Maisie Knowles has hidden her identity and lies to everyone she knows to follow her dreams of becoming a successful author, but when she meets Theo Park, the actor playing the male lead in the movie based on her book, all the secrets she hid so well...
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Theo had to know. Was this why they'd offered to walk me to my car? To corner and question me? They were still suspicious of me? I opened my mouth, trying to think of a lie on the spot, but failing. A knot formed in my stomach and I fell back a step, against my car door, my eyes darting around the empty parking lot as if looking for an escape.
I couldn't be found out like this. I needed to think of a lie. Why wouldn't my brain work? What if Theo found out? He would tell everyone. He was famous. I'd be known to everyone within minutes if he posted it on social media. My whole family would find out. My mom would find out. My lies would crumble. My life would be over. I couldn't be found out, I couldn't be found out—
"Hey." Theo's voice was low and he stepped close to me, frowning.
I pressed myself up against my car even further, sucking in a deep breath. Why couldn't I think? What could I even say? I needed an excuse, quickly. I was being too suspicious. Any second now he'd call me out—
"Hey," Theo repeated, this time in a firmer tone. "I don't know what has you so worked up, but if you don't want to answer my question, you don't have to."
My mind stopped racing, the sudden silence of the empty parking lot almost deafening compared to my frantic thoughts. "H-huh?"
Theo's gaze went to my hands, which I had balled so tightly that my nails dug into my palms painfully. "It's not like I'm going to go around telling everyone. I don't particularly care if you got this position through connections. As long as it wasn't so you could try to get close to either one of the other actors or me."
That's what he thought? He didn't know my secret? I panicked over nothing?
Even though I now knew my secret was still safe, my heart wouldn't calm down. A chill swept through me and I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. I'd never once thought someone had found me out before this. Not even Zara's accusation earlier had shaken me like this. I didn't realize how much anxiety it would bring me to have to face the truth coming out. My teeth chattered uncontrollably.
I hated it. I hated that I felt like this because of my lies, and I hated that I had to use more lies to cover for lies.
"You have to admit, you are a little suspicious," Theo said, stepping back, now looking a little guilty for having cornered me. "The earlier incidents can be passed off as such, but it is strange you'd be invited to this dinner. You can't blame me for being wary."
I needed to say something before he grew even more suspicious. Why hadn't we come up with a lie to give everyone? We hadn't thought anyone would question the assistant script supervisor position, but Theo had a point here— I'd been invited to eat with the cast in a private setting. That couldn't be normal for an assistant. He was right to think something was up.
