A Blaze In My Heart

55. "I have a life, Blayze! I have work to do, places to be."

(2493 words)

I fell onto the nearest chair, holding my head in my hands. "Damn it, damn it, damn it." I cursed under my breath.

Blayze knelt down in front of me. "Mihrimah, hey listen-" he tried holding my hands, but I pulled away.

"Do not try to console me! Do you realise how bad this makes me look? My parents are going to see that! My friends! It just looks like I'm another one of your flings!" I lashed out.

He took a deep breath, staying calm. "Mihrimah, you and I are practically public figures. You know how the media is. They just care about the ratings, not the truth. You can tell your parents that there's no truth to it. Besides, a picture of us side by side on an escalator in a mall is no proof of a sizzling affair. People don't know we're working together yet. Once we do the press for the app, that will put things into perspective, okay?"

I listened calmly to each word he said. He was right, but I wasn't used to there being such headlines about me. It made me immensely uncomfortable. "You're used to this. I'm not." I grumbled, hanging my head.

"I know, I understand. We'll... we'll just meet up behind closed doors from now, okay?" He said, standing up from the floor.

I nodded my head slowly.

"Maybe you should talk to your parents about it, before they hear it from someone else." He suggested.

"The headline is true, Blayze..." I looked up at him. "We do have a sizzling affair."

"No one has to know that."

I sighed. "Do you think someone knows about us?"

"Not a chance. It's what the tabloids do. All they needed was a picture, then they created the most ridiculous headline they could."

"Our affair is ridiculous?"

"I wouldn't call it an affair."

"What would you call it then?" I questioned, looking at him expectantly. He opened his mouth, then closed it, clearly speechless.

I scoffed, turning to leave. "Mihrimah, wait! Don't leave yet." He called from behind.

"I have work, Blayze. And so do you. More important stuff than mere affairs." I said without looking back, and with that, I walked away as fast as I could.

———

I barely got through work. My mind was constantly on the headline and Blayze. Was I being unfair to him? He seemed clueless to the storm that was constantly brewing inside of me. I kept trying to keep it at bay, but it was becoming unbearable. Why couldn't he be in love with me? He clearly didn't feel that way or he would have confessed by now.

His missed calls and texts remained ignored in my phone. I needed a break. I had to clear my mind.

I called dad first and explained that article situation to him. To my surprise, he wasn't upset at all because he knew how the media works. He told me to ignore it and not let it get to me.

I was about to call mom, when I received a call from her instead. Oh no.

"Hello?"

"Mihrimah!" Her furious voice sounded through the phone, and I clenched my eyes shut. "I told you, I warned you to stay away from him! I told your dad as well. It was stupid enough having you working as his PA, and then he came up with this collaboration idea. I told him it was a horrible idea, but he didn't listen to me!"

"Mom, please li—"

"How could you let his charms work on you?!" She almost screeched. "Don't you know his reputation? Out of all the men in the world, him? Really? I don't like him one bit. You're having a sizzling affair with him? Oh my God, I can feel my blood pressure dropping. Sizzling affair... what the heck is that even supposed to mean? What are you doing with him that's so sizzling?!"