Chapter 145

***KARA***

“That's the tenth contract you've terminated in two weeks,” I said to Mateo as I glanced at the screen of his laptop, “Why do you keep rejecting my contracts without my permission?”

He turned red in the face and froze. I had already caught him in the act and there was no way he could defend himself. I had been getting notifications that people visited my portfolio, and sent contracts, but I had zilch idea that Mateo could access it and had been deleting every contract sent my way.

He rubbed his face. The way he did whenever he was guilty.

“I'm sorry, Kara. I never wanted you to find out this way. Please don't have wrong feelings towards me,” he pleaded.

I crossed my arms on my chest, anger flashing in my eyes. “Explain yourself then. Why have you been deleting my contracts? Why did you block me from accessing my portfolio?”

He broke his eyes from mine and glared at the wall as he had been doing recently. He hardly locked eyes with me nowadays and he had been avoiding conversations too.

“Now you can't talk,” I spat. “Let me guess? You're doing this for me, for my health yeah? I understand that you were the one who put me on track, Teo. But you can't do things without my permission! This is my career, don't you get it?”

He swallowed hard and forcefully met my eyes, “Kara I think you need a break.”

I scoffed as I tried to suppress the anger surging through my veins. “A break, from what?”

“Everything,” he said simply.

I sat on the chair and scrutinized him, “What do you mean by everything Mateo? I didn't say I was stressed.”

“I saw the article. Kara, I know you've been going through blackmail. I'm sorry I didn't ask for permission but your manager told me you wouldn't stop responding to those messages. You've been paying them. What's the secret you want them to protect that you can't tell me?” he questioned, pain etched in his voice.

I swallowed, my throat going dry, “Like you said, it's a secret. If I'm going to them it's because I don't want it to get out. It's something you know. They know I'm having therapy,” I croaked as tears stung my eyes. “They know something is wrong with me. They have videos of me having alters. Lots of them. It's like they're everywhere I go.”

Mateo sighed deeply and touched me softly on the arm. “Your therapist reached out to me, Kara. She said she told you to take a break and go somewhere far from the world and just disconnect from the chaos but you refused.”

I shook my head, “I can't do that, Teo. I have a lot going on. I have a show coming up. Tickets have been sold out. I can't just disconnect like that.”

“Look at you, Kara. Your eye bags are swollen. You've been losing sleep. Why don't we report this person? How long do you want to pay them? The moment you stop paying them, they will upload it for the world to see.” He squeezed my hand. “Kara, we can track them and have them reported.”

“No!” I said, yanking my hand from his, “We can't.”

“Kara,” he pushed.

“No Mateo. I have the money. I will pay.”

“Then you'll just have to keep paying,” He yelled. “You’re not dense Kara, you know how this thing works. They'll keep demanding huge amounts. If you go bankrupt, what do you want people to say?”

“What do you want me to do?” I cried out.

“Make a video. Talk about your alters, talk about therapy. Upload it. Let the world know. You're a celebrity that is loved and accepted. No one will judge you. Shit happens to everyone,” Mateo whispered.

I nodded as the tears dropped freely, “It's so easy for you to say because you're not the one getting fucked by life,” I said.

Mateo paced my room, hands in his pocket. “Kara, the reason I've been rejecting those contracts is because I want us to leave California. I want us to go to another country. I've got another place in Hawaii.”

I stared at Mateo with bewilderment in my eyes as he broke the news to me. “What?”

“Kara, we have to move. We have to leave. There are more opportunities for us there. We can start all over,” he said.

I dropped my used face mask in the bin and turned to him, “Why now Teo? Why so soon? You didn't tell me earlier so I could prepare. What's going on?”

He sighed deeply, “Kara, I promise I'll explain later.”

“What happened to explaining now? Is something bad happening here?” I demanded.

“Kara, you need a break from these people. I do too. I need a break from this place. I've been here my whole life. You need some time away from the paparazzi. You need time to rest and restart.”

“I'm just starting,” I whispered.

“If you don't like it there I promise we'll return,” he said in an assuring tone and placed an arm around my shoulder.

“Is this about me or you?” I inquired.

He shook his head, “It's for us Kara, come on. You've been pressuring yourself with a lot of work. You need a break from all the stress.”

I groaned out in frustration, “You are confusing me, Teo. Are we going on vacation or relocating?”

He sat on the edge of his bed, “Kara, I want us to relocate but then I probably sound inconsiderate and selfish. You're right. I should have let you on this but I just took things into my hands. You weren't willing to tell me Kara and I was getting worried. Maybe I put a lot on your shoulders working knowing.”

“I like it here,” I protest. “I like working too. It just seems so sudden and it's scary. I hate changing places and Hawaii is far. Far.”

Mateo smiled tightly, “It's okay, Kara. We don't have to do this. I'll give you enough time to ponder on it. Whatever conclusion you come to, we’d stand by it. Okay? Is that better?”

I gulped and nodded forcefully. Everything was weird and too sudden. Why did he want to leave? Could it be about resting to restart? Or did he want to take me away from everything I loved?