Page 31 of Flat Out
"I know. Now go knock them dead. You know what you're doing. Let the world see you're not just some dumb blonde who expects handouts. You're a woman standing up for what's right and knows more about contract law than most people will ever know. So let them see the power of a woman who doesn't flinch, even in the face of adversity."
I sucked in a deep, cathartic breath and rolled my shoulders back. “You’re right.”
“Yes, just like I’m right that Callum will show up right when you need him. Trust me on that.” She was so sure of herself when she said it, and something in that made my hackles rise.
My pulse stumbled, suspicious. “Ivy,” I warned. “What are you up to?”
“No spoilers,” she said quickly, then lowered her voice into something conspiratorial. “Just… remember the last picture you gave him.”
The reminder twisted like a knife and soothed like a balm at the same time.Yours. Always.Stupid tears pricked my eyes and I stared up at the vanity lights, blinking them away. I was such a goddamn mess these days, and I wasn’t sure how to get out of this.
When I didn’t say anything, Ivy hummed knowingly. “Exactly. So go show the world that same woman. The one who doesn’t flinch. And please, for the love of God, put on a smile. You’ll need it tonight.”
"D'accord." I said my goodbyes to her, just as the door behind me opened.
An intern approached quietly, setting a chilled water bottle on the table beside me. “They’re ready in five.”
I nodded without lifting my head. My heart pounded like I was gearing up to race, not sit under a spotlight and smile for the world.
I took one last look at myself. “You look like shit,” I whispered with a watery smile that looked as broken as I felt. My reflection didn’t flinch. “Putain. I feel like it.”
Then I left the room, my heels echoing in the hallway and sounding like my pulse. Heavy, reverberating, loud. If I could survive everything I had, I could smile through a shattered heart and put on the best performance of my goddamn life.
Another intern approached me backstage, mic'ing me up and waiting to usher me out, but I was numb. Disconnected from reality as I stepped into the spotlights with a fake grin splitting my face. I shook Cleo Fontaine’s hand. She introduced me with excitement and admiration, then sat back in an armchair; I sat stiffly across from her on the long sofa, every muscle coiled tight. The cameras were rolling, the audience clapping, the world was watching the way they always were.
Just one more show before I could take a break.
Cleo asked how I was holding up. What I’d learned, what I wanted the world to take away from the last week. I said all the right things, but I didn’t feel any of them.
But then her tone changed.
"There's been a lot of attention on the people supporting you behind the scenes," she said casually. "And a few of them have been very, very vocal in their defense, potentially facing fines of their own."
I blinked, my brain trying to catch up with the turn of conversation. "Right…" Was she talking about the boys?
"Well," she smiled mysteriously, "I think it's only fair they get a chance to say some of it themselves."
I froze. What the hell was she talking about? This wasn't on the docket?—
"Come on out, boys."
I turned toward the entrance just as the studio doors opened. Marco walked out first, tall and dressed in sharp dark slacks and a white button-down, paired with his signature cheeky grin. Then Kimi, who looked dangerously amused and surprisingly polished in a navy polo that hugged his lean frame. And behind them, in all black—crisp and pressed—and neatly pushed back waves… was my Callum.
Mon Dieu, help my heart, soul,andpussy, I beg of thee.
He held a bouquet of pale pink peonies in one hand and had a devastatingly beautiful smile on his face. He looked exhausted, but he washere.Alive and on his own two feet and looking so much better than the last time I saw him.
Thiswas what Ivy was hiding from me. Sneaky bitch—I'd give her an earful later.
I rose to my feet, stepping to meet them halfway. Everything I'd been feeling faded to the background, my world blurring when Marco swooped me in for a hug. I laughed, wrapping my arms around him.
"Can't get rid of us, Dubois," he murmured before pulling back and all but throwing me into Kimi's waiting arms.
"You're here early," I said into Kimi's shoulder.
He chuckled. "Yeah, you can thank your boyfriend for that."
I had no response time before Callum was prying me from Kimi's embrace. He handed me the flowers, and just when I raised my teary eyes to his, he stepped into my space. Then, in front of the entire studio, he cupped my face with both hands and kissed me. I gasped against his mouth, and his tongue swept across mine, and my entire bodyshiveredin response.
