Somewhere Only We Know(67)

He held up his hands, as if protecting himself. “Not everyone’s born with your gifts, Lucky,” he said. Even though his tone was measured, the emphasis made “gifts” a dirty word. “The rest of us living down here on planet Earth have to make do with what we have.”

“What a load of crap.” I laughed harshly. “You think that I didn’t sacrifice almost everything to get where I am? It’s not a gift, it’s work. That’s what you do when you have a dream, Jack. When you care about stuff. You go for it. You don’t take the path of least resistance, and you don’t give up!”

Recognition and hurt registered on his face. “Then you get it. Why I did everything so I could get this story. This is my big break, Lucky. I’m sorry. You were never meant to be a casualty of that.”

Woo boy. I had to take a deep breath so I didn’t scream. People were definitely watching us now. But I didn’t care.

“How could I not be a casualty of that, you jerk? One, it would throw my career into total scandal! Two, you did everything to make me fall for you today.” Again, that tremor in my voice. It negated the fury I was trying to use to hurt him back.

I thought I loved you. Even thinking back to those feelings filled me with burning shame. Talk about naive.

He dropped his hands and stilled, staring at me. Eyes searching my face for something. “I fell for you, too. I’m still falling for you. I’ll always be falling for you.”

The words were like butter. So smooth, so welcome. A balm for the wounds he left behind. It killed me to hear them, because I couldn’t believe anything he said anymore.

This had to end.

“That’s too bad, because I would never fall for a loser like you.” The words came out like bullets, and I couldn’t take them back.





CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX


JACK


We had been telling lies all day. So when we finally told the truth, it was like dropping a bomb.

Lucky’s face was pale when she turned from me. Even though I felt like she had punched me in the gut, I wanted to reach out and comfort her. From the second I met her, I had been trying to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

That’s when I noticed people taking photos. Videos.

A tingly sense of foreboding came over me. The same feeling I had before she was mobbed at the light show. Lucky was walking away, straight into the crowd.

“Lucky!” I cried out without thinking.

And then the screaming started. “It’s Lucky!”

“LUCKY!”

No. Not now.

She turned around to look at me, and I expected fear in her eyes, but there was only resignation.

People ran toward her, and I sprinted to get to her before they did. But I was too late. She was already surrounded. Fear coursed through me because that look in her eye had sent a chill down my spine. She wasn’t going to fight them.

I fumbled for her. “Lucky!” Pushed through the crowd.

Suddenly, a strong pair of hands grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me back. Hard. What the hell? I glanced up and saw a towering man in front of me. I recognized him. It was her bodyguard.

Within seconds, the crowd was broken up, and an army of men in suits had created a barrier in front of her.

Lucky on one side, untouchable.

The rest of us, on the other. Unworthy.

A giant SUV came to a screeching halt in front of us, and the group of men moved as one solid unit, Lucky somewhere in the middle of it.

“Lucky!” I yelled out uselessly. I knew she couldn’t hear me past everyone else. I tried to bypass one of the guard’s arms, but it was firm and impenetrable.

I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe this was how we were saying goodbye. I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of her, to make her see me.

I needed to see her one last time.

For a second, as the crowd of men hurried over to the car, I caught a streak of lavender. My breath caught in my throat as the men parted and I saw her step into the car.

And then she looked up, straight at me. Her eyes unreadable, her face a perfect mask of composure.

The door closed, the car drove off, and she was gone.



* * *



The bus moved perilously through the streets. I was sitting on the upper level, front row. Like last night.

Also like last night, I had my phone clutched in my hands. This time filled with dozens of photos of Lucky. And a text from Trevor.

Meet me in the office. NOW.

I was being summoned. News had leaked of Lucky out and about in Hong Kong. Being paranoid and controlling, Trevor had demanded I hand the photos over to him in person. Once he saw what I had, I knew he’d offer me the job. There was no way he wouldn’t. I’d gone above and beyond.

I had gotten a K-pop star to fall for me. To follow me anywhere. To tell me things.

It would be an incredible exposé, and the timing would be perfect with her American debut.

Too bad my excitement for the story was gone. A numbness had taken over me since I saw Lucky drive away. With Trevor’s texts guiding me, I was on autopilot. I knew this was the right thing for my career. That to not do it would ruin everything that I had been building for the last four months. I’d have to go to my parents with my tail between my legs.

The bus lurched as it stopped at my destination. Central. Back where it all started. I walked through the wide streets, past glossy department store fronts, under a pedestrian tunnel running between giant buildings—and I saw Lucky everywhere. No corner, no alley in this city was safe from memories of her.