Recklessness

CH 4

Brittany wasn’t ready for the call. She was still half-asleep, curled up under a pile of blankets, dreaming about foggy Dublin mornings and Cian’s crooked smile. Her phone’s shrill ring pierced the calm, and she groaned, reaching for it.

“Brittany!” her manager’s voice came through, tense and frantic. “Where have you been? You’re blowing up, but not in a good way.”

She blinked, instantly alert. “Wait—what?”

“Photos, Brittany. Photos of you with some guy in Dublin. It’s all over the internet, and people are eating it up. Everyone wants to know who he is, if you’re dating, if he’s your boyfriend, if you’re quitting—”

“Wait, hold on!” she interrupted, her mind racing. “How did they even get those photos? I haven’t posted anything!”

“They’re from random bystanders, a few of you two walking together, holding hands… it’s everywhere, Brit. We need to control this. People are asking if you’re abandoning your work in LA or if you’re just taking off on some whim.”

Brittany’s stomach twisted as she thought about how private her time with Cian had felt—how careful she’d been to avoid the limelight, to keep him out of the public eye. But apparently, it hadn’t been enough.

“I’ll be back soon. I just needed some time off,” she said, trying to sound confident.

“Soon isn’t good enough. People want answers now. They’re already starting to question if you’re ditching the whole influencer thing.”

After a few more tense minutes, Brittany finally hung up, her heart heavy with guilt. She hadn’t thought that spending time with Cian would affect her work like this. But as she got up and stared out the window at the rain-soaked city, she knew one thing—she had to tell him before he found out on his own.

---

Later that day, she met Cian at a small café near St. Stephen’s Green, one of her favorite spots in the city. She felt anxious as she walked in, scanning the room until she saw him seated by the window, his gaze wandering out to the rain-dappled street.

“Hey, you,” he greeted her with that warm smile she’d come to look forward to.

But as she took her seat across from him, her own smile faltered. “Cian, there’s something I need to tell you,” she began, her voice tight.

He tilted his head, picking up on her tone. “What’s going on?”

Taking a deep breath, she explained the call, the photos, and the media storm brewing back in LA. “I wanted to keep things private,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “But I guess the world had other plans.”

Cian frowned, his usual playful demeanor replaced by something more guarded. “So, people are… watching us?”

“Apparently,” she admitted, guilt twisting in her gut. “It’s not fair to you, I know. I wanted this to be just ours, just us.”

He looked down at his coffee, his expression unreadable. “You know, Brit, I didn’t think anything of it when I saw people with their phones out. It’s not my world, you know?”

“I know,” she said quickly, reaching out to touch his hand. “And I hate that this affects you.”

Cian sighed, and though he kept his hand on hers, she could feel him tense. “Brittany, what happens now?”