Winter and her affluent boyfriend, Nolan, are on a business trip in New York when a slip up with celebrity Joe Jonas on an icy sidewalk starts a series of events that will change her life.
More times than she could count, she read and reread the headline of the article. It was as though she was incapable of processing the string of words on the web page. The further she scrolled, the worse she felt. Nothing was making any sense. A knot formed in her stomach while her thoughts began to spiral. The same breath on her neck that was innocent and sweet moments before suddenly felt like acid against her skin. Her palms began to sweat. Winter sat up abruptly, causing Joe to stir from his sleep.
"What time is it?" His eyes were squinted between blinks and his voice was groggy with sleep. The words slurred together into a jumble of sounds.
For an unknown reason, this only increased the level of frustration that burned in her chest. Jaw clenched and throat constricted, Winter thrusted her phone into his hand. Despite the range of emotions coursing through her veins, she was unable to coherently express her inner monologue of hurt.
Through narrowed eyes, Joe scanned the headline and sat upright, immediately wide awake. "What the fuck?" Of all of the possible emotions he could have felt, Winter was shocked that he had chosen confusion.
"I told you. I warned you, Joe."
He gaped at the screen glowing in the darkness, eyes searching for an explanation. "Winter, I don't know what happened. I wasn't a part of this."
Without moving, she responded in a flat voice. "Read it. The whole thing. I need you to explain after you're done."
Joe was uncomfortable, as he should be. Slowly, he turned his blank stare back to the phone and began to read. "A night full of big news for everyone's favorite band of brothers. Kevin, Joe, and Nick, or the Jonas Brothers, released their new album titled Happiness Begins at midnight. The real highlight of the evening was Joe's heartfelt commentary on his love song called Hesitate. Fans were quick to speculate who the song could be about and one person in particular stood out - Gianna Beverly. Those speculations were put to rest just hours later when Gianna shared a post on Instagram of a romantic moment with Joe taken on New Years Eve, officially confirming their relationship status. The caption reads 'years in the making & together at last. #official #gijoe' Can you say cutest couple ever?!"
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The mention of the picture from Gianna's Instagram caused Winter to feel nauseous all over again. Joe was still marinating in his shocked silence. It was difficult to believe that he was unaware of Gianna's intentions, especially with photographic evidence. When the silence shifted into unbearable tension, Winter couldn't hold herself back.
"You and Gianna look cozy." She swallowed after feeling a bubble rising in her throat.
Joe jerked his head around to stare at Winter, despondence written on every inch of his face. "You have to believe me when I say I don't remember that photo at all."
