Worth The Fight

Chapter 25

When our meeting is finally over, I rush to go home. Everything in me is telling me I'll fail Bruce at some point and this has kept my mind busy since I entered my car to drive home.

As I enter my apartment, the stillness in the air catches me off-guard. For a second, I forgot Marcus will be spending the weekend away, so I make a mental note to shoot him a text before I go to bed.

Kicking off my shoes, I head to the couch, finally ready to see what the world is talking about me and a certain MMA fighter. I have three missed calls from Kayla and one from Tyler. But they can all wait.

I have some internet craziness to deal with first.

The gossip website link Kayla sent me earlier is the first thing I click, and the headline alone makes me want to throw up.

MMA fighter Tyler McGregor is seen with a mysterious woman and a source says she's the reason the world's beloved supermodel Christina Burton filed for divorce last year.

The article says we have been having an affair for around a year, and that after his ex discovered everything, she filed for a divorce. They mention Tyler has been hiding me and that they don't have much info about who I am yet. The comment section has me almost in tears with people calling me all sorts of things. And sure enough, the word home wrecker is thrown out there by people who have no idea who I am.

Damn it! I groan, opening the search bar and typing Tyler McGregor.

The number of links and information I'm faced with is colossal, and my heartbeat increases when I see the amount of pictures and videos about him. It's like my brain is finally accepting he's not just a fighter, but an incredibly famous one. Those you never get to meet in person, you know? Those who are impossibly unattainable.

I skip the other gossip sites for now, suddenly too scared to see what else they're saying about me. After all, what would this unbelievably famous fighter want to do with a girl like me?

At least, they don't seem to know who I am. But as my picture is out there now, I'm sure it won't take long for them to discover.

Sighing, I get my phone to search for him on Instagram. And sure enough, the thirty-two million followers he has confirm how out of my league I am with this man.

What are you doing, Andie? There's no way things between you two will ever work. Look at his life. You two are from completely different worlds. He's way out of your league. My subconscious snaps at me.

His feed is like my own personal way of torture and I can't help but keep scrolling. Most of his pictures and videos consist of him fighting or endorsement deals, but there are also some candid shots of him with his family and friends.

Some of the tension leaves my shoulders when I don't see anything related to his ex or any other woman. But my relief is, unfortunately, short-lived. Because when I click on the photos he was tagged, my heart stops for a second.

A wave of photos of him with his ex bombards my screen. Them walking the red carpet. Them leaving fancy restaurants. Them kissing on the beach.

God... I close my eyes, willing my heart to stop beating weirdly in my chest.

Christina Burton is gorgeous.

Tall enough that she can look Tyler in the eyes without bending her face, she's one of those people you can't help but do a double-take. Her high cheekbones and ocean-blue eyes are framed by long luscious blonde hair. Her heart-shaped face gives her an angelic look. And with an air of sophistication and refinement that makes her extremely attractive, she is the definition of beautiful according to society's standards.

She's also Tyler's ex.

I can't believe it.

I've never followed her career or personal life, but it's impossible not to have heard of her. She's sweet and funny and fights for all the rights causes. And on top of everything, she's gorgeous. Breathtakingly gorgeous.

Of course, the world loves her.

And of course, I'm freaking jealous.

I'm the opposite of her in every sense. At 5'2, I don't think I'm short per se. But I'm far from having the often desired slim and slender body type of a top model. My hourglass figure consists of full breasts and hips, and a big butt. My dark brown hair is often frizzy and pinned on the top of my hair in a messy bun and I don't remember the last time I visited the hairdresser. There is nothing sophisticated about me.

I can put out the effort to look good when I have to, but I'm a pajamas-all-day kind of girl. I don't wear makeup most of the time and I buy most of my clothes at department stores. God, I don't even own designer clothes.

Going back to my phone - because, apparently, I enjoy torturing myself - I study every picture of them together. I keep scrolling and scrolling until I convince myself that Tyler and I could never work.

The beep of my phone startles me and my eyes widen when I see it's a text from him.

TYLER: Hey, you! How's your day going? I tried to call you earlier...

Looking at my screen for a solid five minutes, I wonder what to reply. We mentioned meeting on the weekend, and the truth is that I already miss him. But after everything I just saw, I wonder how it'll be possible.

I obviously can't ignore him forever. Then, maybe talking in person so we can put an end to this is the best thing to do. Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. We're both adults. We should be able to sit down and talk.

ME: I just got home. Do you want to come over?

Oh, no! Will he imply I'm inviting him for sex? I send him another text.

ME: We could order some pizza?

TYLER: Sounds great. I could be there in 30 minutes :)

ME: See you soon.

Why is my heart skipping a beat and getting all excited about seeing him? I wonder as I rush to the bathroom to shower the workday away. The plan is to order some pizza and have an adult conversation, I think as I shoot Tyler a text with my apartment number. We'll part on good terms and people will forget all about me.

We both come from different worlds and there's no way it could ever work between us. We've just met each other, so it's not like we've developed feelings for each other, right? Sure, there's a lot of chemistry between us, but that is it.

_____

A/N: How do you think this conversation will go?

Please remember to vote! <3

XOXO

Celeste