To Love And Be Loved

Chapter 25

Victor watched Cass get out of the car. It felt like a part of him was been ripped away. He gripped the steering until his knuckles ached and threatened to pop out of their joints.

He couldn't explain what was going on in his head. Cass felt like a piece of luxury he wanted to jealously guard. With Cass he felt ashamed of his past and the things he had done. He felt like he had to mean something to someone. Someone other than Will. She made him feel and he hated feeling.

"Cassie," he called after her. Her hair whipped around as she turned. "You won't get scarred," he said. His words had never felt so sincere in his ears.

She turned without a word and walked towards her house. A little girl opened the door before she reached the porch. He watched Cass ruffle her hair and they both went inside.

He started the car and began to drive. His phone rang, it was Seyi. He knew she'd be pissed for not picking her calls the previous day.

"What?" he said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she said. She was pissed.

"I'm suffering from something you can't fix."

"You are not a child," she said. "I have neither the time nor the budget to stalk you or chase you around. So you are going to have to be ready when my cameras are there. A slip in critic ratings won't sit well with my bosses."

"Is that all?" asked Victor. He wasn't in the mood to argue.

"I've got a surprise waiting for you at the Lotus."

"Surprise? I hate surprises. They are surprising."

"Meanwhile, my feelings are hurt that you didn't tell me about the Macaulay girl."

Victor hit the brake and froze. "What?" he said. "How..."

"Don't worry, darling. I know things."

"You better don't- " he began but then he heard two beeps that meant the line was dead. Seyi had ended the call.

He needed to keep Cass away from Seyi's business. He knew Seyi quite well. She was a wolf. She orchestrated disasters. Cass didn't deserve any of the trouble his career and fame brought him. She didn't deserve any of it.

Do I deserve her?

He clenched his jaw and started the car and drove to the Lotus, tires spinning.

There were two cameramen waiting for him when he parked in the parking garage of the Lotus.

"He's waiting for you," said one of them as he put on the camera. His name was Tony. Victor couldn't remember the name of the other one.

"He?" asked Victor. Toni shrugged. Who could Seyi's surprise be?

He got into the elevator to the top floor. The cameramen trailed after him, cameras on shoulders.

The restaurant at the top floor was empty when Victor got there. He was about to turn back and call Seyi when a man came out of the kitchen. He was an European with a pleasant tan and spiky blond hair. He wore a Safari shirt and black shorts. He held a wine glass in his hand.

His eyes widened when he saw Victor. "Aha, just who I've been waiting for," he said with a cheerful smile.

Victor laughed out loud. He could feel the cameras behind him. "Fabio Politano himself. This is really a surprise."

Fabio smiled and took a seat. He shook his wine glass again, sniffed it and carefully took a sip. "Heaven," he said.

Fabio Politano was a famous celebrity blogger. He was well known for the controversies surrounding his blog posts about celebrities and the things he wrote about them. They were always true which made his blog a most sought site for the gossip mills. Fabio was widely feared by one half of the industry and revered by the other.