Chapter 19

Kevin could not control the tears that were continuously flowing from his eyes on the betrayal that he witnessed from his fiancée, the love of his life. He wanted to lie to himself that everything he saw was just a lie, a nightmare that would just get all right after a good night’s rest.

But it was not. This was the reality.

He felt the comforting tapping of the soft and small hand of Bethany patting him on the back and the silent hum of his car’s engine until in no time, they have reached the gates of the condominium as it automatically opened and they parked the car on the lower ground parking, leaving the vehicle with tens of it everywhere.

“Let’s use the elevator,” he heard James speak and opened the door in urgency, turning to them. “Come. I will put him around with a towel.”

Both of them obliged and James did as he planned. It was like he was being captured and that the two of them were covering him as best as they could. When they entered and finally started to go up the elevator, their cover was being blown when people began to chatter to each other with smiles on their faces, putting a catch on the attention of James without his disguise.

“Shit,” he whispered as lowly as he could under his breath. He then felt a flash on his face and his eyes reacted to the sudden light and shutter as a fan of his took a picture of him without him knowing. He looked and was about to snap when he felt a tug on his sleeve, looking around to see Bethany, shaking her head, silently saying to calm down.

He forced himself to calm down, deeply breathe and smile at the fan before taking off on their designated floor, towards his unit.

They then entered his unit where the two became busy navigating around the kitchen for some refreshments, leaving Kevin behind, sitting on his couch where his eyes traveled to the window where he could see the setting sun.

He sniffed and dried his tears finally, letting himself be calm for a while, and finally smelled the scent of coffee. James and Bethany brought him some and served it on his table in front of the couch.

“Are you already calmed down a little?” James went to his side, tapping his back. Kevin only nodded in response. He then sipped some of the coffee that they had brewed for him and there was a quick sigh of relief from the bitter beverage that he had just ingested. Kevin did not speak for a while, yet the companionship of the two people mattered to him the most.

“Don’t worry, we will be here for you until you feel a little all right,” Bethany said to him, putting on a small smile. This was the first time to see one man break down in front of her, crying like a child. She had her share of being in pain with having relationships that have failed, but never in her life that Bethany expected to have a man like Kevin to be in this pain.

She wanted to say words of kindness and wanted to reassure him that everything would be all right in time, but it would be too disrespectful of her for someone that just got through these events swiftly and still too painful to process.

No one dared to speak another word, even cracking a joke to even ease the heavy atmosphere that they have right now. They remained silent until the clock struck seven in the evening, and James already stood up, fixing his pants.

“I will see you around, buddy, all right?” He flashed Kevin with his smile, to which he smiled back at least, albeit little. Bethany also bade him goodbye, waving at him and following James in the empty hallway.

It was not visible in their faces, but deep inside them, they wished that they could have said or done more to ease his pain, maybe even taken it away from him.

They silently reached for the elevator and somehow felt the fatigue coming to them already. Both of them could only hear their breathing inside until they reached the first floor and stepped out of the lobby.

“Going back to practice for your new song?” Bethany broke the silence, to which James responded with a chuckle and scratching of his nape.

“Yeah.”

Just when they stepped outside, both of them were startled at the cameras of tens of fans that flooded in front of the condominium where the guards could not contain all of them. They even went wilder when they saw James, surprised, and caught off guard.

“What is happening?” Bethany’s eyes were hurting immediately as soon as she was exposed to the flashes of different cameras simultaneously clicking and shuttering in front of her and with James. Even though the crowd was wild and calling out his name, she could hear his tongue click and freeze up on his spot.

“Shit, this is all because of me forgetting my disguise at the car.”

They were stuck for a few more moments until the idol suddenly grabbed her arm, and started running to the side, where the volume of the crowd was lesser than the other side.

“Come on! We will run from them.”

Bethany does not know what was going on and is overwhelmed at the moment, thus she only runs with him and from the crowd, attempting to escape and lose them. The chase went on for about an hour until they covered about five blocks from the condominium. Both of them were already sweaty and catching their breath, but still had their hands holding each other. Bethany just realized it now and was about to point it out when James released the hold, looking down and sitting on the ground.

“Your fans certainly have some vigor inside them to follow you like this, huh?” She tried to crack a joke, hoping he would chuckle, but Bethany saw a different look in his eyes as if he was already tired from the day and the volume of women chasing after him.

It looks like men have different problems being left unresolved resulting in this manner, she thought to herself before tapping him on the shoulder, startling him and giving his usual look.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Ah, it is nothing,” she replied then looked around, seeing that there were no other people around looking for him. “It seems that there is no one else finding us. I think it is safe to go.”

James took a look around and nodded to Bethany, agreeing with her. He walked her to the bus stop until he stopped behind a tree where lights barely shine on it. The secretary turned around and motioned his hand for him to come closer.

He shook his head, then waved his hand.

“I won’t come with you for now. I made you run that far because of my fans.”

She laughed it off. “It is all right. I found it… a little fun anyway.”

Bethany then noticed a hint of blush on his cheeks when she said that, making their atmosphere a little weird. It was then broken when James started to step away and moved to the other side of the road where he waved his hand again.

“Well then, I guess this is a goodbye for now. I will find my way to the company from here.”

“All right then. I will go home too. Keep safe.”

“Watch Kevin over for me, will you?” James asked for a favor before sprinting. Bethany watched his figure disappear as he turned to a corner on the other street before the sound of a stopping bus caught her attention. Once she got on board and found a seat, she released a sigh of relief, and finally, the tiredness started to kick in.

The day of hers was eventful, and she is tasked with being more patient with her boss and their company from now on.

Just in time, they are going to have some hope of reviving their company on the brink of bankruptcy.

When she almost fell asleep on the boarded bus, Amy gave her a call.

“What is it, Amy?” She answered her lazily, not having the usual energy in their everyday phone calls.

“What the hell did you do, girl?”

“What did I do?”

“Open the news now,” she ordered her in a concerned and rush manner. “You are the center of the news now.”

Her drowsiness wore off as she ended their call and immediately headed to the internet and saw a headline that has her face on it with James, making her hand want to cover her face and her whole body be swallowed by the chair she is in.

JAMES WILSON IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH A MYSTERY GIRL – WHO IS SHE?