Page 63 of Mr. Aster
“I didn’t read them because I don’t allow keyboard warriors and people who don’t know me to take up space in my head or have that kind of control over?—”
“Save your psychological bullshit for someone who isn’t yourfiancéeon social media where the venomous snakes have hatched and come for her.”
“Are you concerned about other people’s opinions of you?” I questioned, wondering if I needed to shield her from the public eye. “I don’t want you hurt in any of this.”
“Too late for that,” she said, pulling her arm from mine. “Let’s just say that the world will once again rejoice when you go back on the market as an eligible bachelor. For now, they hate me because you’re not.”
“Well, mostly children are on those sites.”
“That’s what you think. Social media is the lifeline for everyone with a smartphone these days.”
“I understand,” I said sincerely, “and we don’t have to go to dinner tonight. I didn’t consider the possibility of people forming nasty comments about you.”
“It’s just annoying,” she said grumpily, “because if they knew thetruth, specifically aboutyou, they’d feel sorry for me.”
I looked at her with concern, ignoring what she implied about her true feelings about me. I was more concerned with what the people were saying about her.
“How many comments are there, and how many views of these uploaded videos?”
“Hundreds of thousands of likes and views, it’s the number one watched reel on social media. As for the comments, I have no idea because I forced myself to stop looking once I realized the vast majority of them are focused on hating me and feeling bad you lost your wife, only to be stuck with me. The one comment I remember most is the one that said,‘This isn’t surprising. He’s been living in a cave for the last year, so when he comes out into the light, his eyes are still adjusting, and he can’t see how nasty this chick really is…’Super sweet stuff.”
“What the fuck?”
“I get it. People get nasty when they’re jealous and mean when someone poses a threat to them, but what I don’t understand is how the fuck I’m a threat to them. Unless, of course, these are all the women inyourcrowd on the East Coast?”
I shook my head, feeling remorse, “I didn’t realize any of that would be taken and used to attack you. I am truly sorry, and I will have the videos taken down.”
“As if,” she sighed. “Hey, I know you have a shit load of money, but you can’t take videos off the internet like that, grandpa.” She laughed and then shrugged her shoulders. “Fuck it, eh? It’s fine. I just need to be on top of my game when we’re in the public eye, especially if you are going to plan our outings with the intention of being seen. It’s only fair.”
“I completely understand,” I answered. “Go change back into your pretty red dress. I’ll cancel our reservations on the beach and make one for dinner at The Carolina, and then I’ll inform Spencer and Natalia that there is a change of plans.”
“And risk looking like I’m too good to eat on the beach?” she started to laugh. “No. Let’s worry about keeping our friends happy. Just keep me ahead of the game when you plan our outings, and all will be fine. I just don’t want to give anyone fuel for the fires they’re lighting all over the place. I understand I will never make anyone happy when it comes to you, but I at least want to feel confident while I’m pissing all of them off.”
“Do you hate me for this?” I only asked because I knew the woman despised me already, but this was another level. She was being attacked on my behalf by people I didn’t even know, which was only adding insult to the injuries I’d inflicted since I met her.
“No, I don’t hate you for this,” she answered. “I hate myself for looking at the comments and caring about what anonymous people think about me. I don’t know how celebrities and public figures do it. I would never want to leave my home.”
“Well, they’re trained to appreciate the bad press,” I shrugged. “However, negativity is negativity, and whether you make money off the bad press or not, foul comments are painful, even if they aren’t true.”
“And you would know a thing or two about that?” she arched an eyebrow at me.
“Not at all,” I smirked. “I’m only upset that you allowed those miserable individuals into your headspace. You look much too beautiful tonight to have anyone dull your sparkle.”
“Well, thank you for that,” her cheeks blushed as she cleared her throat and stood tall and confidently with her shoulders back. “Now, let’s go to the beach.”
“And here’s the couple of the year,” Spencer said, standing to greet us as we arrived at the Boat Bar. “How are you doing, Seb?” he questioned, then looked to Darcy, reaching for her hand topolitely greet her. “And you’re still as gorgeous as the last time I saw you on Jake’s yacht, Darcy.”
“Not much has changed in a couple of weeks, thankfully,” Darcy laughed.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Spencer eyed me again. “A lot has changed, I reckon, especially since I thought you’d be a miserable, lonely bastard for the rest of your life. That much has certainly changed.”
I chuckled, greeting Natalia as she rose, hugged Darcy, and then placed her hand in mine for a delicate handshake.
“Well, we flipped the script on everyone, didn’t we?” I said with a grin.
“Sorry we’re late,” Darcy said as we sat in the chairs across from them. “After my ass got handed to me in the comment section of this man’s social media video debut, I got a little insecure when I found out we’d be eating in full view of everyone’s phone cameras.”
“Don’t tell me you give a damn what those assholes say,” Natalia said frankly, which was the only way she ever spoke. “I certainly don’t give a shit what people have to say, and they’re almost always stating facts about me.” She laughed and looked at Spencer, who gazed at her like she was his pride and joy.
