“Whatever you heard…” Mark starts to say, but I cut him off.
“What Iknowis that you were a nobody, and suddenly you’re signing a record deal and soaring to the top. You either got real lucky or you got real good at sucking dick. Judging byhow white your face is, I’m guessing the latter. And now, according to the chatter in the music industry that I’m hearing, you need a rebranding. They are tired of covering your ass and bailing you out of drug and sex scandals, so they want to see you settle down. And what better way to do that than to gain a beautiful family on your arm and show your fans what a changed man you are.”
“Is this true?” Olivia asks suddenly, her eyes turning to a green blaze.
His uneasy silence as he racks his brain for an excuse is all she needs for an answer.
“Get the fuck out of my house.” She points to the door, and his eyes turn cold when they flick to me and he realizes I’ve got him by the balls.
“I think she told you to get the fuck out of her house. I’m giving you two seconds to leave before I throw you out myself,” I say, crossing my arms and daring him to challenge me. He turns to go, but I’m not through with him yet, as I take it one step further. “If you ever bother Olivia or try to contact Bee, I will end your career so fast you won’t see it coming.” He stops when he hears my threat, but keeps his back to me. “Guys like you are a dime a dozen to them, and if the news outlets ever got proof of what you did to get to the top, they wouldn’t hesitate to throw you to the wolves to save their own asses.”
His hands clench at his sides, but he leaves without a word, shutting the door on his way out. Taking a deep breath, I turn toward Olivia to see what damage he has caused.
“Don’t,” she says, walking away before I can even get a word in. I follow her, and she shuts her bedroom door and locks it before I can stop her.
“Olivia…” I place my hands on the door frame and lean closer to it. I can feel her on the other side, so I know she’s listening. “I’m sorry you had to hear all of that. It’s the only way I knew how to get him out of your life for good. I didn’t even know the rumors I had heard were true until I saw his face.”
She swings open the door, her eyes blazing with fire as I take a step back.
“That’swhat you think I’m upset about? I couldn't care less about Mark and his pathetic life. I care about you.You, you asshole,” she says, pointing a finger at my chest. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” I’ve had so much thrown at me that my mind is in a tailspin right now.
“Did you get that girl pregnant and then leave your child? Because if you did, I swear to God, I’m going to go apeshit on your ass. I let you in and trusted you. Oh God,” she moans and covers her face. “You’re on my fucking body.”
“On your body?” I ask, suddenly confused about what she’s rambling about.
“Just answer my question,” she says quietly, wiping the tears from her eyes that are now spilling down her face.
Wanting to comfort her, I reach for her, only to get my hand swatted away.
Sighing, I run my hand through my hair in frustration and to keep from pulling her into my arms. I hate seeing her fucking cry because of me.
“It’s not what you think. It was a long time ago when our band first started getting big. I slept with this girl once, and a couple of months later, she went online saying she was pregnant with my child. For attention or to get money out of me…I have no fucking clue. It probably was both,” I mutter. “I knew right away she was lying because, like I told you, I never went without a condom.” I lift my eyes to hers, and she looks away, her arms folded tightly against her chest.
“My publicist said I should have a paternity test done to completely shut it down with proof. The test came back negative just like I knew it would, but the rumors are still out theresomewhere, and scumbags like Mark just love to use it to stir shit back up again.”
She finally looks at me, and I can’t hold it back any longer. I want her to know all of me, and to do that, she needs to know where my heart lies.
“I’m sorry that my past comes with a lot of baggage. If I could change some of it, I would, but I can’t regret it because it led me here…to you.”
