Page 81 of Snow Balled

26

SIERRA

For once, I slept straight through the night. The few times I did stir, I barely registered feeling warm and cherished before sinking into slumber again.

In the morning, we couldn’t escape the sunlight that edged around the window coverings. But we were in no hurry get up, and I got to add a few more things to my very limited experience with sex.

But later, it felt good to take a shower and stretch my stiff muscles. To accomplish the latter, I asked Tristan if he’d go for a walk with me. On the surface, it looked a lot similar to when we’d met outside at the ruined snow fort, but it felt totally different.

Today, I felt comfortable with him. We held hands. And every ten steps or so, my face flushed as I remembered last night, and I thought I would burst with happiness.

Ironically, we were passing the snow fort again on the way back when my phone rang. I pulled it out, intending to ignore it, but then I saw who was calling. “It’s my friend Ronnie. Do you mind if I get this?”

“Of course not. I’ll make some repairs to the castle, milady, as I wait.”

I flashed him a smile and then answered the call.

My smile didn’t last long after she her perfunctory greeting.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her. “Are your guys all okay?”

“They’re fine, but I have bad news. Really bad news.”

She sounded so upset that a chill that had nothing to do with the outside hair tore through me. “Are Kylie and Alyssa okay? Please tell me what happened.”

Tristan looked over, concern on his face. “What is it?” he asked.

“Everyone’s fine, but who was that?” Ronnie asked. “Whoever it is, you might not want him to hear this.”

My stomach dropped, and I had no clue what was going on, but I knew it was bad.

Ronnie continued on. “Or, if you trust him, maybe it’s good to have someone with you.”

I looked into Tristan’s light blue eyes. He held my gaze steadily. Finally, I spoke. “I trust him,” I told Ronnie. “I’m putting you on speaker.”

Tristan nodded and came over to stand by me. That meant a lot to me.

Ronnie took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but there was a leak. A scene from the movie was leaked online.”

My first thought was to laugh. What did I care about that? Maybe Aiden would. Maybe he didn’t want any plot twists to get out. But then Ronnie kept going.

“It was the sex scene.”

Tristan’s eyes met mine as shock filtered through me. That was bad… really bad, but in another month, people would be seeing that scene anyway after the premiere of the film. It hadn’t been easy filming it, but at least it hadn’t involved any actual nudity. “What’s the studio have to say about this?”

“I haven’t gotten to the worst part,” she said, and her voice sounded awful. Ronnie was one of the strongest people I knew, mentally and physically, and her tone scared the hell out of me. Reaching out, I touched the back of my hand to Tristan’s. He engulfed my hand in his and squeezed.

“I’m so sorry, Sierra, but it was leaked to someone on the dark web, and they doctored it. They… well, do you know what deepfake technology is? They basically put your head on another model’s body so that it looks like you’re naked—and that you’re really having sex.”

It felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I doubled over as my empty stomach heaved. The phone dropped from my hand.

“Hold on,” Tristan said to Ronnie as he pulled me upright and into his embrace. He held me while my entire body shook, and tears streamed down my face. Finally, he kissed my forehead and then let me go just long enough for him to get the phone. “We’re here.”

“I’m so sorry, Sierra. So very, very sorry.”

“Why doesn’t the studio just put out a statement saying that the sex scene from the movie was leaked and that it’s just acting, not the real deal?” Tristan demanded.

Ronnie hesitated. “Aiden told me they haven’t decide on an official statement yet, but it’s likely they’re just going to ignore it and let it blow over.

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